Four backstage conversations from two days in Helsinki. Between the barrier and the backstage area, Metal Madness Weekly sat down with Omnium Gatherum's Jukka Pelkonen, Iotunn's drummer, Eluveitie and Kalmah — melodic death metal, progressive death metal and folk metal from three different corners of the scene, all recorded on site at Hellsinki Metal Festival 2026.
Interviews and photos by Tomi Perrakoski / Metal Madness Weekly ©
Every interview below is available as a full video, with the written feature covering the set that preceded it. For the full day-by-day coverage, read our Day One report and Day Two report.
Jukka Pelkonen (vocals) · Hellsinki-01 (outdoor)
Omnium Gatherum vocalist Jukka Pelkonen sat down with Metal Madness Weekly after the band's Day One set — melodic death metal, Finnish festival crowds and life on stage in 2026.
Iotunn's drummer · Hellsinki-02 (outdoor)
Iotunn's drummer on the band's progressive death metal set, the writing process behind their latest material and their fast rise on the European festival circuit.
Eluveitie · Hellsinki-02 (outdoor), 21:15–22:30
Swiss folk metal institution Eluveitie talk to Metal Madness Weekly before their late-evening outdoor set on Day Two of Hellsinki Metal Festival 2026.
Kalmah · Hellsinki-02 (outdoor), 17:00
Kalmah in candid form after a masterclass in Finnish melodic death metal on the Day Two outdoor stage — the video interview follows.