Event info

The Wacken Metal Battle will be fought at the glorious live venue Hlégarður, on Friday 8. April.

Headliner: DIMMA.

This year 6 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. The winner of the Icelandic preselection will be chosen by an international jury, along with votes from the audience.

Rounding off the night is a special guest appearance by local cock-rock powerhouse DIMMA, who have been kicking ass and taking names in the Icelandic scene recently with their latest efforts, Myrkraverk and Vélráð - albums that have moved copies like crazy. Combined with an endless string of live shows from Ísafjörður to Egilsstaðir - culminating in a sold out 1600 capacity show with an 80 piece symphony orchestra and a set of choirs last autumn - the band has cemented itself as one of the country´s biggest heavy metal acts.

With a commanding stage performance, musicianship tighter than a pair of skinny jeans and an air raid siren on the mic, their rise to the top has surprised no-one. The band was awarded the music price "Krókurinn", given by state radio station Rás 2 in 2014, for outstanding live performance. The band was also nominated in the same category in the Icelandic Music Awards that same year and was awarded the title “Performer of the Year” in 2016 at the "Hlustendaverðlaunin" Awards (Iceland's People's Choice Awards).

WMB Iceland 2015 winners, In The Company of Men, are set to perform as well - opening the night and showing current and future battlers how to get things done! The band has been keeping busy since winning the battle last year, releasing new material from their upcoming album. ITCOM hits the stage at 19:30.

After ITCOM, the Wacken Metal Battle will be fought, with the winner representing Iceland at Wacken Open Air in the Wacken Metal Battle finals, where they'll perform in front of several thousand people along with artists from 29 other nations. The winning band at Wacken will receive a generous cash prize from the Wacken Foundation, along with a slew of musical equipment, as the top 5 bands all walk away with prizes.

Doors open at 19:00 - First band at 19:30

The following bands will compete at the Wacken Metal Battle this year, in alphabetical order:

AETERNA
AUÐN
CHURCHHOUSE CREEPERS
GRAVE SUPERIOR
LIGHTSPEED LEGEND
WHILE MY CITY BURNS

The winning band is chosen by an international jury of 15, including journalists from some of the world's biggest metal magazines, along with music professionals both from abroad and Iceland. 10 foreign people in total, from Finland, Denmark, Britain, Germany, South Africa, The Netherlands, Norway, Italy and Belgium will man the jury, along with members from some of Iceland's most noted media outlets and metal strongholds.

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 those that can't show up early enough to catch the competiton part of the evening: Dimma will take stage at around 23.

More info can be found here: www.facebook.com/WackenMetalBattleIceland and metal-battle.com

Facebook event:www.facebook.com/events

Also note that there is a limited number of tickets available for the event, and they are selling fast!

The Wacken Metal Battle is sponsored by: The City of Reykjavik, Mosfellsbær, Rás 2, Iceland Music Export office, Wow Air and Monster Energy.