Tuska Open Air Metal Festival

Tuska Open Air Metal Festival
Genre	Metal
Dates	June, July
Location(s)	Helsinki, Finland
Years active	1998 – present
Founders	Juhani Merimaa
Website	www.tuska-festival.fi

Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, commonly shortened to Tuska (Finnish: pain, agony), is the largest music festival dedicated only to metal and related styles of music in the Nordic countries. The history of Tuska began in 1998 and it has grown larger every year. The location of the festival has been in Kaisaniemi park in the middle of Helsinki, Finland from 2001. However, Tuska 2011 will take place at the Suvilahti event field in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. The festival dates have been during the months of June or July.

In recent years the attendance has grown and the festival has drawn around 30.000 people. In 2006, the festival was almost sold out and over a combined three day total of 33,000 attendees arrived to watch 32 artists, including for example Anathema, Celtic Frost, Opeth, Sodom, Venom, and Finland's own Amorphis and Sonata Arctica.

There are three stages in Tuska: Inferno, Sue, and the main stage, Radio Rock (Radio City until 2007).

Artists by year

Headliners are bolded.

1998

Absurdus, Am I Blood, Babylon Whores, Barathrum, Corporal Punishment, Crimson Midwinter, D-Ray, Gandalf, Gorgoroth, Hundred Years, Impaled Nazarene, Kyyria, Nemeh's O.D., Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus

1999

...And Oceans, 45 Degree Woman, Afterworld, Amorphis, Barathrum, Bury Me Deep, D-Ray, Dark Tranquillity, Divine Decay, Gandalf, Itä-Saksa, Jimsonweed, Lullacry, Nightwish, Painflow, Purity, Sentenced, Soul Above, Tarot, The 69 Eyes, Throne of Chaos, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Twilight Opera, Two Witches

2000

Audience: 5 000+

Babylon Whores, Children of Bodom, Diablo, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Finntroll, Gamma Ray, Impaled Nazarene, Lullacry, Metal Gods, Nightwish, Pain, Reduce to Ash, Satyricon, Sinergy, Stone, Terveet Kädet, The Black League, The Crown, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, To/Die/For

2001

Audience: ca. 10 000

45 Degree Woman, Amon Amarth, Amorphis, Daniel Lion Eye and the Rollers, Drive, Eläkeläiset, Finntroll, Gandalf, Headplate, Impaled Nazarene, In Flames, Katatonia, Kotiteollisuus, Rhapsody of Fire, Rotten Sound, Stratovarius, The 69 Eyes, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Transport League, United Underworld, Yearning

2002

Audience: 15 000 (sold out)

Ajattara, Blake, Bruce Dickinson, Diablo, Demigod, Ensiferum, Impaled Nazarene, Machine Head, Maj Karman Kauniit Kuvat, Marduk, Moonsorrow, Mustasch, Nightwish, Sara, Sentenced, Sonata Arctica, Suburban Tribe, Sunride, The Crown, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Verenpisara

2003

Audience: ca. 16 500

Amorphis, Arch Enemy, Barathrum, Behemoth, Children Of Bodom, Divine Decay, Edguy, Finntroll, Horna, Immortal Souls, Lordi, Lost Horizon, Lullacry, Mannhai, Mauron Maiden, Ministry, Mokoma, Moonsorrow, Norther, Reverend Bizarre, Rotten Sound, Sentenced, Soulfly, Stratovarius, Tarot, The 69 Eyes, The Haunted, Thunderstone, Thyrane, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Type O Negative

2004

Audience (a combined three day total): ca. 30 000

Beseech, Blake, Chaosbreed, Charon, Dark Funeral, Dark Tranquillity, Death Angel, Dew-Scented, Diablo, Dio, Dismember, Drive, D.S.K., Ensiferum, Fear Factory, In Flames, Impaled Nazarene, Kilpi, Kotiteollisuus, Nasum, Nightwish, Machine Men, Mokoma, Sinergy, Soilwork, Sonata Arctica, Suburban Tribe, Swallow the Sun, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Trollheim's Grott, Turisas, Twilightning

2005

Audience (a combined three day total): 33 000+ (sold out)

Dimmu Borgir onstage at Tuska 2005.

