< Previousmy voice. So why not go out there and have some fun? Do you ever get to watch other bands at festivals? Gene Simmons: Oh, sure. And this year’s Wacken is going to be great and really heavy with bands like Korn. There are going to be some really fantastic musicians. I’m still very much fascinated by the dedication musicians put in their music. It takes years and years to become really good with your instrument. Wacken has been supporting newcomers for 20 years with its own international band contest, the Metal Battle. What is your advice for young musicians? Gene Simmons: You have to be serious about this and stay away from your enemies. Your enemies are drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and having a serious relationship. In the beginning you don’t have enough time to give your partner the attention she or he needs. It is either your career in music or your girl- or boyfriend. It is more honest for every girl or guy to understand that if you go out with a musician, the band always comes first. The band will make your career if you are lucky, it will enable you to play and pay your rent. So the band is everything. Once you have your career, then you can think about a relationship. The W:O:A is a second home to Doro Pesch who you have been friends with for a long time. Is it possible that she will be a guest at your show? Gene Simmons: She has before. She jumped up on stage at another festival. Anything is possible. If she is around, why not? Do you know other German bands? Gene Simmons: I have been a fan of many German bands. Not just the Scorpions, but we took out Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen on tour. There are so many great bands in Germany that also sing in German. I actually was a fan of Peter Maffay in the Seventies. What else are you looking forward to when it comes to playing the W:O:A? Gene Simmons: I want Wiener Schnitzel Holsteiner Art! And you know what I really love is German bread. In the Seventies we were touring by bus and we would stop at these little villages and buy some bread. It was made right there by somebody’s grandmother. It is the best bread I ever tasted. For 50 Years Gene Simmons was “The Demon” in Kiss and wore a costume that weighed 40 pounds credits: Promo, Universal MusicMPS HANSEATIC PROUDLY PRESENTSyears of Metal Bat- tle. The competi- tion has been bringing out the world’s loudest newcomers since 2004. The final of the 30 best traditionally takes place at the W:O:A Friday afternoon at the W:O:A. The press tent is burst- ing at the seams, people talk in English, Italian, Japanese. Many are stand- ing because they couldn’t get a seat. There’s laughter, but you can also feel the tension. The journalists’ re- cording devices are running. Has a headliner been announced? Is Bruce Dickin- son handing out free beer? No, the reason for the overcrowd- ed press tent is the same every year: The award ceremony of the Wacken Metal Battle. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the newcomer competition. “The bands in our scene need a bigger platform,” ex- plains Wacken co-founder Thomas Jen- sen. „And there’s a lot happening at the Metal Bat- tle right up to the finals. In some countries, there are eight or nine pre-shows, which means that the participating bands can play live very often. And that’s what metal is all about. My W:O:A partner Holger and I start- ed mainly the live sector, and there are very few bands that have become successful without playing many concerts.” Jensen adds: “The name Wacken Metal Battle might sound tough, but this is not a battle against each other, but rather a joint battle for metal. We want to bring the world together a little bit.” The Wacken Metal Bat- tle was launched in 2004. Back then it was limited to Germany, but when Sascha Jahn took over as organizer in 2011, the competition had already gone international. Today, bands from more than 70 nations are taking part, with 30 groups finally performing at the Wacken Open Air itself. A major change took place in 2014: up to this point, winners would be offered a record deal, but it turned out the bands of- ten would or could not go down that route. So the team restruc- tured the prizes and started to pay out financial support to the successful newcomers instead. “The groups can then use it to record albums, buy a van ... or drink it all away,” laughs Jahn. Jahn finds it particularly chal- lenging that the Wacken Metal Battle is always at the heart of world events. “If you think about 2022 and the war in Ukraine, for example... We naturally asked ourselves how we were going to deal with that,” he reports. “But we managed to ensure that the Ukrainians were able to take part despite everything.” No matter where in the world major changes or events take place, they always have an impact on the competi- tion. Nevertheless (or actually because of this) bands from even more countries will be able to take part in the future. “We are very happy with our basic structure, but we are always work- ing on increasing capacity,” ex- plains Jahn. Thomas Jensen adds: “With the Metal Battle, we bring the whole world to a small village, and it works. The fact that we have been able to do this for 20 years fills us with pride and is a great ef- fect our festival is having.“ 20 years of Wacken Metal Battle Metal Battle organizer Sascha Jahnith the Wacken Metal Battle, the W:O:A organizers are looking for the headlin- ers of tomorrow. This is how it works: More than 70 participating nations send their most promis- ing up-and-coming met- al talents to the prelimi- nary rounds around the world. In this first round, bands from major coun- tries such as India, Japan, Spain and the UK take part every year, but also from nations that have been less prominent on the world’s metal stage, such as Botswana and Ecuador. The 30 best of the best ultimately win a slot at the W:O:A and get to show what they’ve got on one of the regular festival stages. 46 jurors from as many countries select the winners, who will be presented with cash and non-cash prizes worth many thousands of euros. Behind the scenes, the young musicians are given the opportunity to make contacts in the music industry. All of this has proved success- ful: Bands such as Battle Beast, Hammercult and Auðn have really taken off after taking part in the Wacken Metal Battle. Phantom Excaliver from Japan won the Metal Battle 2023 credit: Wacken Open Air On Magenta-Musik you can see the report on the Metal Battle from last year: www.magentamusik.de/ woa-metal-battle-zusammenschnitt SEASIDE ENTERTAINMENT PROUDLY PRESENTShe Wacken Metal Bat- tle is not only 20 years old, it is still growing! Taking part this year for the first time: the region “Southern America North- ern Regions” with Colom- bia, Ecuador and Vene- zuela. W:O:A team member Salman U. Syed was at the first regional competition in Bo- gotá. A report. “My visit to Bogotá begins with a jet lag. I land at around 11 pm. In Germany, where I’ve just come from, it’s now 5 pm. In other words, I’m wide awake while Colombia is get- ting ready for bed. I’m met at the airport by the organizer of the new Metal Battle offshoot. On the drive to the hotel, we talk about the challenges involved in organizing such an event in Colombia, especially when it comes to bureaucracy. As an Indian who also comes from a developing country and has been organizing concerts for years, I know exactly what he’s talking about. The next day, I feel like a zombie, but I’m glad about the opportunity to meet up with a friend. He works W:O:A team member Salman U. Syed was in Colombia at the “Wacken Metal Battle Southern America Northern Regions” W:O:A team member Salman U. Syed in Bogotá W:O:A worldwide: For the first time a Metal Battle competition takes place in Bogotá credits: Salman U. Syedat the German embassy in Bogotá, which is cooperating with us. The embassy has pro- vided 2000 euros for the Metal Battle. Later that evening, I meet the participants of the com- petition in a metal museum. Various people from the mu- sic industry are also present. It is exciting to get introduced to the scene and meet musicians from Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Even here in South America, the up-and-coming bands are quite awestruck and positively excited at the op- portunity to take part in such a prestigious event. After all, the reputation of the W:O:A has long reached far beyond Germany and as far as South America. One thing becomes clear in the conversations: Playing at Wacken is one of the big dreams of a band, even for metalheads over here. Starting at 12 noon, eleven bands from the three coun- tries take part. The winners: a group called “Info” from Colombia, who play futur- istic industrial rock and look the part with their extensive black and white face paint. They are the first winners of the “Wacken Met- al Battle Southern America Northern Regions” and will be traveling to the loudest village in the world this year. Con- gratulations! The winners of the first “Wacken Metal Battle Southern America Northern Regions”: Info from ColombiaNext >