Rockstadt Extreme Fest 2026

Performers

• 

  Rockstadt Extreme Fest

  🤘Welcome to the Wild East’s Most Loved Rock Festival, in the Heart of Transylvania 🎸

  27-31 JUL 2026

  GHIMBAV-BRASOV

• 

  Rockstadt

  13 octombrie 2010. De atunci, clubul ROCKSTADT este numit “a doua casă” pentru toți iubitorii de muzica rock!

• 

  Northlane

  northlaneband.com

• 

  Signs of the Swarm

  Deathcore was once dismissed as a trend, so it’s ironic that it now has trends within itself. Downtempo, slamming and now blackened variants of the style have dominated its scene at various points, with many bands jumping ship.

  Pittsburgh’s Signs of the Swarm aren’t just any band, though. They’re a once-a-generation beacon that radiates the sounds that surrounded them, preserving history by reframing it. On fourth LP Absolvere, they’re bleak without being blackened, smashing without being slam, and downtempo as a choice rather than a stylistic confine. And as many of their deathcore peers experiment with adding singing, often gruff in tone, they add a more ethereal style that soothes on “Dreaming Desecration” and “Death Whistle.”

  The band contrasts that with some of the most brutal moments in their eight-year career, with riffs more punishing than pensive and a rhythm section that frames them in creatively cacophonic ways. Above it all, they’re utilizing vocalist David Simonich monstrous range in a much fuller capacity than on his debut, 2019’s Vital Deprivation.

  That transitional album found the band experimenting to re-find their footing, which here lands on solid ground through the addition of guitarist Jeff Russo, a former bandmate of Simonich’s fin Improvidence. The proof is in the placing, with Absolvere landing at #15 on “Current Hard Music Albums,” #21 on “Top New Artist Albums” and #139 on “Heatseekers.”

  Behind the cohesive crusher is drummer-turned-bassist-turned-drummer Bobby Crow, who acted as de facto producer, arranging the riffs written across Skype to make the songs more than the sum of their parts.

  This gave Simonich a lofty platform from which to roar about the real (loved ones struggling with addiction, submitting one’s self wholly to art despite negativity swirling about) and the surreal; he or his characters beg for the release of death only to be denied. “Nameless” centers around a character collecting souls marked by death to receive its blessing, while “Blood Seal” follows a ritual to summon it. “Dreaming Desecration” and “Hollow Prison” are two sides of the same coin. When one finds themselves trapped in a meaningless existence, they can either attempt to escape through murderous hallucinations or succumb to the grave, respectively.

  “Death Whistle” is the penultimate song, closing the album and the writing sessions for Absolvere with a tale concluding in sweet release. The piercing screech of the titular whistle contrasts with a subtle serenade.

  Indeed, sometimes contrast can be a perfect complement, but more often that effect is achieved when paired with something more in-line. So it is when Ben Duerr (Shadow of Intent) and Alex Erian (Despised Icon) join the band for growls and shouts, where Signs of the Swarm filter their guests’ bands through their own sound. Instead of taking away from their identity, it expands it.

  They’re steadily expanding their global reach, too. In the few short months since Absolvere’s release, Signs of the Swarm have toured with the likes of Fit for an Autopsy, Born of Osiris and Shadow of Intent. Forthcoming domination campaigns of Europe and Australia will be added to their tenure with Aborted, Lorna Shore, Brand of Sacrifice and more. Forget the signs, the swarm is already here, and it’s growing larger and louder every day.

• 

  Godsmack

  Godsmack is an American alternative metal/hard rock American band originally from Lawrence, Massachusetts. The current lineup consists of Sully Ema, Robbie Merrill, Tony Rombola and Shannon Larkin.

• 

  Of Mice and Men

  Named after the John Steinbeck novel, Of Mice And Men are an American metalcore rock band from Costa Mesa, California.

• 

  In Flames

  New Album “Foregone” out now! Order here: https://inflames.bfan.link/foregone-newalbum.fbi

• 

  Nothing More

  Rock

• 

  Helloween

  Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg, West Germany.

  On 14 November 2016, the band announced that both Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske were rejoining Helloween for a world tour, titled Pumpkins United World Tour, which concluded in 2018; the line-up perdured after the tour, with a new studio album planned for a 2020 release. Now Helloween is returning for another World Tour incl. the new Album.

  Since its inception, Helloween has released fifteen studio albums, three live albums, three EPs, and twenty-seven singles, and has sold more than eight million records worldwide..

• 

  ACCEPT

  In the history of Heavy Metal not many bands can claim to be able to celebrate their breakthrough twice. After a 15 year hiatus ACCEPT managed this with »Blood Of The Nations« in 2010, returning with a vengeance by charting all over the world and topping critics’s and fan polls in the process.

