Renowned for unleashing one of Western Canada’s most punishing festival experiences, Loud As Hell Open Air Festival returns with another year of crushing performances, freak shows, burlesque acts, clinics, vendors, and, naturally, dinosaurs.
Loud As Hell isn’t just a festival; it’s a full‑throttle celebration of metal chaos. Set against the rugged expanse of Alberta’s badlands, where carved sandstone, towering hoodoos, and sweeping canyons dominate the horizon, Canada’s loudest extreme‑music gathering unveils its 2026 lineup featuring FALLUJAH, ALLEGAEON, SUMMONING THE LICH, GRAVEMASS, CRIMSON SHADOWS, STARKILL, SUPER MONSTER PARTY, MOURNING HIGH, EDGE OF PARADISE, HOG MEETS FROG, and many more.
Hosted in Drumheller, AB, from July 31st to August 2nd at the Dinosaurs Down Stampede, the festival’s 14th edition erupts with the ferocity of rising Canadian and international metal acts. This year’s roar echoes through the heart of the country’s largest dinosaur fossil beds, promising an unforgettable weekend of pure sonic devastation.
Weekend Passes (July 31 – Aug 2) are available at https://loudashell.ca/shop/
This weekend pass grants you full access to all the headbanging, moshing, and metal mayhem that Loud As Hell Open Air offers.
Headlining the closing night of the festival are progressive death‑metal titans Fallujah, who released their sixth studio album, “Xenotaph,” on June 13, 2025, through Nuclear Blast Records. The band describes it as their most technical, dynamic, and progressive work to date, expanding on the direction set by “Empyrean” while exploring a sci‑fi conceptual landscape.
Album Stream – Xenotaph – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p30_S3d5pCQ
Headlining night two of the festival, Allegaeon brings a razor‑sharp fusion of technical mastery and soaring melody to the stage. Their sound balances blistering precision with sweeping, emotionally charged songwriting. With the return of original vocalist Ezra Haynes, the band has entered one of its strongest eras yet. Their performances are known for being both surgically tight and explosively energetic. On any festival bill, Allegaeon stand out as a powerhouse of modern melodic death metal.
Music Video – Waking Circles – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69dc2UIE-w
Headlining opening night, Summoning the Lich is a fantasy‑driven technical death‑metal band from St. Louis, known for blending high‑speed precision with rich, lore‑heavy storytelling. Their latest album, “Under the Reviled Throne,” was released in July 2024 via Prosthetic Records. The record expands their ongoing dark‑fantasy universe, raising the stakes with a more focused, streamlined approach to songwriting. They’ve spent the past three years touring extensively across the U.S., sharing stages with Allegaeon, Gorod, Inferi, Vale of Pnath, and Abigail Williams. With their explosive live energy and cinematic world‑building, Summoning the Lich brings a uniquely immersive, high‑intensity presence to the festival lineup.
Music Video – My Horrors Unending – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25omoUK_JLI
Other band highlights on this year’s lineup are Gravemass, channeling a bleak, ritual‑driven strain of black metal that feels carved straight from the void. Their sound fuses suffocating atmosphere with an unrelenting, punishing intensity. With their debut album “This Is the Way” on the horizon this coming March 2026, the band is poised to push their occult‑laden vision into a new chapter. Onstage, they deliver a hypnotic and overwhelming presence that pulls crowds deep into their darkness. On any festival lineup, Gravemass stands out as a grim, commanding force built for total sonic devastation.
Music Video – This Is The Way – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR9gy-AD8-E
Crimson Shadows return with their signature blend of high‑velocity melodic death metal and triumphant, power‑metal‑infused storytelling. Their newest chapter is fueled by fresh material and renewed momentum after years of silence. The band continues to sharpen their heroic, battle‑driven sound with soaring melodies and relentless speed. Their live performances erupt with anthemic energy built for massive festival crowds. Crimson Shadows stand out as a blazing force of epic, melodic fury.
Music Video Defenders of the Crown – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9S0Wyat6Uw
Starkill continues to refine their blend of melodic death metal and symphonic power metal with renewed force. Their most recent release is the 2025 re‑recorded edition of “Be Dead or Die,” highlighting their updated sound and lineup. The band has remained active onstage, including late‑2025 U.S. shows and appearances at events like Mad With Power Fest. They’ve also teased new music in development, signaling more to come.
Music Video – Be Dead or Die – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFq9b_3E7ug
Super Monster Party explodes onto the stage with a high‑energy fusion of metal, punk, and chaotic party‑themed theatrics. Their sound is fast, fun, and unapologetically wild, built for crowds that want to move. The band’s over‑the‑top performances turn every set into a full‑blown spectacle. They’ve been gaining momentum across the underground scene with their tongue‑in‑cheek intensity and infectious hooks.
