This was the case at SUMMER BREEZE (2/2) with WARDRUNA, TARJA & MARK HIETALA, PRIMORDIAL, HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY and many more.

August 13-16, 2025, Dinkelsbühl

Summer Breeze 2025 once again offered an energetic and varied line-up and, in addition to the perfect organization, provided a number of happy moments for the almost 45,000 fans. In the first part, we talked about the performances of ASP, Within Temptation, In Extremo, Dimmu Borgir and many more. You can read the report here.

After another hot night, Friday began very hot and humid and oppressive, which affected the circulation of many visitors. Fortunately, the helpfulness of the fans and staff was outstanding throughout the day and everyone was well looked after. In the early afternoon, a severe thunderstorm hit the festival site with some heavy rain. Apart from a few new biotopes, however, the entire ground coped well with the rain and the concerts continued without interruption – with a little less heat and dust. Haematon provided an emotional concert in memory of West, who passed away two years ago. Thousands of the audience held up a picture of the former bassist and celebrated his memory with a superhuman energy in the pit. Blind Guardian followed up and transported us to Middle Earth. Although Hansi Kürsch’s voice seemed a little weakened, he was able to master the evening bravely. What’s more, the audience sang along loudly and confidently, so that the stage faded into the background at times. A short evening relaxation followed with Wardruna. Their epic Viking songs made the Summer Breeze listen attentively in the balmy summer air and impressed with their epic sound and vocal artistry. The alternative awaited on the T-Stage, where first Obituary challenged the fans with their powerful sound before Harakiri for the Sky closed the evening quietly but impressively with their dark atmosphere and intense sounds.

Saturday was, fortunately for all those present, much cooler, even if new storms were already on the horizon, which fortunately did not reach the Summer Breeze. Fiddler’s Green played their violins on the Main Stage and the Breeze celebrated lively into the last day. Despite the last hot days in hell, the atmosphere was brilliant, and the band noticed that from the very first minute. With Tarja & Marko Hietala, we initially only got to hear Tarja solo. It wasn’t until the middle of the set that Marko joined them and revived old Nightwish nostalgia when they performed a few songs as a duet. Beast in Black kept the mood high with their power metal and created a massive atmosphere on the infield. Both the band and the audience were vocally strong.

Machine Head followed as the headliner, and the following performance was as rousing as a storm that swept everything away. The band seemed so motivated that it was outrageous. The decades of metal energy had probably been transferred from the square to Rob Flynn. The gig left nothing to be desired and ended with a complete firework display over the Main Stage. On the T-Stage, Primordial provided the right goosebumps with their pagan metal and filled the infield late in the evening. For the night owls, the show continued with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, who tickled the last energy out of the fans with lots of pyro. Anyone who hadn’t had enough music in the last few days now only had one chance: Cypecore. Due to the late hour – it was already after 2 a.m. – the stage show came into its own better than with any other band. The sudden silence after the gig perfectly underlined the band’s post-apocalyptic theme, albeit somewhat unintentionally.

You have to take your hat off to the organizers of Summer Breeze: As always, there was hardly any criticism of the impeccable organization. The 45,000 fans were able to party safely and exuberantly in the brutal heat, and there were no noticeable difficulties in the running of the festival. In particular, the helpfulness of everyone present was enormous during the days. This is precisely the reason why Summer Breeze is now one of the best quality festivals in Europe. – We are already looking forward to next year! (Text: Birger Treimer)

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