Did the 2026 lineup feel… repetitive to you?

That was one of the recurring topics of conversation throughout the three days of the festival. Every time it came up, I shared my opinion without hesitation, and I still stand firmly by it: Steelfest could book the exact same lineup year after year and still be the best festival in Europe. I don’t have much to say about the bands themselves. They’re always great, and honestly, I wouldn’t even know how to rank one above another. If anything, as the years go by, I find myself carrying more gear, more cameras, more things that need to be prepared and managed. Inevitably, that means sacrificing parts of the sets to make sure everything is ready when I need it to be.

The downside is that I can no longer experience the shows in the same way I used to. Gone are the days of spending entire performances in the pit, completely immersed in the chaos and energy of the moment. These days, I’m often thinking about batteries, film rolls, lenses, audio recorders, and whether everything is actually working. t’s a different way of experiencing the festival. Not necessarily worse, but certainly less immediate than it once was.

Everything I managed to see, I thoroughly enjoyed and honestly, I don’t care if some of these are bands I’ve seen over and over again. Satanic Warmaster? Yes, please. Archgoat? I missed them! I want them back every single year, god damn it.

At this point, seeing certain bands at Steelfest feels less like ticking names off a checklist and more like meeting old friends. Their presence is part of the ritual. Part of what makes the festival feel like Steelfest. Maybe that’s another reason why I don’t really care if the lineup repeats itself. Some things are worth coming back to again and again and I will die holding this hill.