TUSKA 2025 DRAWS 60,000 FESTIVAL VISITORS TO SUVILAHTI

Over the course of three festival days, Tuska 2025 attracted 60,000 attendees to Suvilahti in Helsinki. The weekend offered peak metal moments in a wide range of summer moods—from sunshine to rain showers, and a suspenseful Sunday morning wondering whether the gates could even open due to looming thunderstorms and strong gusts of wind.

Friday’s opening day brought together 22,000 metalheads, setting a new all-time Friday attendance record at Tuska. On the main day Saturday, 20,000 heavy music fans made their way to Suvilahti, and Sunday gathered a crowd of 18,000.

The Karhu Main Stage saw Tuska-goers enjoying the music to the fullest, with headliners including the creators of the Gothenburg melodeath sound In Flames, German power metal giants Powerwolf, and American deathcore innovators Lorna Shore. Other major crowd favorites included German party metal machine Electric Callboy, hardcore-rooted Americans Knocked Loose, groovy and modern melodic death metallers Orbit Culture from Sweden, and metalcore heavyweight Motionless In White.

Over at the Radio City Stage, packed crowds witnessed standout performances from Sweden’s violincore sensation Imminence, groove- and deathcore-infused Thrown, and American deathcore powerhouse Whitechapel.

The Nordic Energy Stage featured acts like Tarja’s elegant show, video game metal group DragonForce, melodic death metal supergroup The Halo Effect, and traditional heavy metal spearhead Battle Beast.

Tiivistämö’s KVLT Stage by Inferno once again delivered sweaty, jam-packed shows, featuring acts like leather-clad heavy metal patrol Tyrantti, the relentless death metal machine Cryptic Hatred, grindcore duo Vähäkyrö Drive-by, and Norwegian stoner rockers Bokassa.

In addition to live music, Tuska offered a wide array of sideshow programming and art installations. The Tuska Forum, hosted by Bleeding Metal podcast’s Kiki, explored topics such as the values of metal music, building community, and true crime-inspired music.

The Tuska Expo at Kattilahalli featured a vast range of exhibitors—from jewelry and clothing vendors to literature and dark-themed art, including barbers and corpse paint services. The space also housed a Body Art section focused on tattooing and piercing, and the Ritual Stage, which presented performances related to dance, hook suspension, and rope bondage.

Festival Director Eeka Mäkynen reflected on the eventful festival weekend:

“This year once again proved that it’s the people who make Tuska. We’re grateful for every single visitor—this is by no means something we take for granted. It was an amazing year, and we’re already starting work to make next year even better. If next summer is Suvilahti’s swan song, we’ll make it the most epic Tuska ever!”

Tuska 2026 will take place at Suvilahti from June 26–28, 2026. Tuska 2026 Limited Early Crow 3-day tickets go on sale via Tiketti and Lippu.fi on Monday, June 30 at 9:00 AM and will be available for 48 hours or until sold out.

The Limited Early Crow batch is exclusively available to Tuska mailing list subscribers. You can join the mailing list at tuska.fi.

In cooperation with: Helsinki, Karhu, Redi, and Radio City

Photos from Tuska 2025: https://www.tuska.fi/media

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