Chania Rock Festival 2026

Chania Rock Festival is one of those festivals you do not experience only from in front of the stage. At least not when you are there at the same time as a fan, writer, photographer, and someone who has managed to schedule interviews at the most inconvenient — or, in the end, perhaps the most appropriate — times.

The two-day event on 1 and 2 August 2026 at the East Moat Theatre featured some big names, very good sound where it really mattered, and quite a few moments that will stay with me. It also came with a few losses on my side: two bands I did not manage to catch on the first day, and almost the entire Lacuna Coil show on the second. For good reason, though.

My friend Alexis, Mitsos and I arrived in Chania around midday, went to our room and, before we had even really registered that the weekend had begun, I already had to leave. At 17:15 I had an interview scheduled with Christofer Johnsson of Therion.

The interview finally started at around 17:30 and ended at 18:10. Forty minutes of conversation is not bad at all, especially when we were supposedly going to have fifteen. Christofer was in the mood to talk, extremely communicative, and clearly not interested in giving routine, perfunctory answers. We covered quite a lot, and the conversation was worth every minute.

Enemy Of Reality

When I finally managed to get to the venue, Enemy Of Reality were on stage. I heard nothing but good comments from friends, acquaintances, and people around me. Personally, they are not exactly within my usual listening territory, so I am not going to pretend otherwise. That does not change the fact that they delivered a very respectable, polished performance. I also met them in person and they were genuinely lovely people — something that always counts. Musically they were spot-on, of course, and Iliana on vocals gave it everything. Still, because this is quite far from what I normally listen to, I do not think I am the right person to judge them properly.

Enemy Of Reality — Photo Gallery

Photos: Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Destruction: razor-sharp thrash sound

Next up were the German thrashers Destruction, and from the very first notes it was obvious that things were about to move into another gear. Their performance was relentless, but what really made the difference was the sound: huge, clear and aggressive without ever collapsing into an indistinct wall of noise. The riffs came through exactly as they should, the rhythm section hit you in the chest, and Schmier had all the space he needed to lead the crowd.

With thirteen songs, the actual musical material comes to roughly 56–58 minutes. Add the necessary gaps, introductions and interaction with the audience, and Destruction played for just over an hour — around 65 minutes, as also indicated by the official running order for the evening.

Destruction — Photo Gallery

Photos: Babis Manousakis & Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Therion: when theatricality becomes power

And then it was time for Therion. A few hours earlier I had been sitting across from Christofer Johnsson, having a calm conversation. Now I was watching him on stage as part of a band operating with precision, weight and genuine theatricality.

The sound was excellent here as well. That matters enormously for a band like Therion, where guitars, vocals and symphonic layers all need to coexist without swallowing one another. Their stage presence did not feel like decorative dressing, either. It was an organic part of the show.

The fifteen songs on the setlist amount to roughly 78–80 minutes in their studio versions. With the live introductions, pauses and interaction with the audience, the set ran for close to an hour and a half. And it was not simply long; it also had a proper flow, from “Blood of Kingu” and “Lemuria” through to “Sitra Ahra”, “Quetzalcoatl” and, of course, “To Mega Therion”.

Therion — Photo Gallery

Photos: Babis Manousakis & Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Veil Omega: from Chania, with roots in Greek darkness

Day 2 opened with Veil Omega, an independent melodic / atmospheric death metal band from Chania. They place their sound in the 1990s and early 2000s, with influences that may bring Rotting Christ, Paradise Lost and Septicflesh to mind, while their lyrics draw on Greek folklore, traditions and stories.

The clearest example is “Of the Dead Brother”, based on the Greek folk ballad “The Dead Brother’s Song”, which was released digitally in late March 2026. At one point, the way the Greek lyrics come in strongly reminded me of Rotting Christ’s “Snowing Still” — not as an imitation, but in that familiar sense of the Greek language becoming part of the atmosphere rather than simply a narrative device.

It is also worth noting that the set they presented in Chania consisted entirely of material from their upcoming album. As Veil Omega themselves clarified to us, of the five songs performed, only the closing track — “Of the Dead Brother” — has already been released as a digital single. The other four effectively gave us a first live taste of what they are preparing.

Veil Omega have already played several local shows, including Stoa 60 in Heraklion, and at Chania Rock Festival they showed that they are worth keeping an eye on. A very good performance, with plenty of positive comments from friends and people I know. Check them out. These guys deserve it.

Veil Omega — Photo Gallery

Photos: Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

ETJM: plenty of technique, but they did not win me over

After Veil Omega, ETJM, an instrumental progressive metal duo from Spain featuring Eimel Trejo on guitar and Joel Marco on drums, took the stage. With no bassist and no vocals, their entire sound rests on guitar, drums, constant rhythmic shifts and the technical precision of the two musicians.

I heard quite a few people around me commenting on what a virtuoso the guitarist was. And yes, he absolutely was. Eimel Trejo showed outstanding technical ability and complete control of his instrument, while Joel Marco was tightly locked in with him through a demanding set that left very little room for mistakes.

Technical skill, however, is not always enough by itself to draw you into the music. Personally, I could hear the technique, but I could not find the emotion or musical thread that would make me follow what was happening on stage. I cannot say I found much meaning in what I was hearing, nor that they impressed me as a whole. That does not mean they played badly — quite the opposite. This particular kind of instrumental progressive music simply did not move me.

ETJM — Photo Gallery

Photos: Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Ars Notoria: the return they were owed

Next came the Cypriot band Ars Notoria. Last year they had been unable to make it because one of their members was injured. This year, when Ghetto Paradise ended up in a similar situation and could not perform, the replacement had an odd sense of justice to it: Ars Notoria took their place and finally made it onto the festival stage.

They describe themselves as an avant-garde metal band blending different styles with emotive Greek lyrics, exploring subjects such as death, religion and mental health. Personally, they were not to my taste. I also do not have their tracklist, so I would rather leave it there than fill the report with vague generalities.

Ars Notoria — Photo Gallery

Photos: Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Crimson Glory: the past meets the new chapter

Crimson Glory came to Crete for the first time, and their set leaned heavily on their first two classic albums without ignoring the chapter they are writing today. Alongside “Valhalla”, “Dragon Lady”, “Painted Skies”, “Azrael”, “Lost Reflection” and “Red Sharks” came “Pearls of Dust” and “Angel in My Nightmare” from this year’s Chasing the Hydra.

That balance was exactly what made the performance interesting: this was not a set built solely on nostalgia, but a band intent on presenting itself as a living, active entity. For me, the evening had a second part as well, because after their performance I had to meet them at the hotel for an interview.

Crimson Glory — Photo Gallery

Photos: Babis Manousakis & Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Lacuna Coil: the show sacrificed for the interview

As far as Lacuna Coil are concerned, I have to be completely honest: I only photographed the first song and missed the rest of the show. In this report you can now see both Babis Manousakis’ photos and a selection of my own shots from those opening minutes. The Crimson Glory interview had been arranged at the hotel, so I had to leave.

It would have been easy to write a few generic lines about the energy, Cristina Scabbia, Andrea Ferro and the crowd and make it sound as if I had watched the whole performance. I did not. So there is no point pretending I can review it. Fortunately, Babis Manousakis documented the show photographically and, together with my own photos from the first song, the images at least convey part of what I missed.

Lacuna Coil — Photo Gallery

Photos: Babis Manousakis & Dimitrios Petrakis • Click any image to open the full gallery.

Text: Dimitrios Petrakis
Photos: Babis Manousakis & Dimitrios Petrakis
Media: Altars Of Metal
The photographs may not be republished without prior permission and proper credit to the respective photographer and Altars Of Metal.