That was Wacken 2024: Metal party with lots of light and few shadows

It was the Wacken after. After 2023, when torrential rain meant that only around two thirds of fans and ticket holders made it to the festival site - a hitherto unprecedented worst-case scenario for the traditional metal festival. The organizers' worry lines with regard to the weather forecast were probably correspondingly large. In retrospect, this was unfounded - because the weather gods had mercy this year. Rain or shine? The weather couldn't have been better last week. 85,000 people celebrated in the best conditions - which was visibly good for both the atmosphere and the conditions on site after the difficult Wacken 2023. Organizer Thomas Jensen's summary was correspondingly positive: "We were able to experience a sun-kissed W:O:A with countless great concerts with the fans this year. For us, it was an all-round successful celebration of the global metal family, which we naturally want to surpass next year."

An ambitious undertaking – but not impossible. While the weather, atmosphere, organization and supporting program deserve top marks without discussion, there is a need for action in one not insignificant point from our point of view: diversity in the line-up. We saw a lot of bands with ageing white men in 2024. Too many - at least on the main stages Faster and Harder. This is not meant disrespectfully, the great careers of the Scorpions, Gene Simmons, Blind Guardian, Accept, Rage, KK Priest or Testament deserve a lot of respect. Bands like these still have a great role model function and their deserved place on the festival stages of this world. The only problem is that they should have to share these places much more often with younger people, especially women. The latter tend to be "banished" to early timeslots on the side stages.

1. Wacken is pure tradition - but the ravages of time are also taking their toll on this great festival. Metal has evolved massively in recent years. Not every fan will and must necessarily like this - but this development cannot be stopped. The strong celebration of history is part of the metal DNA. However, it should not hide the fact that time does not stop at our favorite music. The 1990s were not a glorious decade for metal. Wacken was extremely successful in defying this development. However, it is not set in stone that rebelling against social trends will work as successfully a second time as it did in the 1990s.

2. Wacken is a leading festival in the metal scene - it is one of, if not the biggest metal party in the world. And with greatness comes responsibility. Responsibility to do things that may be unpopular - but are necessary due to social developments, and above all, are the right thing to do. What does that mean? Let's celebrate our old musical heroes - but let's not forget to create new ones. A charming, easy-to-implement option? A wildcard for one main stage slot per day - for a band that would otherwise "only" make it onto one of the smaller stages. That doesn't hurt either organizers or "old" fans. And Gojira proved these days on the biggest stage in the world - the Olympic Games - what a concentrated spotlight can do for a band's career. Wacken has the size and power to do something similar within the scene.

Away from the sitter stages, however, the Wacken organizers can definitely not be accused of a lack of diversity. The team around Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner attaches great importance to internationality - this year even a band from Saudi Arabia made it onto the Wacken stage. Wow. And the Metal Battles, in which young up-and-coming bands compete against each other, are also legendary.

Speaking of the scene - it was represented at Wacken in its almost infinitely colorful diversity: From the five-year-old up-and-coming metalhead to the 90-year-old walker granny. A wonderful spectacle of different characters and personal histories that came together harmoniously under one roof: a passion for music. And there was plenty of passion in 2024. One of many highlights: Spiritbox. The up-and-coming modern metal band from Vancouver was a guest at the Wacken Open Air for the first time. A childhood dream of front woman Courtney LaPlante came true, as she revealed to the audience. A childhood dream that didn't quite work out as she had hoped. Although the band delivered a great musical performance, the Canadian spark didn't really want to jump over to the Wacken audience. The audience reacted rather cautiously to Courtney & Band's performance. The show ended after just 45 minutes - 15 minutes earlier than planned. We can only speculate as to why. Several people told us after the concert that although they thought the music was "great", Courtney came across as arrogant on stage. If you want to see for yourself: Spiritbox will be on stage at Summer Breeze in two weeks' time. Dark Divas will also be there.

Meanwhile, April Art had no problem captivating the audience. The Germans demonstrated on the smallest Wacken stage, but in front of a full house, why they are one of the great up-and-coming hopefuls in German modern metal. Rousing songs, charismatic band members and a lot of joy in playing made it a feast for the eyes and ears to watch the Hessians at their one-hour gig. This also applies to Blackbriar, among others. Frontwoman Zora Cock's performance was a little quieter than that of her April Art colleague Lisa-Marie Watz, but the likeable Dutchwoman had no lack of charisma and stage presence. This not only convinced Dark Divas, but above all the numerous fans in front of the Wackinger Stage. Future Palace and As Everything Unfolds also surprised in a very positive way. The two young bands did the honors on the Headbanger and W.E.T stages respectively - each at one of the earliest possible slots. Despite the early hour (at least for a festival), Maria Lessing (Future Palace) and Charlie Rolfe (As Everything Unfolds) left no doubt that their first Wacken appearance would not be their last. This also applied to the great gig by the Ukrainians from Ignea.

It was bands like the ones just mentioned that showed that you don't have to be able to sing along to every song to be emotionally carried away by a band. Charisma, enthusiasm, passion and above all, of course, musical quality are better live qualities than any million-selling hit.

Meanwhile, acts such as Ankor, Butcher Babies and cellist Tina Guo made it to the third largest stage - the Louder Stage. While the band around Heidi Shepherd, which has now shrunk to Butcher Babies, tore up the stage in their usual manner, Tina Guo played some very calm, Far Eastern sounds. A successful change that was also appreciated by the audience. Meanwhile, Tina Guo was supported on the song "Warrior" by Jennifer Haben from Beyond the Black. Jennifer is literally a fixture at Wacken - and can also be found in the 2025 line-up. An enrichment for Wacken! Speaking of Beyond the Black: Unfortunately, we missed their gig at the legendary Landgasthof in Wacken as well as Anneke van Giersbergen's gig at the Metal Church. We also missed the gigs by Xandria, Asagraum, Black Sabbitch, Brutus and Crystal Viper.

Got a hankering for Wacken? We can only recommend a visit to this great, peaceful metal party with a clear conscience. And the first confirmed bands promise a great festival experience in 2025, including Within Temptation, Beyond the Black and Tarja. Tickets can be purchased for 333.00 euros in advance here.

Rain or Shine!