Once a year thousands of metalheads come from all over the world to visit one particular festival in Northern Germany. For those who tend to become claustrophobic amidst 80,000 sweaty metalheads, but like to enjoy a top-quality lineup nonetheless (and don't happen to live close to Clisson) Summer Breeze in Dinkelsbühl, South Germany is a more than worthy alternative.

The lineup offers something for everyone. Melodic metal fans will be happy with the likes of HammerFall, In Extremo, Tarja and Amorphis, aficionados of extreme metal should enjoy the performances of Bolt Thrower, Arch Enemy, Kataklysm and Marduk, followers of alternative metal styles can go crazy to Hatebreed, As I Lay Dying, Emil Bulls and Kvelertak and even more open-minded listeners may appreciate the psychobilly of Mad Sin, the medieval folk of Corvus Corax or the punk rock of Smoke Blow. But especially the extreme metal fans will be treated with some special performances: Dutch death metallers God Dethroned will perform for the very last time on German soil before their disbandment later this year, youngsters Hackneyed will celebrate the release show of their third album Carnival Cadavre and Kataklysm will tape their entire show for their upcoming anniversary DVD The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined.

One of Summer Breeze's assets is the allocation of the stages. The two big stages dubbed Main Stage and Pain Stage are directly adjacent to each other, making it possible to have breaks of merely 5 minutes between each act and still enable the visitor to catch every single band without having to run from stage to stage. The Party Stage will commence operation in the afternoons and will be the place to be after the headlining performances on the two big stages, with concerts going on until 4 a.m. in the morning. And if you're in for some light-hearted entertainment, you might enjoy some of the gigs on the small Camel Stage with its location and running order fit to fill the 20 minute intervals between the shows on the Party Stage.

So how do you get to the festival? Dinkelsbühl is located in South Germany halfway between Stuttgart and Nuremberg. It is in close proximity to the autobahns A7 and A6, so getting there by car is rather easy.
Getting there by public transport isn't as easy as the next train station is 22 km away (Crailsheim), so from there you'll have to make your way via busses. Check out the page of the Deutsche Bahn and enter Dinkelsbühl as destination to find a schedule that suits you best. The festival's website also offers a lot of useful hints for your journey.
If you come from further away you might want to consider flying. The nearest airports are Stuttgart Airport (120 km), Nuremberg Airport (95 km), Munich Airport (180 km) and Frankfurt Airport (220 km). Check the Wikipedia links to find out whether an airport in your area is connected with either of these four airports. If you happen to arrive at Stuttgart Airport, you can book a direct transfer to the festival via Mondial Events.