One Band To Rule Them All! Wacken Metal Battle Canada is proud to announce its return for 2025 battles nationwide for one independent band to be crowned champion and perform at one of the world’s most prestigious and largest already sold-out metal festivals Wacken Open Air (July 30th – August 2nd) (Attendance of over 80,000 people in Wacken, Germany for over 30 years).
Unsigned bands ONLY can apply. Please fill out your information at the following link (please select Canada and then the City that your band would like to perform in) – https://www.metal-battle.com
(Band Submissions open from October 8th – November 20th, 2024)
The 2025 WMBC champion will receive the following:
– A slot at the 2025 Wacken Open Air Festival.
– Full professional backline provided.
– $1,000 CAD towards flights to Germany.
– VIP camping at the festival.
2025 Canadian battles will be taking place in the following cities listed below, with the national final being hosted in Vancouver, BC during May (date and venue to be determined):
Canadian Battle Cities:
Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Island, BC
BC Interior
Edmonton, AB
Calgary, AB
Toronto, ON
Hamilton, ON
Ottawa, ON
Montreal, QC
Quebec City, QC
The 2024 WMBC national final was held in Edmonton, AB at The Starlite Room on May 25th and witnessed regional winners Arrow In The Quiver (Vancouver, BC), Infrastrvctvre (Calgary, AB), Age of Ashes (Edmonton, AB), Beguiler (Toronto, ON) and Red Raven Chaos (Montreal, QC) along with special guest headliners NECHT (Calgary, AB – 2023 National Finalist).
The night was MC’d by Gord Alexander (Tessitura, Tides of Kharon) and judged by an industry panel that included JJ Tartaglia (Wacken Metal Battle Canada, Boonsdale Records, Skull Fist, Thunderor – Toronto, ON), Luc Lainé (CFLX 95,5 FM – Alerte Metallique – Sherbrooke, QC), Dan Cleary (Striker), Kim Aebly (The Invisible Orange, Vancouver, BC), Dana Zuk (Dana Zuk Photography – Edmonton, AB), Jon Asher (Asher Media Relations – Montreal, QC), Nancy Barnes (Big Nate Productions – Calgary, AB), Celestia Scarlett (Owner/Artist Manager – The Celestial Agency- Calgary, AB) and Steve DC (Strigampire – 2023 National WMBC Winner – Trois-Rivières, QC).
After each band presented their furious rallying battle performance, the only one that stood out from the rest was crowned 2024 champion Toronto’s Beguiler who moved on to perform as the only independent Canadian band at the International Battle at Wacken Open Air 2024 (July 31st – August 3rd).
Live Full Video of 2024 WMBC National Final in Edmonton, AB – https://www.youtube.com/live/dCYiImMkzq4
List of previous WMBC national winners Beguiler (Toronto, ON – 2024), Strigampire (Trois-Rivières, QC – 2023), The Slyde (Toronto, ON – 2019), Centuries of Decay (Toronto, ON – 2018), Profaner (Hamilton, ON – 2016), Vesperia (Toronto, ON – 2015), Mutank (Montreal, QC – 2014), Crimson Shadows (Toronto, ON – 2013).
Wacken Metal Battle Canada is part of an international competition that sees bands from across the country battle each other for the chance to win their spot among 30 other countries’ champions, and represent Canada in an international battle of the bands at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival: Wacken Open Air. The battles have been hosted at the festival for over a decade giving independent bands the opportunity to showcase their talents to an international audience along with the chance to win multiple prizes.
How it works:
Participating cities will host qualifying rounds plus a city final organized by a local city concert promoter where one band will move forward to the Canadian national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will move on to perform at the Wacken Open Air 2025 and compete against the winners of 29 other countries in a final global battle. All battle rounds are judged by respected local music industry representatives.
Rules for participation: https://www.metal-battle.com/rules/
