[Image: Summer Breeze Poster 2025]
Summer Breeze 2025 was once again a true heavy metal fest that demanded everything from us—and gave us plenty in return. Even though the festival felt more like a brutal heat battle, the fans showed they weren’t going to let it kill their vibe. Whether it was playing rounds of Flunkyball at the campsite or moshing in front of the stage, the good times were rolling everywhere you looked.
Credit: Jonas Tellkamp @booking_always_closed
Summer Breeze 2025 Highlights
A few bands really made their mark on the festival this year. Here are the gigs everyone will be talking about for a long time.
In Extremo: The Minstrels Light The Fire
It just wouldn't be Summer Breeze without the minstrels of In Extremo. The Berlin-based band proved once again on Wednesday night why they're festival favorites. With an electrifying mix of bagpipes, bone-crushing metal riffs, and a ton of fire, they got the crowd hyped and turned the infield into one big, dancing medieval village. Classics like "Spielmannsfluch" and "Liam" set the place on fire and showed that the band hasn't lost an ounce of their passion.
Setlist:
- Ólafur
- Spielmannsfluch
- Weckt die Toten
- Troja
- Wolkenschieber
- Sängerkrieg
- Feine Seele
- Störtebeker
- Vollmond
- Liam
- Katzengold
- Blutmond
- Rasend Herz
- Omnia Sol Temperat
- Frei zu sein
- Sternhagelvoll
- Ai vis lo lop
- Feuertaufe
- Pikse Palve
Gojira: A Wave Of Raw Power
On Thursday, the French progressive metal powerhouse Gojira delivered a show that felt like a true firestorm. With plenty of pyrotechnics and massive guitar riffs, the band tore through songs like "Flying Whales", "The Chant", and "Mea culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)", pulling the entire audience along with them and solidifying their status as one of the most important metal bands of our time. Every riff, every beat was perfect, and the band's incredible energy instantly took over the whole festival grounds.
Setlist:
- Only Pain
- The Axe
- Backbone
- Stranded
- Flying Whales
- The Cell
- From the Sky
- Another World
- Silvera
- Mea culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)
- The Chant
- Amazonia
- L'enfant sauvage
- The Gift of Guilt
Blind Guardian: An Epic Journey
The bards of Blind Guardian gave a truly fantastic performance on Friday. The band took the crowd on a journey through their history, packed with timeless classics. The infield was shaking during anthems like "Nightfall" and "Lord of the Rings", but the most magical moment was without a doubt "The Bard's Song - In the Forest", where thousands of voices sang along with frontman Hansi Kürsch. Newer bangers like "Deliver Us From Evil" were also on the setlist. The grand finale was "Valhalla", with fans singing the chorus a cappella for two full minutes after the song ended—a goosebump moment for the ages.
Setlist:
- The Ninth Wave
- Blood of the Elves
- Nightfall
- Tanelorn (Into the Void)
- Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)
- Violent Shadows
- A Past and Future Secret
- Deliver Us From Evil
- Majesty
- The Bard's Song - In the Forest
- And the Story Ends
- Lord of the Rings
- Mirror Mirror
- Valhalla
Machine Head: A Birthday Bash For The Ages
Machine Head brought the grand finale on Saturday. Their show wasn't just a musical banger, it was a visual one too. On top of timeless classics like "Davidian" and "Imperium", the band also played songs from their new album, UNATØNED, including the brutal "BØNESCRAPER". A real highlight was the "Happy Birthday" sing-along led by frontman Rob Flynn for bassist Jared MacEachern, who was celebrating his 45th birthday that day. The incredible fireworks at the end of the show were the perfect way to cap off this high-energy performance.
Setlist:
- Imperium
- Ten Ton Hammer
- CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE
- Now We Die
- Is There Anybody Out There?
- ØUTSIDER
- Locust
- BØNESCRAPER
- NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD
- Bulldozer
- From This Day
- Davidian
- Halo
Credit: Jonas Tellkamp @booking_always_closed
Summer Breeze 2026
As the motto goes: "After the Breeze is before the Breeze," and the presale for next year has already started. The rush was huge: over 20,000 tickets were gone in just two hours. So, if you don't want to miss Summer Breeze 2026, you'd better hurry. You can find info on the presale and the bands already confirmed in our separate article: "Summer Breeze 2026: 50 Bands Announced for the Next Edition."
