Wacken 2024 – Shine, Shine, Shine!

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We all remember Wacken 2023 going down in history with campsites flooded, mud everywhere and a never seen before official arrival stop, resulting in only 61000 instead of 85000 metal fans on site. Many had spent the nights in their cars on the highway or parking areas and were ultimately asked to drive back home or not start the journey to the Holy Land at all.

This 33^rd edition of Wacken saw a new arrival concept as access passes were issued in advance per car per day, so the number of arrivals was distributed over a period of four days. This proved to minimize traffic jams as well as long waiting times. Along with the access pass, there were three different routes to get to the campgrounds, chosen and assigned in advance. All you had to do was follow the signs of your designated route posted on the highway (Hat of the Witch, Book of Spells or Key of Secrets). Besides the actual highway signs being rather small, the new concept worked flawlessly.

A walk to Wacken village is mandatory

The popular village Wacken store

The musical program started on Sunday with “Back to the 90s” bands playing the Landgasthof (LGH) stage (now considered an official Wacken stage) in the village. On Monday and Tuesday entertainment was provided on the “Welcome to the Jungle” stage on Camping Plaza, outside the infield. It included cover bands, DJs as well as Germany’s beloved solo entertainer (and by now Wacken’s mascot) Mambo Kurt, playing Metal and radio classics on his home organ.

Landgasthof (LGH) Clubstage in Wacken village

Wednesday

The local “Wacken Firefighters” traditionally opened the infield. What started as a rather conservative small affair with mostly elderly men in traditional clothing more than three decades ago has grown into a large modern orchestra with many young musicians.

Wacken Firefighters

On the Louder Stage, it was classic ladies hardrock night. The female-fronted bands included Crystal Viper from Poland, L.A. based Butcher Babies, British Girlschool, The Warning from Mexico and American Grammy nominee Tina Guo.

Girlschool

Butcher Babies

The main Faster Stage included German-Turkish opening act comedian gone singer Buelent Ceylan promoting tolerance and togetherness, UK glam rockers The Darkness, Irish Flogging Molly spreading good mood and German In Extremo.

Flogging Molly

74 year old American singer Suzi Quatro was playing songs from her 50 years long career. “Stumblin’ In” is still a radio classic song, maybe unusual for a Heavy Metal festival, but then again, the WOA crowd has significantly shifted ever since Covid hit.

Suzi Quatro

In the past years a shift took place from spring break-like partying out-of-schoolers to a more mature audience. The combination of an increased number of classic old school hardrock bands, the Covid realization of “now or never” after a two year hiatus in 2020/21 and improved comfortable camping facilities are attracting the financially stable older generation. The number of (not very cheap) Residenz Evil Glamping facilities and Moshtel hotel containers increased significantly, as it allows people who (and I quote an “evil resident”) “feel too old to be camping and might otherwise not attend” to still enjoy Wacken with a bit more comfort.

Sunset on the infield

By the way, Metal Battle Greece winners Junkwolvz played Headbangers stage on Wednesday. Click here to stream their show.

Thursday

Dio Disciples are a great reason to get up early for an opening band! The star-studded tribute band for the late Ronnie James Dio, endorsed and managed by his widow Wendy Dio (who actually came on stage to thank the crowd), played Louder Stage at noon. The Disciples featured Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna together with Oni Logan of Lynch Mob, and musicians of bands that sound like the who-is-who of hardrock.

Dio Disciples, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

The show was followed by Sweet, Armored Saint, Mr. Big, a controversial show of rapper Alligatoah (that drew so many people to the Louder stage, it had to be temporarily closed) and Swedish prog heroes Opeth.

The competition on the main stages Faster and Harder was immense that night: Wacken’s Skyline (the very reason this festival even exists) welcomed Joey Belladonna of Anthrax/Dio Disciples to sing Journey songs. Apparently Don Dokken had been invited but was unable to attend due to medical circumstances.

Crowd at Wacken Main Stages

Rage, Axel Rudi Pell and KK’s priest followed. Tim Ripper Owens just nailed it and was the best I have heard all week: Flawless powerful vocals, looking comfortable and not as grumpy as Rob Halford. What might sound harsh is actually meant with love from one cat lover to another who has read his autobiography “Confess”. Yet Ripper just ripped Wacken apart, better than the original, totally amazing!

KK’s Priest, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Rage

German powerhouse Accept are known for their energetic shows as Wolf Hofmann is visibly feeling the music through his guitar play (it would not hurt singer Mark Tornillo to smile though). The crowd partied to classic hits like “Balls to the Walls”, “Fast as a Shark” , “Metal Heart” and “Restless and Wild”.

