Metal on the Hill is a heavy metal festival held at the Schlossbergbühne Kasematten on Schlossberg, the hill overlooking the historic centre of Graz, Austria. The festival was established in 2016 by Austrian record label Napalm Records together with Grazer Spielstätten. The first edition took place on 12 and 13 August 2016 and featured Arch Enemy, Satyricon, DevilDriver, Lacuna Coil and Moonspell.

The festival has covered a broad range of heavy metal styles, including traditional metal, power metal, thrash, black metal and death metal. Over the years, performers have included Powerwolf, Jinjer, Lordi, Marduk, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Destruction, Stratovarius, Doro, Tarja and Cradle of Filth.

Its most distinctive feature is the setting. Schlossbergbühne Kasematten occupies part of the surviving ruins of the former Schlossberg fortress. The structure dates from around 1578 and originally contained vaulted storage cellars before later becoming connected with a prison. Large parts of the fortress were demolished in 1809, leaving the ruins that eventually became an open-air performance venue in 1937.

The concert area is enclosed by high stone and brick walls, with large arches and elevated galleries surrounding a gently sloping audience area facing the stage. A retractable roof was added in 1987, allowing performances to continue in poor weather while retaining much of the open-air character. The venue accommodates around 1,700 standing spectators.

Metal on the Hill did not take place in 2024, with rising production costs and difficulties securing suitable artists cited among the reasons. The festival returned on 30 August 2025 with Blind Guardian, Visions of Atlantis, Angelus Apatrida, 1914 and Brainstorm.

Its tenth anniversary was celebrated on 29 August 2026, with Alestorm, Soulfly and Burning Witches among the performers. After a decade of activity, Metal on the Hill has become closely associated with the unusual Kasematten setting, combining international heavy metal bands with one of Graz’s most distinctive historic concert venues.

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