Drums of War 2027 brings Hypocrisy, Dismember, Samael and Nile to Barcelona for their only shows in Spain

Extreme metal has a three-day date in Barcelona at the end of summer 2027. Drums of War holds its second edition from Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 August, with a warm-up on Wednesday 25, and has already announced 19 bands headed by Dismember, Hypocrisy, Samael and Nile. The three-day pass is on sale for €260, although the organisers have not yet said which venue will host it.

Drums of War 2027 line-up: 19 bands and no repeats

The festival is organised by the Asociación Manguales Extreme Metal Union and presents itself as an underground extreme metal event. The line-up follows suit: death, black and thrash, with veterans who have been active since the 1980s alongside bands formed this century, such as Midnight, founded in 2003.

The Swedish contingent is led by Dismember and Hypocrisy, two of the best-known names in their country's death metal, joined by the black/thrash of Gehennah. From the Netherlands come Asphyx, with their death/doom, and the death metal of Sinister and Pentacle. Americans Nile bring technical, brutal death metal.

On the black metal side are the Swiss Samael, the Norwegians Gorgoroth and Dødheimsgard, the Greeks Varathron, the Czechs Cult of Fire, the Germans Thulcandra and the Americans Spirit Possession. Rounding off the list are the Danish thrash of Artillery, the death metal of God Dethroned, the speed black n' roll of Midnight, the French death/thrash of Mercyless and the Finnish death metal of Concrete Winds.

None of these bands played the first edition, in August 2026, which featured Unleashed, 1349, Pestilence and Impaled Nazarene. The official poster adds two selling points: that every band will play its only concert in Spain, and that Varathron, Gehennah, Concrete Winds and Thulcandra are playing here for the first time. It also warns that more names will be confirmed.

Anniversaries and full albums: the special shows

Much of the line-up is not coming to promote a new album but to revisit a specific period. According to the festival's posters:

• Samael celebrate 40 years with a special set, focused on their early work according to TNT Radio Rock.
• Dødheimsgard will play songs from their 1995 to 1999 period.
• Artillery will perform Terror Squad, their 1987 album, in full.
• God Dethroned celebrate 30 years of The Grand Grimoire with an old-school set.
• Sinister will focus their show on Cross the Styx, Diabolical Summoning and Hate, their first three albums.
• Asphyx and Mercyless mark 40 years as a band, and Gorgoroth 35.

That makes eight anniversaries or fixed setlists among 19 bands. It is a line-up aimed at those who already know these albums and want to hear them live, rather than at discovering new music.

Warm-up on 25 August: Death SS and Vintersorg

The 2027 edition adds a day, Wednesday 25 August, as a warm-up. It is headlined by Italians Death SS, whom the festival presents as pioneers of horror-themed heavy metal and doom, with a show marking their 50 years that, according to the festival, will also be their first in Spain. They are joined by Swedes Vintersorg, with their folk- and progressive-rooted metal, whom the festival also announces as making their debut in the country.

The warm-up is not included in the three-day pass: it has its own ticket or can be bought together with the pass, as detailed below.

Tickets: €260 for the three-day pass

Tickets are sold on the official Drums of War website, which links to the Weeztix shop. These were the prices on 24 October, each with a €0.50 fee:

• Three-day pass (26, 27 and 28 August): €260.
• Warm-up (25 August): €60.
• Three-day pass with warm-up: €300, €20 less than buying the two tickets separately.
• Day ticket (Thursday, Friday or Saturday): not yet on sale.

Nor does the website yet sell tokens for drinks, food and merchandise.

€260 is a high price for three days. For context, the four-day pass for Leyendas del Rock 2027, from 11 to 14 August in Villena, costs €180. But they are not comparable festivals: Leyendas is a large-scale festival with a broader heavy metal and rock line-up, while Drums of War focuses on niche bands playing their only date in Spain. The distinction matters for anyone who only wants to see one or two bands. Until day tickets are released, the only way to see them is to pay for the full pass.

Venue, set times and day tickets: what is still missing

The first edition was held at Atlantic Sound BCN, but the 2027 venue has not been confirmed. The venue page on the festival's website says information about the hall, access and services will be available soon. On 14 October the website Metal Korner ran a headline saying the festival had confirmed a 'new venue', although the article itself does not name it.

Nor is it known which bands play on which day or at what time: the website lists this as still to be confirmed. For anyone travelling from elsewhere, this means that for now only the dates can be fixed, from 25 or 26 to 28 August. If you book accommodation or transport now, it is wise to make sure it allows cancellation, as the venue may change how you get there and back.

The Drums of War page brings together the line-up and dates for this edition, and the city's other events are in the festivals in Barcelona listings. This autumn, ModoFestival has covered two other metal events in Catalonia: CastellHell in Castellvell del Camp and Okkult Session in Barcelona.

Sources: official Drums of War website (home page, line-up, tickets and venue) and Weeztix shop, consulted on 24 October 2026; Metal Legion (1 September), TNT Radio Rock (2 October), Metal Bizarre (6 October) and Metal Korner (14 October 2026).