List of heavy metal festivals
This is an incomplete list of heavy metal festivals. Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United States and the United Kingdom. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the first heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, and during the late 1960s and mid-1970s these bands and others in their genre were featured at a number of historic rock festivals. Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence.
After the genre fused with other related genres such as punk rock in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Saxon followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as "metalheads" or "headbangers", and there were festivals worldwide, both touring and stationary, dedicated to heavy metal subgenres and heavy metal itself. During the 1980s, glam metal became a commercial force, while Underground scenes and extreme subgenres of metal such as death metal and black metal remained subcultural phenomena, though they have their own dedicated festivals as well. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles have further expanded the definition of the genre.
Historical heavy metal festivals
Current heavy metal festivals
Argentina
| Festival name | Location | Status | Approx. time of year | Notes |
| :es:Maximus Festival|Maximus Festival | Buenos Aires | 2016 - 2017 | May | In the edition of 2017 Chester Bennington played for last time with Linkin Park in Argentina. |
| Monsters Of Rock | Buenos Aires | Last Festival - 2017 | various | |
| :es:La Cumbre Del Metal|La Cumbre Del Metal | various | 2001 - 2017 | various | |
| Quilmes Rock | Buenos Aires | Last Festival - 2012 | various | Not only metal, but the genre had the lead in various editions of the festival. |
| :es:Metal Rock Festival|Metal Rock Festival | various | Last Festival - 2003 | various |
Armenia
| Festival name | Location | Status | Approx. time of year | Notes |
| MetalFront Fest | Yerevan | Last festival - 2008 | November |
Australia
Austria
Nova RockKaltenbach Open Air
Rise up Festival
Bangladesh
Noize Fest Open Airhttps://www.facebook.com/noise.factory2009/?eid=ARArkQ8JrXinvfBBIpnSWTJT_wZ3rElhoR-xLnRzSfi-k_aoBf8BSsbAtCmRbDWdcfvKehzmvbcN4_NL
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
| Festival name | Location | Status | Approx. time of year | Notes |
| Quito Fest |
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
| Festival name | Location | Status | Approx. time of year | Notes |
| Eistnaflug | Neskaupstaður | Active | July | featuring death, black, thrash metal and other rock music |