As the New Year is upon us, many travellers will be looking to book their holidays in order to get the best deals on trips intended for fun and sun; but for heavy metal fans now is the time to start booking travel to festivals in one of the most exciting years to be a heavy metal fan in recent memory. With so many festivals to pick from, this article picks the best of the bunch to make the decision as easy as possible.
Kicking off the year in truly evil style is the Inferno Metal Festival, held annually during Easter in Oslo, Norway. With this year's event taking place from 19-22 March, the current line-up includes such names as Satyricon, Cult of Luna, 1349 and Behemoth. Due to the extreme sound of most of the bands playing Inferno, it is unlikely the festival will ever grow to be as big as the more mainstream metal festivals, but like previous years, it is likely to attract travellers from across the globe in shared appreciation of all things extreme, and despite the brutality on stage, the festival has a friendly and inviting atmosphere.
Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are two concurrent festivals held annually in Germany, this year held between 6-8 June. Both festivals have the same line-up, Rock am Ring taking place in the west of Germany and Rock im Park taking place in the south-east, with artists rotating between the two sites over the course of the three-day event. Together Rock im Park and Rock am Ring forms the largest music festival in Germany and one of the largest in the world - last year had a combined attendance of 150,000. This year's line-up will include Rage Against the Machine, Motrhead, Bullet For My Valentine, The Hellacopters and Metallica.
In the UK, the biggest metal festival of the year is the Download Festival. Held at Donnington Park, the venue used for the Monsters of Rock Festivals between 1980 and 1996 and the 2002 UK Ozzfest, it is sacred ground to many headbangers around the world. This year's festival is scheduled for 13-15 June and the line-up is rumoured to include Metallica, Judas Priest, Muse, Kiss and Machine Head.
Wacken Open Air is the largest, exclusively metal music festival in the world, taking place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. Since its humble beginnings in 1990 it has grown to become the major festival on the European metal calendar, attracting fans and bands from all over the world. This year it is set to take place from 31 July-2 August and the bands playing include As I Lay Dying, At the Gates, Children of Bodom, Iron Maiden, Killswitch Engage, Kreator and Nightwish.
Visitors wishing to travel to the festivals can take advantage of promotional flights throughout Europe, with most low-cost airlines currently offering their lowest prices for summer travel. While many assume that they have existing travel insurance that will cover most things, such as made available from their credit card, this type of cover tends to be rather basic and only covers accidents incurred during travel rather than after reaching final destination. Travelers should therefore compare credit cards to ensure theirs gives them the comprehensive cover required or take out additional insurance for the trip.
And finally, heavy metal fans are advised to invest in a pair of decent earplugs in order to block out nasty frequencies emanating from the amps and PAs at the festivals, ensuring their appreciation for heavy metal can be continued for years to come.
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys traveling.
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