Accept

The Scorpions @WOA 2024? Wait a minute…didn’t they play a farewell tour in 2012 with a stopover in Wacken … and retire? Germanys most successful musical export (yep, not Rammstein) from Hannover decided to carry on after almost 60 years (!) and are currently back on “Love At First Sting” tour! However, their Wacken performance resulted in mixed feelings and quite an uproar on social media channels. Klaus Meine’s hands were visibly shaking and his moves were stiff and limited. Certainly not a reason to mock a 76 year old superstar who had recently undergone spine surgery and gave his best to “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. Anyway, drummer Mikkey Dee’ energy levels are so high, it lasts for the entire band.

Klaus Meine of Scorpions, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Rudolf Schenker of Scorpions, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Klaus Meine didn’t have to do it all alone, because sure enough, no Wacken without Doro! The metal queen was not only invited to leave her hand prints for the newly inaugurated “Walk of Legends” (along with the Scorpions and Joey Belladonna) in a ceremony at the LGH stage in Wacken village, she also joined in for ”Big City Nights” during the show. The concert ended with an impressive drone show with “Still Living You” still playing in your head. People apparently appreciated the effort as the infield was super crowded.

Scorpions and Doro leaving their handprints at LGH, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Friday

Is it … raining? After days of sunshine, at last it was raining lightly in the morning hours on Friday. It wasn’t so bad as it was actually a great opportunity to sleep a bit longer, as the tents did not heat up to be a sauna by 9 a.m. Also, Friday’s rain did not affect the infield area at all, as the water could dry off before the masses evaded. Sorry, no crazy mud photos this year!

Greimi has been around for more than two decades, a Wacken legend

Friday was eagerly awaited as Gene Simmons and KoRn had never been to Wacken before. I assume now retired KISS join the ranks of Metallica and AC/DC who are just too expensive and prefer doing their own festival instead. AC/DC were actually in Germany playing just two hours away on Sunday, stirring up rumors that Angus & Co. might show up for a surprise act on the Wacken stages. Breathe: They didn’t. Done, dirt, cheap.

Solo unmasked Gene Simmons was the next best thing to KISS. But what sounds like one hell of a party on the Harder Stage ended up in embarrassing self-talk: Boooring! Not sure if the band had technical issues and he was buying time, as his speeches exceeded his playing time; the criticism is certainly not directed towards his German language skills. It is about uncle Eugene behaving like the awkward relative, bringing several kids on stage, telling an eleven year old girl how pretty she is and asking her if she had a boyfriend. No, definitely not funny! Despite the cool and capable musicians in his band, even “Rock ´n` Roll All Night” could not distract from the creepy moments.

Gene Simmons, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Next was Hansi Kuersch’s Powermetal from Krefeld, Germany. Blind Guardian have been on “The God Machine” tour to Valhalla, drawing large numbers of male fans to the Faster Stage.

Blind Guardian, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

A few hundred meters to the right on Louder Stage, Peter Taetgren’s industrial metal project Pain was performing an energetic live show.

Pain

Meanwhile, on the smaller W:E:T stage, current Scorpions drummer Mikkey Dee performed a special show with his friends, playing Motorhead classic like “Ace of Spades”. As part of Lemmy’s ashes now rest at the village LGH (Landgasthof Wacken) next to a Lemmy statue, the music and legacy will always be part of this festival.

Part of Lemmy‘s Ashes rest in the statue’s pedestal at LGH in Wacken village

Mikkey Dee with Friends, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Although they have been around since 1993, it was the first Wacken show for KoRn, the pioneers of Nu Metal. The boys from California are currently celebrating their 30 year anniversary. The sound and LED show, featuring a second “cage-like” LED curtain in the front on top of the LED walls behind the stage, was simply spectacular. However fans watching the TV stream were disappointed as KoRn’s management didn’t allow the live stream from the start. The show was impressive, both in terms of visuals, sound and with full infield attendance.

KoRn, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

The rather long night wasn’t over yet as Avantasia were up for a midnight show. Certainly no stranger in Wacken, Tobias Sammet’s 6th show with his epic project featuring our favorite Geoff Tate (formerly of Queensryche, singing “Alchemy” and “Invincible”), Bob Catley (Magnum singing “The Story ain’t over”) and Ron Atkins (Pretty Maids singing “The Scarecrow”) on stage. Let’s not forget the powerful voices of the ladies, Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires) and Chiara Tricarico (Ravenworld, Moonlight Haze Sound Storm). Tobi did not hestitate to make fun of himself (“less talking, more music” – I wish Gene Simmons was that wise) and played popular songs from his now eight studio albums.

Avantasia featuring Geoff Tate, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

Saturday

If it wasn‘t for the one hour of rain during Sebastian Bach’s performance on Saturday, the 33^rd edition of Wacken would have been…wait for it…legendary! When the festival officially started six days earlier, the clouds miraculously disappeared followed by days of blue skies, sunshine and a need to wear a (more or less silly) hat to avoid a heat stroke. In fact, it was so hot, the local outdoor pool had to close the doors for incoming guests as they had reached maximum capacity!

