Tons of Rock: the Breakdown (Part One)
Over the last few years, Norwegian rock and metal festival Tons of Rock has been growing in popularity, with visitors travelling from all over the world to attend the Ekeberg site for four days of Nordic music celebration. With performances ranging widely from pop-punk to black metal, alongside festival first appearances and legendary bands playing final shows, this year’s edition has likely been the biggest and most diverse yet in terms of attendance, atmosphere and line-up strength.
Smaller than festivals like Download, Hellfest or Rock am Ring, it still pulls major headliners from the summer circuit, with this year featuring Bring Me The Horizon, Iron Maiden, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts (as a last-minute replacement for Yungblud due to health issues) and Limp Bizkit, all drawing large and diverse crowds.
Wednesday
The first day at a new festival can feel daunting. From wristband collection and security checks to learning the site layout, nerves are common. That wasn’t the case at ToR. Check-in is smooth and friendly, security is warm and approachable, and everyone’s English is probably better than that of some native speakers.
One of the first things I noticed was how well run the festival is. There’s plenty of seating without allowing the dreaded camping chairs in the festival grounds, the layout is easy to follow and there are multiple water points. Even when they struggled in the scorching heat, the issue was resolved almost instantly. A medical tent offered sunscreen and assistance when needed, alongside countless other thoughtful touches.
The Vampire stage is opened by thrash legends Cavalera Conspiracy, formed by brothers Max Cavalera and Iggor Cavalera (founders of Sepultura). They are set to play their most influential album ‘Chaos A.D’ in full; however, due to a power cut in the wider Oslo area, their set is unfortunately cut short.
Trivium take the main stage by storm. Having been on one of the strongest festival runs the band has ever put together, their heavy riffs and larger-than-life personalities shine bright in the Oslo sun. With a considerable amount of pyro blazing from all corners of the stage from the start of ‘Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr’ to crowd chants and a sea of crowdsurfers lasting all the way through the ringing notes of ‘In Waves’, they showcase once again that they are one of heavy metal’s strongest live bands.
Back on Vampire, BABYMETAL’s curse when it comes to European festivals seems to continue at ToR. Due to the earlier power cut, the set gets delayed by approximately 45 minutes. The tech teams recover quickly, and they are fortunately able to carry on, putting on their ever-so-tight performance to a crowd who has not wavered at all in spite of the technical issues. They play through all of their hit songs, from ‘from me to u’ to ‘RATATATA’ and ‘Gimme Chocolate’.
Thursday
Apocalyptica have long been celebrated in both Finnish metal circles and internationally, rising to worldwide fame with their cello covers of Metallica’s greatest hits back in the 90s. More than 30 years later, they remain one of metal’s most unique acts. Their set on the Scream stage is a tribute to Metallica, featuring the iconic covers that first made them famous.
Back on the Vampire stage, Swedish Imminence are making their Tons of Rock debut. The band has been on a consistent rise over the last few years, arriving straight from the Australian leg of the Violent Nature tour with I Prevail, where they served as main support. With new music and a recent signing to Sumerian Records, this is one performance not to miss. Ever theatrical yet flawlessly executed, complete with cathedral-inspired stage design and sharp elegance, they run through their biggest songs, including ‘Temptation’, ‘Heaven Shall Burn’ and the newly released ‘The Sword That Never Bends’, before closing with their most popular track, ‘The Black’, proving once again why their signature blend of classical violin and metalcore darkness is such a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, this was the only brutal clash of the week for me, as Canadian artist grandson was playing the Moonlight stage at the same time. I still managed to catch part of the set, and it’s clear he’s beloved across the world. I also witnessed what was probably the biggest mosh pit of the week during ‘Blood//Water’, the track that first brought him into the mainstream back in 2018. Since then, grandson has moved away from a largely electronic sound, but he remains firmly committed to themes of politics, equality, dystopia and everything that’s wrong with the world. There are very few artists as relevant in the current climate, and he remains highly recommended as a live act. His latest album, ‘INERTIA’, is also well worth a listen.
Next up were Suicidal Tendencies. Formed in 1981 as a hardcore punk band before shifting toward thrash influences on their second album, they brought infectious energy to Tons of Rock. Singer Mike Muir, the only remaining founding member, gave everything on stage. His unique spoken-word and singing style, somewhere between hardcore shouting and rhythmic speech, was intense yet tightly controlled. Starting with chugging riffs on ‘You Can’t Bring Me Down’ and tearing through ‘Possessed to Skate’, they ran through a wide selection of their catalog, all punctuated by Muir’s humour.
Where Suicidal Tendencies leaned into eccentricity to win over the audience, East Coast thrash veterans Anthrax are far more straightforward. There’s nothing especially theatrical about their set, but after four decades of helping define the genre alongside Megadeth and Slayer, they don’t really need any embellishment to stand out.Their setlist leaned into the classics, including ‘Caught in a Mosh’ and ‘Indians’ from Among the Living (1987), as well as their well-known cover of ‘Antisocial’ by Trust. They even opened with The Blues Brothers cover ‘I Can’t Turn You Loose’, before rounding things off with ‘It’s for the Kids’ from their upcoming album Curium Perficio, due for release soon.
Finally, we end the day on Swiss beatdowns courtesy of Paleface Swiss, who are headlining the Moonlight stage in Norway for the first time. Having exploded in popularity over the last couple of years, they deliver their crushing blend of deathcore and nu metal, alongside the newly released power ballad ‘Everything is Fine’ from The Wilted, released in January 2026. The band is in the middle of their most successful festival season to date, and even as Tons of Rock nears the end of its run, the energy shows no signs of fading. They rip through staples like ‘Hatred’, ‘Nail to the Tooth’ and ‘Let Me Sleep’, before closing with ‘Please End Me’. Throughout it all, Marc ‘Zelli’ Zellweger has the crowd firmly in the palm of his hand. Their tent set is a spectacle of pyro, heavy moshing, aggressively additive energy and a conveyor band of crowd surfers.
Part two covering days 3 and 4 coming soon.