South of Heaven 2027: Epica, Children of Bodom and Kreator to headline Maastricht
The Dutch festival takes place from 4 to 6 June 2027. Epica will celebrate 25 years as a band there and revive their 'Epic Metal Fest'.
Archive image · Photo: S. Bollmann / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Maastricht metal festival South of Heaven has announced its first headliners for 2027: Epica, Children of Bodom and Kreator. The third edition will take place from 4 to 6 June 2027 in a city park next to a former gas storage facility, a relic of the city's industrial past. Each of the three bands will headline one day.
Symphonic metal band Epica, who hail from the Limburg region, will curate the Friday line-up to mark their 25th anniversary, reviving their 'Epic Metal Fest', which has not been held for more than ten years. They have picked Lacuna Coil and Ad Infinitum as their first guests. Finland's Children of Bodom split in 2019, and singer Alexi Laiho died in 2020. The band has been back on stage since February 2026 and has confirmed further festivals for 2027, including Wacken Open Air and Brutal Assault.
The third headliner is Essen thrash metal veterans Kreator, whose 16th album 'Krushers Of The World' came out in January 2026. According to VISIONS, weekend tickets start at 255 euros, day tickets at 90 euros and two-day tickets at 180 euros. They are sold through the festival's official ticket shop.