The Wacken Metal Battle will be fought at the legendary live venue Iðnó in Reykjavik, on Saturday 10. May

Headliner: Power Paladin

This year 7 bands will compete in the battle for the main prize: Representing Iceland this summer at the Wacken Metal Battle finals at the Wacken Open Air, the world's biggest heavy metal festival, along with 31 other nations. The winner of the Icelandic pre-selection will be chosen by an international jury, along with votes from the audience.

Special guests performances by Power Paladin and Krownest

Power Paladin has been absolutely exploding lately as a fantastic live band. Their performance at Sátan festival last year is still being talked about by those who witnessed it, and in fact, the band hasn't played in Iceland since then. Their music is masterfully crafted power metal, boasting tight guitar riffage along with powerful, heroic vocals reminiscent of classic heavy metal of the greats. The band released their debut album in 2022 under the label Atomic Fire Records, founded by key former staff members of Nuclear Blast. The band is currently in the process of recording their second album, and who knows - maybe we'll get to hear some new songs!

Krownest won the WMB Iceland competition two years ago, earning them a spot at Wacken, where they placed 7th in the WMB finals. The band has been on a steep upward trajectory with every show they’ve played, with them absolutely tearing the roof off Sátan in 2024. They released their debut full-length album, Von-Brigði, last fall to great acclaim. Their release concert in November was an absolute blast—still very much talked about in the scene. The future looks incredibly bright for this band!

Doors open at 18:30 and Krownest start the evening at 19:00.

The participating bands in the competition part of the evening are, in alphabetical order:

Alchemia

Gaddavír

Miskunn

Mucky Muck

Mørose

Sleeping Giant

Sót

This was the result of a special 11 person international jury, comprised of metal music biz professionals, that went over the submissions and chose the competing bands. A part of this jury will then travel to Iceland to participate in the live jury for the event, which will include as it looks like at least 8 international people within the music industry, along with their counterparts in Iceland.

The audience will also have some voting power, so it is important to show up early and support your favorites. Voting ballots will be handed out at the entrance.

For more info, head to www.facebook.com/wmbiceland.Official and www.instagram.com/wmbiceland.Official/

Please not that there is limited amount of tickets for this event and they will sell quickly. Case in point is that Early Bird tickets are sold out, so now regular tickets are on sale.

The Wacken Metal Battle is sponsored by: Dordingull and Rás 2, with Hljóðfærahúsið, Tónastöðin, Studio Helvíti, Sundlaugin studios and Xprent supplying winning prizes to the top 3 places in the contest.