Often in life the old has to leave in order to make way for new and improved things. When Metaldays announced it’s moving to a different location after its 2022 edition, there was a lot of disappointment among people that such a beautiful festival location like Tolmin wouldn’t be getting any more metal festivals. It didn’t take long until we were treated to a lovely surprise, however, as in September a new festival was announced in Tolmin – Tolminator. Those of you with a keen sense of wit (or a television) will, of course, notice the clever pun based on the classic movie franchise Terminator, and much like the movies the festival also has a loveable (if trollish and green) character that shares the festival’s name. The festival will have bands performing for four days, between the 25th and the 28th of July 2023, with camping allowed on the 29th as well, giving you sufficient time to pack up and plan next year’s return.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to the most crucial thing – the festival’s lineup. It’s important to note Tolminator isn’t a massive festival and will be capped at 5000 attendees, which is something I’m personally a big fan of. The main headliner is the iconic German thrash metal band Sodom, which is a must-see band for any metalhead. Other headliners offer a varied selection in which you’re sure to find something for yourself, from the extreme Dying Fetus to a Finnish dichotomy of melodeath melancholy with Insomnium and folk metal party trolls Finntroll, and finally Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons who will be playing a set from the legendary Motörhead. Lastly, the festival will also host the absolute British metal onslaught that is Anaal Nathrakh – and given the rumours that they might be disbanding or at least not playing shows anymore this is something you really want to catch.

Naturally, there are a lot of smaller and mid-size bands as well and there are quite a few causes for excitement there, too. Firstly, there are the Swedish In Mourning, whose death prog style is what we wish Opeth still was. From Denmark comes one of the most energetic bands I’ve ever seen live and whose old school death metal is sure to impress you – Baest. Other bands that you really should try and check out include: Kvaen (Sweden/blackened viking metal), 1349 (Norway/black metal), Bølzer (Switzerland, black/death metal), Lost Society (Finland/thrash/groove metal), Ellende (Austria/post-black metal), and finally one of the coolest and most exciting bands that has surfaced in recent years – the German Kannonenfieber, a black metal band that focuses on World War I and completes its shows with brilliant stage outfits and a phenomenal live performance overall. This is a band that’s already important in the scene and going far. 

There are quite a few more bands that will be playing on either of the two Tolminator stages and all the details you might want are posted on https://tolminator.com. I certainly hope to see as many of you as possible there at this metal renaissance in Tolmin, which promises to be four days of just pure metal fun. You can find tickets at the following link: https://tolminator.mojekarte.si/en/all.html.

Tolminator is a promise that metal stays in Tolmin in the most idyllic festival location in the world and now you can as well.