One Band To Rule Them All! After another record-breaking year of submissions from independent bands across the country, Wacken Metal Battle Canada is proud to announce this year's Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa bands and rounds along with previously announced British Columbia and Ontario battles.
One unsigned Canadian band will be crowned champion and perform at one of the world's most prestigious and largest already sold-out metal festivals Wacken Open Air (July 30 – August 2) (Attendance of over 80,000 people in Wacken, Germany for over 30 years).
The 2025 Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa will be held in the following cities and dates with more to be announced for Canada. The national final will be held in Vancouver, BC on May 31 at The Rickshaw Theatre.
2025 Canadian Wacken Battles:
Montreal Dates: (Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa Bands)
February 7 - Montreal Round 1 - Piranha Bar
Chaotic Symbios (QC), Last Dance Among Wolves (MTL), Red Raven Chaos (MTL), Stadaconé (MTL)
Event info here
February 28 - Montreal Round 2 - Piranah Bar
Hatred Reigns (Ottawa), Wooden (MTL), Odd Times (MTL), Soulthief (Ottawa)
Event info here
March 7 - Montreal Round 3 - Piranha Bar
Demonius (MTL), Forbidden Order (MTL), CHÜZO (MTL), Sovereign Council (Ottawa)
Event info here
April 11 - Montreal Final - Piranha Bar
British Columbia Dates:
March 1 - Vancouver Round 1 @ The Cobalt - Vancouver, BC
DeathBound, NIGHTOWL, Utility Provider, Nokturna, Burnt Lung
Event info here
March 2 - BC Interior Round @ Jackknife Brewing - Kelowna, BC
Dendros, Burn It All, Gregorious, Nomad, Storm The Empire
Event info here
March 22 - Vancouver Round 2 @ The Cobalt - Vancouver, BC
Iron Kingdom, Ashen Pall, Heathanz Sinz, Killing Twins, TIVR
Event info here
March 30 - Vancouver Island Round @ Lucky Bar - Victoria, BC
YEGG, Electric Druids, Decryptor, Gate Theory, Antler
Event info here
May 3 - BC Final @ The Cobalt - Vancouver, BC
May 31 - National Final @ The Rickshaw, Vancouver, BC
Ontario Dates:
January 10 - London Round @ Rum Runners
Atria (guest headliner), Death Club, Dead Days, 4HateU8
Event info here
Winner: Dead Days
January 24 - Hamilton Round @ Main Stage Rehearsal
The Good Depression, Killotine, Zero Tolerance, Devilz By Definition, Zero End
Tickets here
January 25 - Toronto Round 1 @ Hard Luck
Pillars of Autumn, Ischemic, Purveyor of Chaos, Unkle Skurvey
Tickets here
February 1 - Toronto Round 2 @ Hard Luck
Seagrave, Nepenthe, Panic Response, The Animal Warfare Act
Tickets here
Edmonton, AB - TBA
Calgary, AB - TBA
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.
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:
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).
Info:
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 canceled. As the metal community regains its strength, Wacken Open Air 2025 will be the 34th edition of the festival and will be held from July 30th – August 2nd. The 2025 event is already sold out with a line-up that includes Machine Head, Saltatio Mortis, Papa Roach, Gojira, Apocalyptica, Saxon, Within Temptation, Dimmu Borgir, Ministry, and many more. Details here.
About:
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 here.
Media Partners:
BraveWords.com
Metal-Rules.com
Absolute Underground Magazine
BrokenNeckRadio.com
V13.net
MetalDevastationRadio
Rich Embury (internationally syndicated DJ)
GhostCultMag.com
Rocknroam.ca
Vox & Hops Podcast
The Metal Voice
Promoter Partners:
Boonsdale Records
Dungeonworks Productions
The Invisible Orange
Big Nate Productions
ConcertWorks
Asher Media Relations
