From 2010 to 2025. In one way, just past the 15th anniversary, in another way really f’ing close to the 15th festival. For a niche festival for metal people in Denmark, that’s pretty damned amazing, and worthy of a celebration!

So, just how did Copenhell choose to celebrate itself and its fans? A keyword for this year, I believe, was evolution.
For one thing, they decided to, more than ever, branch out their musical repertoire. Just look at the headliners;
Slipknot - tried and true, basically a houseband by now
Billy Idol - old school punk rocker, new to the festival
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - even returning with their “hardest” setlist, they were still a nicer and softer touch at the festival
The Prodigy - rave/electronic dance duo, also making their festival debut.

So, one out of four was an actual metal band. That’s not too bad, is it? Depends on who you ask. To be fair, I doubt there’s been a single year where this, or any for that sake, festival hasn’t had the old refrain of worst line-up ever thrown at them, but this year it’s been especially bad. Ok, so Copenhell says they’re not exclusively a metal festival, but rather a rock and metal festival, which would encompass two more of the bands, but that still leaves The Prodigy as a hefty question mark. I know this seems like a highly specific issue to discuss, but it is also symptomatic for the festival in general, and we might as well get it out of the way now. So, personal opinion and all that coming in three, two, one…
- Is The Prodigy a band worthy of a headlining spot? Undoubtedly.
- Is The Prodigy a band I wanted to see live? Absolutely.
- Is The Prodigy a band I want to see at a metal festival, taking the spot from actual metal bands also on tour at the same time? No, no they are not.
There’s a time and space, as the saying goes, and a niche metal (and rock) festival is neither the time nor the space for an electronic dance group, regardless of how well received their show was. Just as I can enjoy a Disney animation film now and again, I wouldn’t want to see it at Blodig Weekend (premiere horror film festival in Copenhagen), even if the older ones especially have some genuinely creepy parts in them. If I go to an Indian restaurant, I don’t expect to find rødgrød med fløde on the menu, nor would I get it if it was there. Suspekt, a Danish hip hop trio, has been reviewed at this very site as having a more metal attitude than most metal bands nowadays (and incidentally that’s been a top read review since we posted it) but I wouldn’t want them to play Copenhell either - because they’re not a metal band. If I buy a ticket for a metal show, then at the very least serve me metal, it really is that simple.

Moving on, but staying in the lane of commenting on bookings for another second; Copenhell had a few cancellations this year, some from pretty big names, and some with extremely short notice. This is of course unfortunate but not something the festival can be held accountable for. It was their job to fill the spots however, and I understand there being some questions on how this was handled. First of all, all due respect to the team for working with the situation they were given. I am in no way envious of their position.
However, let’s take a look at two spots reflected at this site (as we chose to review both bands). Myles Kennedy (outside of his solo stuff known for Alter Bridge and playing with Slash) couldn’t make his spot early Wednesday, so Vulvatorious was picked as the replacement. No diss on Vulvatorious, but objectively I don’t think anyone would argue against Myles Kennedy being the bigger name. So why Vulvatorious? My guess, and take it as that and only that, it’s because Vulvatorious was already booked to play the festival that day, on the mobile stage; something they still did, by the way.
Secondly, we’ve got Hardy, whom I personally don’t know (apparently he’s supposed to be a country singer/songwriter though? see previous reflection regarding metal festivals) being unable to play on his Thursday spot, so Kōya was picked as the replacement. I didn’t know either, but I assume Hardy is the bigger name. So why Kōya? My guess, and take it as that and only that, it’s because Kōya was already booked to play the festival that day, on the mobile stage; something they still did, by the way.
Do we sense a pattern? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure both bands were thrilled for the opportunity to play at a bigger stage, but looking at it another way, this was a perfect opportunity to book a band not already at the festival, and from looking through the festival’s Facebook threads, I can see bands jumping at the opportunity, saying they were free and willing to come play.
Given the already vocal critique of the line-up, why not grab a few new metal bands and throw in the mix? Your guess is as good as mine on this one.

Not to make this too bleak though, you should know that even though there weren’t any bands we felt compelled to go to Copenhell just to see them, there definitely were a good few bands we definitely didn’t want to miss when we were at the festival anyway. Yes, this was a year where being at the festival itself was a bigger pull than the bands it was presenting, and while it seems to have worked out - lots and lots of visitors and all that - it could be a risky move to make. It works for Wacken of course, but Copenhell isn’t Wacken (nor do I hope it will become it). A strong line-up is alpha and omega here, unless of course I’m just an old stogie and everyone else is fine with Copenhell becoming a more mixed genre type festival.
Now, in my position of old stogie, and having the privilege of being a white male to boot, I do want to take the time to highlight the fact that Copenhell had clearly decided to become a more mixed festival especially when it came to genders. To my mind, Copenhell has always been at the forefront of this compared to other metal festivals, but this year they brought it to a whole new level. There were an impressive amount of bands that were female fronted (Skunk Anansie, Within Temptation, etc.), some that were all female (Kittie, Myrkur), and even more that had at least one female musician in their ranks (Skillet, Slomosa, etc.). Well done on inclusivity, and I do mean that.