Accept, Ajattara, Amoral, Apocalyptica, Callisto, Children of Bodom, Deathchain, Destruction, Dimmu Borgir, Evergrey, Finntroll, Gamma Ray, Hieronymus Bosch, Lake of Tears, Malediction, Mnemic, Monster Magnet, Naglfar, Pain Confessor, Paska, Primal Fear, Rotten Sound, Scarve, Sentenced, Sinking, Skyclad, Stam1na, Teräsbetoni, Testament, Thunderstone, Turmion Kätilöt, Viikate, Wintersun

2006

Audience (a combined three day total): ca. 33 000

Amorphis, Anathema, April, Arch Enemy, Burst, Celtic Frost, Deathstars, Diablo, Epica, Freedom Call, Gojira, Impaled Nazarene, Kalmah, Mendeed, Metsatöll, Mokoma, Nine, Norther, Opeth, Pain Confessor, Sodom, Sonata Arctica, Stam1na, Suburban Tribe, Swallow the Sun, Tarot, The Scourger, The Sisters Of Mercy, Timo Rautiainen, Venom, Verjnuarmu, Wintersun

2007

Audience (a combined three day total): ca. 33 000

Stratovarius in 2007

45 Degree Woman, Before the Dawn, Blind Guardian, Brother Firetribe, Children of Bodom, D'espairsRay, DragonForce, Emperor, Finntroll, Hatesphere, Immortal, Imperia, Insomnium, Isis, Katatonia, Legion of the Damned, Maj Karma, Mercenary, Misery Index, Moonsorrow, Moonspell, Naildown, Nicole, Pain, Profane Omen, Scent of Flesh, Stratovarius, Sturm Und Drang, Thunderstone, Turisas, Vader, W.A.S.P.

2008

Audience (a combined three day total): 36 000 (sold out)

Amon Amarth, Before the Dawn, Behemoth, Carcass, Diablo, Dimmu Borgir, Discard, Dream Evil, Dying Fetus, Entombed, Fields of the Nephilim, Ghost Brigade, Job for Cowboy, Kalmah, Killswitch Engage, Kiuas, Kreator, KYPCK, Mokoma, Morbid Angel, Nile, Noxa, Primordial, Shade Empire, Slayer, Sonata Arctica, Sotajumala, Stam1na, The Scourger, The Sorrow, Tracedawn and Týr

2009

Audience (a combined three day total): ca. 28 000

Slayer playing as the main act in 2008.

All That Remains, Amoral, Amorphis, The Black Dahlia Murder, Callisto, Dauntless, Deathchain, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Evile, Firewind, Gama Bomb, Girugamesh, Gojira, Immortal, Jon Oliva's Pain, Legion of the Damned, Medeia, Mucc, My Dying Bride, Neurosis, Parkway Drive, Pestilence, Profane Omen, Rotten Sound, Sabaton, Stam1na, Suicidal Tendencies, The Faceless, Tukkanuotta, Volbeat

2010

Audience (a combined three day total): 33 000+ (sold out). Amatory, The Arson Project, Barren Earth, Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Devin Townsend (playing his Ziltoid the Omniscient-album exclusively in Tuska), additional Devin Townsend Project-gig on the next day, Finntroll, FM2000, Holy Grail, Hypocrisy, Insomnium, Kamelot, Megadeth, Nevermore, Nile, Obituary, Overkill, Pain, Rytmihäiriö, Satyricon, Sotajumala, Swallow The Sun, Tarot, Testament, Torture Killer, Trigger The Bloodshed, Warmen, W.A.S.P., Crowbar

2011

Audience (a combined three day total): 35 000+ Amon Amarth, Amorphis, At the Gates, Arch Enemy, Blind Guardian, The Devin Townsend Project, Epica, Exodus, Forbidden, Meshuggah, Morbid Angel, Katatonia, Kvelertak, Killing Joke, Electric Wizard, Enslaved, Moonsorrow, Wintersun, Witchery, Agnostic Front, Oranssi Pazuzu, Spiritual Beggars, Turisas, Impaled Nazarene, Grave, Shining, Mygrain Church of Misery, Misery Index, Jex Thoth, Cavus, Lighthouse Project, Cause for Effect, Goresoerd, Gaf, Feastem, Fleshpress, Black Breath, Tarot, Bulldozer, Hell, Omnium Gatherum, Ghost, Medeia, Axegressor, Tinner, Hooded Menace, Mygrain, Black Cruxifixion, Lighthouse Project, Cause for Effect, Carnalation, Total Self Hatred, Mononen, Rotten Sound

2012

Audience (a combined three day total): 26 000+

• Ministry
• Overkill
• Saint Vitus
• Swallow the Sun
• Insomnium
• Animals as Leaders
• Textures
• Baroness
• Skeletonwitch
• Suidakra
• Profane Omen
• Horna
• Victims
• Unkind
• Afgrund

External links

• Official website