NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – September 23, 2026
WACKEN METAL BATTLE USA Announces Band Submissions For 2027 Battles!
One Band To Conquer Them All! And Play Wacken Open Air 2027
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One band to conquer them all! WACKEN METAL BATTLE USA announces that band submissions for 2027 battles across the country to send one unsigned and independent American to play the world’s most prestigious and largest already sold-out metal festival, Wacken Open Air, will begin October 1st and run until December 1st, 2026.
WMBU organizer Eric Dow (Fatal Illness Management, Helsott, M-Theory Audio) comments on the upcoming 2027 battles:
“I am very excited and motivated for the 2027 Battle. I am always looking for ways to grow the team and improve in general. This year, the National Final will be held at the Tampa Metal Meeting fest hosted by me and Jerry from Piox Promotions. I have added several new city promoters, including Ty from Mad With Power Fest, who will be adding Madison for the first time in US Battle history. We have added Omar from The Metal Mixtape as the new social media manager and new Seattle promoter. Omar from Ghost Cult Magazine was behind the scenes last year but will now take over as the New York promoter. Same with Jersey from Andromeda Productions…he was helping last year with Atlanta and will now take over as the main promoter. Adding the new additions to our already amazing team, the future for the Wacken Metal Battle USA is brighter than ever!”
American bands interested in participating can apply at https://www.metal-battle.com/countries/ (please select the United States as your country)
This year’s battles will be hosted across the United States in the following areas listed below:
The National Final will be held on June 19th, 2027, as part of the Tampa Metal Meeting 2027 Fest at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida.
Southwest Region:
Los Angeles, California
Orange County, California
Inland Empire, California
Bay Area, California
Sacramento, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Pacific Northwest Region:
Portland, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
Midwest Region:
Madison, Wisconsin
Northeast Region:
New York, New York
Wilmington, Delaware
Southeast Region:
Atlanta, Georgia
Central Florida
Texas Region:
Austin, Texas
Houston, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Dallas, Texas
For the past eight years of battles (2017–2019, 2022–2026), Wacken Metal Battle USA has held nationwide rounds to crown one independent metal band and send them to perform at the world’s largest metal festival, Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany. The festival marked its 30th anniversary in 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 editions canceled due to COVID. As the global metal community continues to surge, Wacken Open Air 2027 will celebrate its 36th edition from July 28–31, and is already sold out. More than 50 bands have been announced, including Electric Callboy, Five Finger Death Punch, Helloween, Heaven Shall Burn, Halestorm, DragonForce, Napalm Death, Jinjer, Knocked Loose, Kanonenfieber, Belphegor, Dethklok, and Blue Medusa, among others. Full details here.
Live Video – 2026 WMBU Champion – Gannondorf at Wacken Open Air – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3Ez7OcFleQ
Previous WMBU national winners: Gannondorf (2026 – San Diego), Mourning High (2025 – Southern California / Arizona), Cascade Effect (2024 – San Diego), Fadrait (2023 – San Diego), Mythraeum (2022 – San Diego), Monarch (2019 – San Diego), Voices of Ruin (2018 – Anaheim), and Corpse Hoarder (2017 – Philadelphia).
The 2027 WMBU champion will receive the following:
– A slot at the 2027 Wacken Open Air Festival.
– Full professional backline provided.
– $1,000 USD towards flights to Germany.
– VIP camping at the festival.
Wacken Metal Battle USA is part of an international competition in which bands from across the country battled for the chance to join more than 30 other national champions and represent the USA in a global clash of rising talent at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival, Wacken Open Air. For over a decade, these battles have been hosted at the festival, giving independent bands the opportunity to showcase their power on an international stage and compete for 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 American national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will advance to perform at Wacken Open Air 2027 and compete against the winners of international bands from around the globe in a major international battle. All bands will be judged during battle rounds by respected local music industry representatives.
About the 2026 National:
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Photo Credit – C.Huerta.Photos
One band had conquered them all. Wacken Metal Battle USA proudly crowned San Diego’s GANNONDORF as the 2026 champions. The band seized a coveted performance slot at Wacken Open Air, one of the world’s most iconic and influential metal festivals, and advanced to the international Wacken Metal Battle, where rising bands from across the globe unleashed their headbanging, mosh‑ready power before a massive sea of metalheads gathered from every corner of the world.
The Wacken Metal Battle USA 2026 National Final brought together the top six bands from across the country after months of battles in cities nationwide. Representing the fiercest underground metal the United States has to offer, the final contenders were FATE DEFINED (Spokane, WA), NEMESIS (Houston, TX), GANNONDORF (San Diego, CA), RAMTHA (St. Petersburg, FL), THE VICTORIOUS DEAD (New York, NY), and THROUGH THE OCULUS (Apple Valley, CA).
After taking the stage on June 13th at Brick By Brick in San Diego, CA, before a crowd of metal‑hungry fans and a panel of industry judges including Rod Kukla (Silver Lining Music), Martin Koller (Prophecy Productions / SPKR Media), and Kelly McLauchlin (Pessimist), only one band could claim the title of WMBU 2026 Champion. GANNONDORF delivered with unrelenting fury, winning over both judges and fans to seize the crown.
Listen to all the USA national final bands on the WMBU 2026 Final Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/14751T41YocZkJCVUJWcjL
More info:
Metal-Battle.com
MetalBattleUSA.com
Facebook.com/metalbattleusa.official
X.com/MetalBattleUSA
Instagram.com/wmbusa.official
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Sponsors / Partners:
Fatal Illness Management
Dean Guitars
Bravewords
Metal-Rules
V13
GhostCultMag
Come And Take It Productions
Andromeda Productions
Distilled Entertainment
Piox Promotions
Tampa Bay Metal Scene
Last Light Presents
Mad With Power
The Metal Mixtape
BrokenNeckRadio
Asher Media Relations
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ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook – Asher Media Relations
Instagram – AsherMedia
Tweet – AsherMedia
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