• 

  Decapitated

  https://www.decapitatedband.net

• 

  Deicide

  Deicide are a death metal band from Florida, U.S. who have been wreaking havoc and stirring controversy since inception in 1987.

• 

  Municipal Waste

  Tango & Thrash out via Nuclear Blast
  https://municipalwaste.bfan.link/tango-thrash.fbi
• 

  Death Angel

  Death Angel is a thrash metal band from Concord, California formed in 1982 and currently consists of Rob Cavestany, Mark Osegueda, Ted Aguilar, Will Carroll and Damien Sisson.

• 

  Fit for an Autopsy

  THE NOTHING THAT IS, out October 25, 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records & Human Warfare (Australia/NZ). Pre-order and pre-save: https://geni.us/the-nothing-that-is

• 

  Alcest

  Guilt Trip is a UK Metal/Hardcore Crossover band.

• 

  Cryptopsy

  Cryptopsy is an influential extreme metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For over 30 years, they have sculpted and pushed the boundaries of their metal genre.

  Management: Extreme Management Group: Joann Gullo – EMG.Joann@gmail.com

• 

  Bleed From Within

  Pure Scottish Metal.

  Twitter @bleedfromwithin

  Instagram @bleedfromwithin

• 

  Perturbator

  http://perturbator.com

• 

  Immolation

  New album ACTS OF GOD out now via Nuclear Blast Records. www.immolation.info
• Nevermore
• 

  Igorrr

  Booking Worldwide (except US) : romain@thelinkprod.fr ; Luc@doomstarbookings.com

  Booking US : nstorch@independentartistgroup.com

• 

  In Extremo

  In Extremo is a German folk metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines heavy metal with medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard metal instruments with traditional instruments, such as the bagpipes, harp, hurdy-gurdy and shawm.

  Versions of well-known traditional/medieval ballads make up the main part of their repertoire, but increasingly over the years, the band also writes her own material using the German language, whilst the traditional songs are in a variety of languages, including (but not limited to) Spanish, English, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Irish, French, Hebrew, Latin and Old German.

• 

  Orbit Culture

  www.orbitculture.com

• 

  theGathering

  https://linktr.ee/thegathering_band

• 

  Vended

  Iowa band looking to destroy and dominate this world.

