The Sun and Thunder Festival returns to Marenostrum Fuengirola between Thursday 27 and Saturday 29 August, a gathering that presents today’s best national and international heavy metal bands. The festival is establishing itself as one of the key heavy metal events in Spain and this year’s instalment offers around 20 bands.

Headlining the festival is Avantasia, a German supergroup project created by Tobias Sammet, vocalist of the power-metal band Edguy. The show is characterised as a rock opera that offers “a world beyond human imagination”.

Some of the most well-known bands on the heavy metal scene will also perform, including Primal Fear, a band from Germany that has achieved success as the county’s heavy metal pioneers, and whose style is inspired by British bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. They will be joined by British heavy rock band Calva Louise, who have toured extensively throughout the UK, Europe and the USA; and Harakiri for the Sky, an Austrian post-black-metal band who are currently touring Spain.

Others include Finnish Eurovision Song Contest winning rock band Lordi, known for wearing monster masks during their concerts; American rockers Nafarious, a thrash-metal supergroup who embark of their first tour of Spain later this month, and Gaerea, a post-black metal band from Portugal.

Tickets for the festival, which begins at 5pm each day (doors open at 4.30pm), are available from www.marenostrumfuengirola.com/