Summer Breeze Open Air is an annual heavy metal music festival held in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria, Germany. Since its first event in 1997 and its relocation from Abtsgmünd to Dinkelsbühl in 2006, the festival has become one of Germany’s largest of its kind, drawing approximately 40,000 people each year. For five days in August, a local airfield is repurposed to host the event, which includes extensive camping grounds allowing attendees to park vehicles alongside their tents.

The festival’s organizers adhere to a stated policy of creating a balanced and diverse lineup, featuring bands from numerous heavy metal subgenres. This approach includes both internationally recognized acts and newer bands. The 2025 edition features headliners In Extremo, Gojira, Blind Guardian, and Machine Head, each representing different facets of the genre.

History of the Festival

The festival’s origins trace back to 1997 in the Swabian town of Abtsgmünd. It was started by promoter Achim Ostertag and his band, Voodoo Kiss, who organized the event to create a performance opportunity for themselves. The first Summer Breeze was held in a tent on the town’s fairground. After a one-year hiatus in 1998, the festival returned in 1999, still in a tent, before expanding to a three-day open-air format in 2000.

Throughout its time in Abtsgmünd, the festival grew steadily, hosting bands that would become staples of the European metal scene, including In Flames, Nightwish, Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth, Kreator, and In Extremo.

By 2005, the event’s increasing popularity had pushed the Abtsgmünd location to its maximum capacity, necessitating a move. A new, larger site was found at an airfield in the neighboring Bavarian town of Dinkelsbühl, which became the festival’s home from 2006 onwards. The change of location facilitated further growth, with attendance growing to approximately 40,000 people annually in recent years.

The festival celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017 with special shows and a large lineup. Over the years, the event has established a positive relationship with the local community in Dinkelsbühl, where the attendees are now considered welcome guests.

Summer Breeze Open Air Festival: Headliners

Beyond the opening night, the festival continues with a powerful roster of headliners, featuring the French progressive metal group Gojira, the German power metal bards Blind Guardian, and the American groove metal pioneers Machine Head.

In Extremo’s Wednesday Performance

The German band In Extremo is scheduled to headline on Wednesday, the festival’s opening night. The group’s formation in Berlin in 1995 was unconventional, originating from two distinct projects: one was a purely acoustic ensemble that performed at medieval markets, while the other was a conventional rock band.

The name In Extremo, Latin for “At the Edge,” was adopted in April 1995. Initially, the two groups performed separately until their first joint rock concert on March 29, 1997, a date the band now considers its official establishment. The projects were formally merged in January 1998.

Their musical style, often categorized as medieval metal or folk metal, is defined by the integration of modern rock instruments like electric guitars, bass, and drums with a wide array of historical European instruments. These include multiple types of bagpipes, some of which are custom-built, as well as the hurdy-gurdy, shawm, nyckelharpa, harp, and cittern. This blend creates a sound that is rooted in historical folk traditions while being presented with the volume and intensity of modern metal.

The band’s connection to history extends to their lyrical content. Rather than writing original fantasy narratives, they frequently adapt historical texts from a variety of sources and languages. Their repertoire includes songs derived from the ‘Carmina Burana,’ a medieval collection of poems; the writings of fifteenth-century French poet François Villon, translated into German; and ancient ecclesiastical texts such as the “Wessebronner Gebet.”

They perform these pieces in multiple languages, including German, Latin, and other archaic tongues, maintaining a direct link to the historical source material. While their early work consisted mainly of rearranging traditional songs, the band has increasingly written its own material, which is primarily in German.

Over time, their music has become heavier and more commercially successful, with albums like ‘Sängerkrieg’ (2008), ‘Sterneneisen’ (2011), and ‘Quid Pro Quo’ (2016) all reaching number one on the German charts. Their live performances are a significant component of their identity, characterized by elaborate stage costumes and the use of pyrotechnics, including instances of performers playing instruments that have been set on fire.

This theatricality has been noted for its influence on the stage shows of other bands. The Summer Breeze appearance is one stop on their 2025 tour, which also includes other European festivals and arena dates, such as a show in Berlin in December 2025.

Thursday: Gojira

Gojira will headline the festival on Thursday. The band was formed in Ondres, France, in 1996, originally under the name Godzilla. The group, led by brothers Joe and Mario Duplantier, was initially turned down by record labels, which led them to establish their own independent label to release their music.

Their musical style incorporates elements of technical death metal and progressive metal. The band’s lyrics address subjects of philosophy, spirituality, and environmentalism. Gojira has received multiple Grammy nominations and won the 2025 award for Best Metal Performance for their song ‘Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!),’ which they performed at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Their performance at Summer Breeze is part of a world tour.