Music Video- Test Your Might – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9biyqu3qk
Mourning High is a rising force from Arizona/ California, blending crushing heaviness with emotional, melodic intensity. Their sound moves between atmospheric tension and hard‑hitting riffs, driven by powerful vocal dynamics. In 2025, they won the Wacken Metal Battle USA, earning a coveted performance slot at Wacken Open Air and making a strong international debut. Their live shows hit with raw energy and vulnerability, pulling crowds in immediately.
Vendetta – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In6unLebvLM
Edge of Paradise is a cinematic hard‑rock/metal force from Los Angeles, known for their fusion of electronic textures, industrial edge, and soaring melodic hooks. Their newest album, “Prophecy,” was released in March 2025 via Napalm Records. The record marks their sixth studio release and explores themes of AI, humanity, and the looming “Singularity.” The band remains active on the road, including 2026 festival appearances such as Hyperspace Metal Festival in Vancouver and Rock in Rautheim in Germany. With their cinematic soundscapes and high‑energy performances, Edge of Paradise bring a futuristic, electrifying presence to the festival lineup.
Music Video – Falling Light – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxGA5ogRv0
Hog Meets Frog is an Austrian avant‑garde groove‑metal trio known for their wild fusion of funk, prog, jazz, and heavy riff‑driven chaos. Their self‑described “Frogcore” sound blends technical musicianship with eccentric humor and high‑energy theatrics. The band continues to build momentum across Europe with recent singles, new live sessions, and steady festival appearances. Their shows are unpredictable, explosive, and packed with quirky character work that turns every performance into a spectacle. Hog Meets Frog brings a vibrant, genre‑bending jolt of fun and ferocity to LAH this year.
Urbanizer – ft. Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PBE6BjOGuc
LOUD AS HELL OPEN AIR 2026
Thursday, July 30 – Kick-Off Party
Art Of Attrition (Red Deer, AB)
Fall Of Earth (Edmonton, AB)
All Was Lost (Edmonton, AB)
The Judge The Juror (Edmonton, AB)
Friday, July 31
Summoning The Lich (St. Louis, MO)
Circus Of Hell – Freak Show (Peace River, AB)
Starkill (Chicago, IL)
Iron Kingdom (Vancouver, BC)
Hazzardous Material. – Burlesque (Alberta)
Edge Of Paradise (Los Angeles, CA)
W.M.D. (Vancouver, BC)
Selias (Toronto, ON)
Citizen Rage (Calgary, AB)
Supermodel Taxidermy (Fort McMurray, AB)
Saturday, August 1
Allegaeon (Fort Collins, CO)
Gravemass (Vancouver, BC)
Hazzardous Material – Burlesque (Alberta)
Super Monster Party (South Florida)
Death Toll Rising (Edmonton, AB)
Autumn Lies Buried (Clarksville, TN)
The Behest Of Serpents (Canton, OH)
Cyanate (Reno, NV)
Arrow In The Quiver (Vancouver, BC)
Brain Stem (Edmonton, AB)
Savage Blade (Nelson, BC)
Shackled To The Throne (Edmonton, AB)
Hog Meets Frog (Vienna, Austria)
Decrepitation (Edmonton, AB)
Sunday, August 2
Fallujah (San Francisco, CA)
Circus Of Hell – Freak Show (Peace River, AB)
Crimson Shadows (Toronto, ON)
Hazzardous Material – Burlesque (Alberta)
Mourning High (Arizona/California)
Scream At The Sky (Pueblo, CO)
Dawn Vally (Toronto, ON)
Red Raven Chaos (Montreal, QC)
Spectre (Winnipeg, MB)
Die Another Day (Calgary, AB)
Unsilenced (Winnipeg, MB)
Devolver (Grande Prairie, AB)
Ditch Pisser (Alberta/BC)
Hellrager (Cornwall, ON)
Reject (Reject, SK)
Since launching in 2012, Loud As Hell Open Air Festival has cemented its place as a cornerstone of Canada’s extreme music scene, showcasing hundreds of bands from across the country and around the world, save for a brief pause in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years, the festival has hosted heavyweights like Revocation, First Fragment, Beyond Creation, Striker, Green Jelly, The Convalescence, Jungle Rot, Narcotic Wasteland, Into Eternity, Goatwhore, Fit for An Autopsy, Archspire, Unleash The Archers, Protest the Hero, AngelMaker, and many more, drawing metalheads from coast to coast for a weekend of sonic devastation.
More info:
LoudAsHell.ca
Facebook.com/LoudAsHellFestival
X: @LoudAsHellFest
Instagram: @LoudAsHellFestival
Social Media Hashtags #LAHXIV, #LAHOA, #LAHOA2026
LAH Partners:
WCMFA – Western Canadian Metal Festival Alliance
Asher Media Relations
Bravewords
Metal-Rules
Absolute Underground Mag
Ghost Cult Magazine
This Day In Metal
Valley Brewing
Canalta Hotels
Neighbours’ Corner Pub
Prairie Fire Productions Ltd
CFUV 101.9 Thrash Can
Slimbztv
High Voltage TV
Through The Looking Glass Photography
Heavy Metal A Way Of Life
QMR (Queen Metal Radio)
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