Kaltenbach Open Air is an extreme metal festival held in Spital am Semmering, Austria, in the Styrian Alps. The festival takes place in the Kaltenbachgraben valley and has become one of the best-known metal festivals in Austria, with a strong focus on black metal, death metal, thrash metal and related subgenres.
The event is organised as a three-day open-air festival and regularly presents an international line-up alongside Austrian bands. The 2026 edition is scheduled for 20–22 August and is announced with 36 bands. Recent and upcoming line-ups have included acts such as 1349, Finntroll, Cryptopsy, Sacred Reich, Revocation, Vader, Marduk and Tankard, reflecting the festival’s emphasis on extreme and underground-oriented metal.
Kaltenbach Open Air is set just outside the village of Spital am Semmering, with the festival area reached via Kaltenbachstraße. Despite its mountain setting, it is accessible by public transport, with train connections via Mürzzuschlag and Spital am Semmering. The combination of an alpine location and a specialised extreme metal profile has made it a distinctive destination on the Central European festival circuit.
ADDRESS:
Kaltenbachstraße 14, 8684 Spital am Semmering, Austria
Back to Spital am Semmering.