There were, of course, great gigs along the way, some familiar and some new surprises as well. Straight off the bat, I’d probably say that my favourite was Gåte. Admittedly, a fairly new acquaintance of mine, but their fun, energetic, and unique performance blew me away! Soulfly showed a remarkable return to form, and Abbath was as entertaining as always, just to name a few.
We only made it to one show at Gehenna, but watching Danefae there was well worth it. Since there was no Smadreland this year (RIP old friend), Copenhell had installed a ministage in that area of the festival, hosting a few new and not yet large bands, as I understood it. We didn’t manage to see any of them sadly, but we did get a glimpse of knight fighting performed by the Aros Buhurt Club as part of the Mad Hell Games shows, which apparently also included a competition in pipe smoking of all things.
There have been some less than favourable comments made of the musical program, but contrary to what that might lead anyone to believe, it should be known that we didn’t participate in many of the numerable sideshow activities that Copenhell offers for the simple reason that while we were at the festival, it was a pretty much stacked wall to wall card of music for us. There was always something to watch, and that in itself is pretty damned good, I have to say. Even if we weren’t there from the minute the gates were opened, we were there from early on all the way to when the final bands rung out on their respective stages almost every day, with only Saturday providing us with a bit of a sleep in, and an early evening - a little earlier than planned, as I was curious to see what Blood Incantation would bring to the table, but by this time, we were pretty beat, and had to accept our fate.

So there you go, four furious days of manic metal music. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

As always though, that’s not all, is it? Copenhell is a festival that has completely mastered the art of sideshows and extra curricular entertainment. Other festivals have these as well, it’s not unique, but none have it to the extent and quality that I know of from Copenhell.
Fighting knights have been mentioned, and there were fighting vikings as well, as well as fighting modern day men and women from the Nordic Elite Wrestling federation.
Couple that with less combative activities such as table soccer, snakeshows, TTRPG’s, (were any of these really less combative..?) and much much more, and you’ll begin to have an inkling of an idea of all the stuff we missed because of music!
We did not miss it all though, and we’re happy to report that both the classic live karaoke party known as Openhell, where members of the audience take turn in singing their favourite metal tracks with a live band on stage in the Biergarten, was very much alive and kicking, and the relatively new addition of a Copenhell Music Bingo in the same location (though not at the same time, obviously) was a highly enjoyable pastime as well, filled with good music, weird prizes, and terrible dad jokes.
In the latter, I must praise the openness and kindness of the Copenhell audience. While we arrived a little late for the event and a few songs had already played, the people sitting next to us were more than willing to share what names they had already found, bringing us up to speed without the shadow of competitive secrecy.

Speaking of shadows, can we address the weather for one second? I know this topic is something the festival has absolutely zero control over, but still. This has got to be the Copenhell with the best weather since its inception! I think, though I don’t have the numbers on me, that this is quite possibly the first Copenhell ever without a drop of rain! And given the absolute downpour the city saw the very day the festival was over and for several days to come, things couldn’t have worked out any better!
What could have worked out better however, given the state of things, in particular given the weather situation, was the queueing. Maybe the festival this year should have been renamed Køpenhell, because oh my Lord! Now, impressively, the beer and drink booths didn’t see any queues, or I didn’t experience any at least, even during the biggest concerts, and people needed to drink. The line for the free water however, was unforgivably long, and that was still nothing when compared to the lines for the loos! Men had it a whole lot easier, as I never experienced any lines to speak of for the pissoirs, but for women (and men needing a sit down) - I honestly don’t know how they did it! The remarkable feats of restraint while waiting should have elicited some kind of award!

We’ve praised Copenhell in the past for their variety of food, and it was definitely a smorgasbord of options this year as well, including several proper meals for vegetarians and vegans, but also here, the queues were beyond the pale, I’m sad to say, as were the prices in most places. The worst one I encountered was a regular Parisian toast for 90 DKK! Regardless of what you can make it for at home (it’ll always be cheaper), I’d say even if you went for one in a kiosk or gas station in town, you’d never pay more than maybe 25-30 DKK a piece, as a comparison.
There were more hospitably priced places as well though. For instance, for only 20-30 DKK more than the toast, you could get an entire pizza, or in another place a large veggie burger menu with fries and dip, so there were good places to go to as well. I missed my broccoli durum from previous years, or maybe I just couldn’t find it, but said pizza and especially the veggie burger place were definitely the places to go.

Given that Copenhell is mostly operated by volunteers, praise has to go to the relentless work of the people who keep the wheels greased. From the people picking up trash, and this is one of the cleanest festivals I can think of, to the stage guards who’re always ready to safely grab and help guests who’re thrown at them, to the people working the various stands and booths, I only encountered happy, smiling people, glad to be of service. Even when the network broke down, and guests had to stand in line just waiting for the card payments to be operational again, they still managed to stay on top and keep it all positive, so well done!

In conclusion, Copenhell 2025, for all the things that have room for improvement, was a highly enjoyable festival. You can evolve, certainly, just don’t lose track of your roots while doing so. Most of all, I hope for a killer line-up next year, and that something is done with the lines - especially those for the bathrooms. Apart from that, I just hope they’ll keep up the good work, and keep delivering the amazing festival we’ve come to grow accustomed to over the years.