Wacken Metal Battle Canada Opens Band Submissions for 2024!

One band to rule them all! Wacken Metal Battle Canada has opened submissions for 2024 battles for one Canadian independent band to be crowned champion and perform at one of the world’s most prestigious and largest metal festivals, Wacken Open Air (July 31st to August 3rd) (Attendance of over 80,000 people in Wacken, Germany for over 30 years).

Unsigned bands can ONLY 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).

Application deadline for 2024 ends on December 15, 2023, at 11:59 PM PST.

2024 battles will be taking place in the following cities listed below. The national final will be hosted in Edmonton, AB, during May (date to be determined):

Vancouver, BC,
Edmonton, AB
Calgary, AB
Toronto, ON
Ottawa, ON
Montreal, QC
Quebec City, QC

The 2023 battles hosted over 60 participating bands from across Canada. Trois-Rivières, QC’s STRIGAMPIRE was selected to represent the country at the international battle that hosts 29 other participating countries at Wacken Open Air.

At the 2023 WMBC national final, STRIGAMPIRE performed alongside Western Canadian finalist NECHT (Calgary, AB) and Ontario finalist EATEN BY SHARKS (St. Catharines, ON).

Wacken Metal Battle Canada 2024 submissions poster

The Wacken Metal Battle Canada national final was held in Toronto, ON on May 13th at Lee’s Palace where the three final bands from Western, Central, and Eastern Canada were judged on various categories of professionalism and musicianship by a panel of experienced industry professionals that included Pedro Almeida (A&P Reacts), Antonio Almeida (A&P Reacts), Noel Peters (Inertia Entertainment), Tim Henderson (BraveWords), Thorsteinn Kolbeinsson (Wacken Metal Battle Iceland), Sarah Lutz (Looters), Kevin Michaud (Front Row Promotions), Luc Laine (CFLX 95.5 FM – Alerte Metallique), Rae Chatten (Rock’n Roam, Live Nation), Mark Tremblay (Metal on Metal Podcast) and JJ Tartaglia (Wacken Metal Battle Canada).

Since 2013, with a pause year in 2017 and 2020 due to COVID-19, Wacken Metal Battle Canada has hosted battles across the country to send one independent metal band to perform at the world’s largest metal festival, Wacken Open Air, in Wacken, Germany. 2019 saw the festival celebrate its 30th anniversary, but due to COVID, the 2020 and 2021 editions were both cancelled.

As the metal community regains its strength, Wacken Open Air 2024 will be the 33rd edition of the festival. It will be held from July 31st to August 3rd. The 2024 event is already sold out with a lineup that includes Scorpions, Amon Amarth, Blind Guardian, In Extremo, Pain, Beast In Black, and many more. Details here.

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 29 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. 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 2024. They will compete against the winners of 29 other countries in a final global battle. All bands will be judged during battle rounds by respected local music industry representatives.

Rules for participation can be found here.