Tip: Click for an audio preview!
Machine Head, Lord Of The Lost & Grobschnitt: Seven Days That Wreck Every Scale
If this week is going to escalate, it goes all the way: nearly 100 shows from a stadium-scale comeback at Mitsubishi Electric Halle down to the 200-cap hole called Sonic Ballroom. In between: death metal legends, acoustic Nackt sets, a Turkish darkwave idol, prog heroes from Hagen, and enough stoner rock to smoke out the entire Pott.
The Big Hitters
Friday at Palladium Köln, Machine Head mean business: An Evening With Machine Head – no support, no warm-up, three hours of pure Bay Area brutality from Robb Flynn and crew. If you want the week's biggest metal hammer, this is where you're heading.
Thursday in Herford and Friday at Carlswerk Victoria Köln, the TOVR NOIR Tour 2026 rolls through NRW: Lord Of The Lost headline, with Swiss symphonic powerhouse Ad Infinitum, Brazilian thrashers Dogma and female metal crew League of Distortion in tow. Four bands, one tour, two NRW dates.
Friday at Rockfabrik Übach-Palenberg the Dutch death metal pioneers Pestilence land with their Entering The Portals Tour. Consuming Impulse veterans operating in a genre temple with the rawness of a late-80s live bootleg – you don't get this close that often.
Saturday at Luxor Köln, ex-Kyuss frontman John Garcia turns it on: Hermano are touring for the first time in over a decade, plus doom veterans Solace. Top-shelf stoner-and-desert-rock double bill.
Thursday at Theater am Tanzbrunnen Köln, Subway To Sally bring their Nackt III acoustic show – last week's two Bochum dates sold out, this one's still got tickets.
Underground Gems and Local Heroes
Friday at the Kühlschiff in Unna's Lindenbrauerei is mandatory: Grobschnitt run their legendary Acoustic Party – Lupo, Willi Wildschwein and his son Nuki play three hours including acoustic versions of Solar Music and Rockpommel's Land. Hagen krautrock history within arm's reach.
Saturday at Gebäude 9 Köln, ZELTINGER BAND celebrate their 47 Years Zeltinger Band tour. Kölsche punk legends that make any tourist Karneval look tame. The same evening at Musiktheater Piano Dortmund, PHANTOMS OF FUTURE drop their album release show for Forever Dark – with Doomtrain on support, at the exact venue where the band played their first sold-out show 30 years ago.
Friday at Das Parkhaus Duisburg, About Monsters – the NRW punk-rockers debut their new singer Bianca Herrmann, with co-headliner Lucidrae. Local hero with a fresh face.
And the steal of the week: Monday US stoner rockers Nebula – 180K Last.fm listeners – play the 200-cap Sonic Ballroom Köln. No joke.
From Hardcore to Darkwave – All In
Friday at the Yard Club inside Köln's Kantine: Turkish darkwave sensation She Past Away turn the intimate side room into a black coldwave temple. Wednesday John Lydon and Public Image Ltd. bring post-punk royalty within reach at Doornroosje Nijmegen – a 90-minute drive that's worth it.
Double Crippled Black Phoenix dose: Tuesday at Forum Bielefeld and Wednesday at Club Volta Köln – Crippled Black Phoenix on their Sceaduhelm Tour, support both nights from Temple Fang, the Dutch heaviest psych.
Thursday at Mitsubishi Electric Halle Düsseldorf, the comeback of the week: Unheilig are back on stage after more than nine years of silence. New album Liebe Glaube Monster, all the hits in tow – this is going to get emotional whether you want it to or not.
Sunday in Nijmegen, Anneke Van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering) closes out the week with her La Vie, La Mort, L'Amour trilogy set. And Saturday before that at Matrix Bochum: medieval-EBM machine Heimataerde with their Todeswille Live 2026 show.
Don't Miss Out with KRACH!
Nearly 100 shows in seven days – grab tickets, mark your calendar, leather jacket out. The KRACH app has everything that matters about this week. See you out there. 🤘