The former Skid Row singer was eagerly awaited, and then it happened: Rain. Heavy rain. Just like that. The pros put on their raincoats and continued as if nothing happened, but a lot of unprepared metalheads wearing just sandals and shorts got quite a shower. Sebastian Bach was in much better vocal shape than years ago, and he took it like a pro. All soaked with no room for vanity, he took us on a “Best of Skid Row” journey performing hits like “Youth Gone Wild”, “18 and Life” or “Monkey Business”.

Sebastian Bach in the rain, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

When Testament entered the stage an hour later, everything was back to normal. Chuck Billy and the guys have been around since 1983 and are currently touring Europe and the US. Quality Trash metal is always well received in Wacken, and the guys from the bay area are among the most popular and influential in their genre.

Chuck Billy of Testament, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

33 was this year’s Wacken edition, and as Behemoth from Poland are celebrating their 33th anniversary of Death and Black Metal in full face paint, it was quite a match.

Amon Amarth have been on the Wacken stages ten times. The Viking Metal band from Tumba, Sweden performed 19 songs with lots of pyrotechnics. With all the LED screens spread across the infield and the Bullhead in flames, the visuals at night are one of a kind. Too bad they also did not allow live streaming to entertain metalheads around the world.

Amon Amarth’s impressive pyrotechnics, photo courtesy of W:O:A Festival GmbH

More face paint? Sure, as controversial black metal pioneers Mayhem from Norway played the Louder Stage. Their 40 years of band history include a suicide, murder and church burnings.

Mayhem

UK Architects were new to Wacken, and surprisingly well-knows, as a lot of people showed up for their highly energized metalcore show with many high tech LED visuals all across the Faster Stage.

At last, German Haematom closed the festival, making headlines by inviting a rapper on stage. With Wacken’s reputation for once being a true metal festival, bringing outside genres in is one of the main discussions. Some fear the true spirit might get lost, others welcome the variety. But then again, if you don’t like a show, there are 8 stages to choose from!

Press Conference

Saturday’s Press Conference

At the press conference on Saturday afternoon, the promoters Thomas Jensen and Holger Huebner praised the new arrival concept. Waiting times were reduced and “incoming traffic volume was so low that people in the villages did not even realize the festival was actually happening”, they joked. Jan Struve, Director of Production stressed that 41000 square meters of plates had been laid to be prepared for evacuation purposes. But as there was no mud this year, the emergency routes remained undamaged. Event Director Daniel Schlatter thanked the many volunteers from the Metality inclusion camp who made wheelchair crowdsurfing possible: “Friday is Flyday!”

Flyday: Crowdsurfing for wheelchairs

As the W:O:A police headquarters and Red Cross tent had been moved from Backstage to Camping Plaza and were therefore more visible, it was easier for the people to have the courage to ask for help, seek treatment or counseling. According to Volker Boehm, Head of Emergency Services, 3500 consultations had been registered, but nothing related to the festival itself as insect bites or allergies could have happened anywhere. 200 people were taken to the hospital, but thanks to the always attentive and quite busy pit security, no major crowdsurfing incidents happened.

The police once again reported very few incidents, much less than any other city the size of Wacken. Apparently two persons shouting right-wing paroles had to pack up and leave the premises with their festival wristbands cut off. Zero tolerance towards intolerance, bravo!

The traditional Metal Battle, won by “Thus” from Denmark, once again brought the world together. 87 nations were part of the band competition, the cash prizes are sponsored by the Wacken Foundation. In times like these, you cannot stress enough how peaceful life in Wacken is.

Wacken’s 33rd edition

The festival ended with what festival promoter Thomas Jensen described musically as “Only killers, no fillers”. Wacken 2025 is already in the planning from July 30 to August 2. The first 34 bands have been confirmed:

Machine Head, Saltatio Mortis, Papa Roach, Gojira, Apokalyptica, Saxon, Within Temptation, Dimmu Borgir, Ministry, Michael Schenker, Peyton Parrish, Beyond The Black, Clawfinger, Grave Digger, August Burns Red, Obituary, Wind Rose, Brothers Of Metal, Tarja & Marko Hietala, Hanabie, Decapitated, Destruction, Celeste, Orange Goblin, Angel Witch, Dominum, Exhorder, Night Demon, Mimi Barks, Seven Spires, Clowns, Dool, Crownshift, Midnight.

Tickets are 333€ plus 33€ for the Access Pass per car or 66€ for camper vans or caravans. Click here to get your ticket and follow the Metaltix link, or, once sold out, check out the official ticket swap.