Friday: Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian is the headliner for Friday. The band formed in Krefeld, Germany, in 1984 as Lucifer’s Heritage and was part of the German speed and power metal genres. Their music is characterized by melodic guitar, orchestral arrangements, and multi-layered vocal harmonies from singer Hansi Kürsch.

The band is known for lyrics based on the works of fantasy authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, and George R.R. Martin. Their 1998 album ‘Nightfall in Middle-Earth’ is a concept album based on Tolkien’s ‘The Silmarillion.’ Blind Guardian is scheduled for a North American tour in late 2025.

Saturday: Machine Head

Machine Head will close the festival as the headliner on Saturday. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1991 by Robb Flynn, the band was part of the new wave of American heavy metal. Their 1994 debut album, ‘Burn My Eyes,’ combined thrash, groove, and hardcore punk elements.

The band’s style has changed over time; they released albums like ‘The Burning Red’ during the late 1990s that incorporated nu-metal elements, which drew criticism from some listeners. Later albums, such as 2007’s ‘The Blackening,’ returned to a thrash metal sound. The band is known for its intense live performances and is touring major European festivals in 2025.

Featured Performers Across the Festival

In addition to its prominent headliners, the festival’s complete schedule is designed to represent a wide spectrum of heavy music, featuring dozens of bands that cover styles ranging from symphonic and folk metal to various forms of metalcore and classic thrash.

Symphonic Metal Acts

The lineup includes two well-known symphonic metal bands. Dimmu Borgir, from Norway, formed in 1993 and combines black metal with symphonic orchestration. The band has recorded with full orchestras.

Within Temptation, from the Netherlands, was formed in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their 1997 debut album, ‘Enter,’ was influenced by gothic and doom metal, establishing them in the Dutch underground scene. The band’s sound evolved with their second album, ‘Mother Earth’ (2000), which shifted towards a more melodic and symphonic style.

This change brought them widespread public recognition, particularly with the single ‘Ice Queen,’ which reached number two on the Dutch charts. Subsequent albums continued this trajectory; ‘The Silent Force’ (2004) was an ambitious project that featured a full orchestra and an 80-voice choir, achieving significant commercial success across Europe. Over their career, the band has continued to experiment with their sound.

‘The Unforgiving’ (2011) was a concept album influenced by 1980s pop and rock, while ‘Hydra’ (2014) included guest vocalists from different genres, such as Howard Jones, rapper Xzibit, Tarja Turunen, and Dave Pirner. Their later work saw further evolution, with 2019’s ‘Resist’ incorporating industrial and EDM elements, and their most recent album, ‘Bleed Out’ (2023), drawing from metalcore and djent.

Nordic Folk Music

The Norwegian group Wardruna offers a stark contrast, performing music that aims to interpret and revive ancient Norse cultural and spiritual traditions. Led by composer Einar Selvik, the group uses historical and traditional Nordic instruments like the kraviklyra, tagelharpa, and goat horn, as well as sounds from nature.

Their music gained international recognition after being featured prominently in the television series ‘Vikings,’ for which founder Einar Selvik also served as a composer and appeared as an actor.

German Metal Acts

A number of German bands are also scheduled to perform. This includes the thrash metal band Destruction, a group considered one of the “Big Four” of German thrash metal alongside Kreator, Sodom, and Tankard. Formed in 1982 as Knight of Demon before quickly changing their name, the group initially drew inspiration from bands like Iron Maiden but quickly pivoted to a more aggressive style influenced by Venom, becoming a key architect of the sound that would evolve into black metal.

Their first releases, the 1984 EP ‘Sentence of Death’ and the 1985 full-length album ‘Infernal Overkill,’ established their reputation. After a period of instability and lineup changes in the 1990s, which included the departure and eventual return of founding vocalist/bassist Schmier, the band signed with Nuclear Blast Records in the early 2000s and has since released numerous albums, including ‘The Antichrist’ (2001) and ‘Diabolical’ (2022).

Their music is characterized by aggressive, high-tempo thrash and speed metal, with lyrical themes often addressing politics, social issues, and anti-religion. They are joined by other German acts, including the Neue Deutsche Härte band Hämatom and the speed-folk group Fiddler’s Green.

Conclusion

Summer Breeze Open Air 2025 will be held from August 13-16, 2025, with camper arrival beginning on August 12, at the Sinbronn Airfield in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria, Germany. Tickets are available for purchase through the official festival shop at sbtix.de. A full festival pass, which includes camping access, is priced from €239.99. Parking passes must be purchased separately and entail an additional fee.

Single-day tickets for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday can also be purchased, with each priced from €89.99. Additional options, such as a wide range of camping, parking, and comfort add-ons, can be purchased separately through the official shop.