• 

  Tribulation

  Countless bands have gotten the trajectory wrong. Too many haven’t figured out the musical calculus. More than is fair have veered off the proverbial map never to be heard of again. And they’ve all suffered greatly from it. Not Tribulation. From 2009’s 'The Horror' to 2013’s 'The Formulas of Death', the Swedes secretly figured out how to refactor death metal’s tenets to their favor. No more were Tribulation merely the product of their influences but rather something more, a step beyond wanton barbarity and the unharnessed fire of youth. Likewise, the venture between 2015’s The Children of the Night—a breakout moment for the Stockholmites—and new album Down Below is a yet another step into the unknown, where shadowy creatures glare with eyes ablaze and howl with white fangs bared. The years between and miles traveled could’ve forced the Swedes off their fiendish path, but they stayed true. From its obsidian core to its fluttering expanses, Down Below is a triumph of darkness and death. Or, very much Tribulation. “I wouldn’t say that evolution is as dramatic this time around,” says guitarist Adam Zaars. “There are elements from both 'The Formulas of Death' and 'The Children of the Night' (and 'The Horror' for that matter) on the new album, but with a new flavor. 'Down Below' is heavier and a bit rawer than Children and it wanders in similar territories when it gets more expansive, but it’s surely on different paths. It’s a very peculiar process when making music because you hear quite instantly whether something works if you try something ‘bold.’ And often you feel it even before you try it out and you have to tell everyone else to bear with you until you reach the point (whatever and where ever that is) where your idea has manifested in the way that you first saw or heard it. I think it’s the same for all of us. It’s all very Tribulation at least!” Indeed, Down Below has the hallmarks of Tribulation’s previous oeuvre. Frontman Johannes Andersson is as reptilian as ever, hissing and croaking poetic threads of necro-romance, while the guitars of Zaars and Jonathan Hultén seduce the dead and spellbind the living, and drummer—in his first appearance for Tribulation—Oscar Leander swings through Andersson’s bass playing with star-quality confidence. But there’s more to Down Below than Tribulation let on. There’s creepy pipe organs, John Carpenteresque slasher movements, ominous church bells, and monk calls woven through and into the Swedes’ Jugendstil-inspired death. While most are conspicuous in their new travails, the Swedes hide their moody innovations on 'Down Below'. “You can fit a lot into the space that we’re creating, but it’s always got to be of the right substance,” Zaars says. “It’s all a matter of balancing on the edge and not falling. I think that’s often what we do, actually. We push it all quite hard in many different directions and try not to fall over, be it cheesiness, pretentiousness or whatever. As an example, we have been writing about the vampire theme for a while now, a theme that is very, very cheesy if you do it in the wrong way (which to me is pretty much every way). Vampires and folk influences, it sounds like a pretty horrible mix, but it’s all very dear to us and so we treat it with respect. We try the same approach in the music. We take it all very seriously, and hopefully that works.” Written by Zaars and Hultén under the spell of countless blood moons, 'Down Below' is the result of Tribulation exploring the painstaking process of songwriting from new vantage points. While Hultén wrote predominantly on his own, Zaars teamed up with Andersson and Leander. They acted not only as bandmates—musicians able to play out Zaars’ maniacal pieces—but also as a feedback loop. Together, they put the sinful skeletons of Down Below to digital tape. The two methodologies worked well between Tribulation’s touring schedule—the Swedes played over 170 shows in support of The Children of the Night—and other band-related commitments. “I worked more closely with Johannes and Oscar,” says Zaars. “I had them on hand throughout the process to help me see if certain ideas worked or not, as well as being open to whatever ideas they had. Very valuable! Oscar also helped me a lot in that he has more skills than I when it comes to music software (and hardware for that matter) so we could record demos of my songs more easily which is something I have never done before. I usually come with the songs to the rehearsal room to try it out there for the first time and then record the demos with the entire band. This saved us a lot of time that we didn’t have in the first place. It was difficult as well. Maybe more difficult than ever. But the result is absolutely worth all the hard work that we’ve all had to put in to this!” 'Down Below' was recorded at Soundtrade Studios and Studio Cobra, respectively. Soundtrade, renowned for hosting Swedish music legends ABBA, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Europe, is where Leander tracked the drums with Martin Ehrencrona (Vampire, The Oath) at the helm and Linus Björklund at his side. After the Soundtrade sessions were over—about a week, according to Zaars— Tribulation cut over to Studio Cobra, with Ehrencrona in tow, to record the bass, guitar, vocals, and other instruments. For three months the Swedes toiled into the dead of countless nights—where songs like ‘The Lament,’ ‘Lady Death,’ ‘Lacrimosa,’ and ‘Here Be Dragons’ invoked the vaults of heaven to remarkable effect—to realize Down Below. Harvest, however unpleasant, was positively plentiful. “We chose Cobra because we recorded some stuff there for Children and really enjoyed the time there,” Zaars says. “Both the time in Soundtrade and Cobra were very enjoyable. Cobra and Martin gave us the opportunity to be creative. It was a new experience for us to work with a producer as we have this time, and I think we all really enjoyed it. I left a few things unfinished in some of my songs so that we could have his input and he’s been giving input and ideas wherever and whenever he’s had some. You give and you take and you kill a lot of your darlings, but in the end that’s almost always a good thing, and this time it really elevated the songs.” Certainly, Tribulation have come away with an album full of gems. From the death-rock shake of ‘The Lament’ and the windy Carpathian haunts of ‘Subterranea’ to the gloomy post-punk of ‘Nightbound’ and the infectious refrains of ‘Here Be Dragons,’Down Below is unbelievably great. But it doesn’t stop there. Inside the songs, Tribulation parlay awe and shock into something more impressive. Some of Zaars and Hultén’s best solo work can be heard on ‘Lady Death,’ ‘Cries from the Underworld,’ and ‘The World.’ Time-keeper Leander has also proven himself worthy of his newly appointed position. His ability to play simple yet clever continuously gets better as Down Below progresses. Check out ‘Here Be Dragons’! And Andersson’s vocals—even in their sublime decay—emote heavy sheaves of hate, mourning, loss, and fear. If The Formulas of Death was arboreal and 'The Children of the Night' urban, then Down Below must be nestled in between. “A bit of both for sure,” says Zaars. “We were aiming in one direction that was a bit more foresty and that direction kind of made its own twists and turns, as it always is when we do something. We let it happen, we let it guide us. When we speak in terms like this I would say that it’s still somewhat in the city, but that city is much older, or in a different era, than the city that Children resided in. And it’s a lot closer to the forest, and even ventures quite deep into it.” Changes are inevitable. The force of momentum powerful. As with The Children of the Night, so too with Down Below. Tribulation has succumbed to change and momentum, but the Swedes didn’t let it become them. They’ve evolved (or are evolving) on 'Down Below'. To wit, the evocative vibe of places frightful and things malign remains strong, as does Tribulation’s roots as an inspired death metal act. What’s changed is the approach and the inspirations affecting the approach. Down Below isn’t just Album of the Year material, it’s the type of effort that will be remembered for decades. Music from the other, indeed! Emerging from the darkness of the Swedish death metal abyss in 2004, the band immediately stood apart from what was already a crowded scene, betraying an uncompromising vision that refused to be shackled by any genre stereotypes.