Steelfest Open Air is an annual black metal music festival located in Hyvinkää, Finland, 60 kilometres north of Helsinki.
[1] Laine estimates that the first edition of Steelfest lost €45,000, owing to the cost of factors such as stage management salaries and booking respectable airline flights for the bands.
[2] In 2013, the festival attracted larger names such as Mayhem and Sodom while highlighting local Finnish bands including Horna, Satanic Warmaster and Goatmoon.
[2] Dark Funeral, playing The Secrets of the Black Arts in its entirety, headlined 2015, with bands such as Nokturnal Mortum, Asphyx, Satanic Warmaster and Sargeist rounding out the lineup.
During a collaboration between Finnish black metal band Ride for Revenge and power electronics project Bizarre Uproar, a musician defecated on another performer, and the feces was thrown into the crowd.
[2] Encouraged by the strong sales of Steelfest, Laine started a second smaller winter festival named SteelChaos in 2017, held in Helsinki proper at the Nosturi venue from 10 to 11 November.
The 2022 edition was mired in controversy, as a significant portion of its original lineup cancelled their appearances over rising tensions regarding Steelfest's nazi associations.
[2] Following the release of the 2022 lineup, Laine claims that an industry insider emailed him asking him if he would rather be a "reliable, trustworthy promoter in the 'normal' extreme metal world, or operate in the 'forbidden zone'" regarding his booking of NSBM bands.