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First Bands Announced for Wacken Open Air 2027
Wacken 2027 Announced
As Wacken Open Air 2026’s 35th anniversary celebration comes to an end, the festival organizers have announced the first bands set to perform at the 2027 edition. Taking place from 28–31 July 2027, the festival’s new lineup already features names such as Electric Callboy, Five Finger Death Punch, Helloween, Kanonenfieber, Cavalera Conspiracy, and many more.
The pre-sale for Wacken Open Air 2027 tickets will begin on Sunday, 2 August 2026, at 8:00 PM CEST. As in previous years, festival tickets will be available through the official sales channels.
Wacken Open Air 2026 welcomed 85,000 metal fans as part of its 35th anniversary celebrations. With performances from acts such as Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Savatage, Hämatom, In Flames, Powerwolf, and Sabaton, the festival also hosted Running Wild’s final ever concert, while Sepultura delivered their last performance in Germany.
Throughout the festival, more than 200 performances took place across the Harder and Faster main stages as well as the festival’s seven additional stages. As part of Metal Battle, more than 10,000 bands from 102 countries applied for the competition, with 31 bands earning the opportunity to perform at Wacken. Following the jury vote and the audience vote at the festival site, Chilean band Force claimed first place, while Sentient Void from the Philippines won the online voting category.
The organizers also stated that the new arrival and camping system introduced for Wacken Open Air 2026 contributed positively to the overall festival flow. Thanks to earlier access to the camping areas, the majority of attendees had already arrived before the festival officially began, and a similar approach will continue in 2027.
Wacken 2027 Lineup Continues to Grow
The first Wacken Open Air 2027 lineup announcement, revealed on the festival’s closing night, brings together numerous notable names from across different corners of metal. The lineup includes modern metal representatives such as Electric Callboy, Knocked Loose, and Jinjer, alongside classic heavy metal acts including Helloween, HammerFall, Metal Church, and U.D.O.
The extreme metal side of the bill features names such as Napalm Death, Belphegor, Dark Tranquillity, Gaerea, Shadow of Intent, Crypta, and Sylosis. In addition, Avatar, Dethklok, Five Finger Death Punch, Halestorm, Blue Medusa, and Cavalera Conspiracy are among the notable additions to the 2027 festival lineup.
The festival organizers also announced that DragonForce will perform their only European festival appearance of summer 2027 at Wacken Open Air. In addition, Alissa White-Gluz will take the stage at the festival with Blue Medusa.
Tailgunner Announcement Sparks Controversy
British heavy metal band Tailgunner was among the first acts announced for Wacken Open Air 2027. However, following discussions on social media regarding some members of the band, the festival’s announcement post received a significant amount of negative feedback.
Wacken organizers stated that they would review the situation following the reactions they received. So far, the festival has not released any official statement confirming that Tailgunner have been removed from the 2027 lineup or that their participation status has changed.
First Confirmed Bands for Wacken Open Air 2027
Avatar, Beast in Black, Belphegor, Between Two Worlds, Blue Medusa, Carnifex, Cavalera Conspiracy, Children of Bodom, Creeper, Crypta, Dark Tranquillity, Dethklok, DragonForce, Edguy, Electric Callboy, Feuerschwanz, Five Finger Death Punch, Gaerea, Halestorm, HammerFall, Heaven Shall Burn, Heavens Gate, Helloween, Hiraes, Imminence, Jinjer, John 5, John Bush (Anthrax Show), Kanonenfieber, Knocked Loose, Make Them Suffer, Malevolence, Metal Church, Mittel Alta, Napalm Death, Norther, Overkill, Primordial, Seven Blood, Shadow of Intent, Sylosis, Tailgunner, The Browning, The Narrator, The New Roses, Towards the Sinister, Tyketto, U.D.O., Victorious, and Witch Club Satan.
Wacken Open Air 2027 will take place from 28–31 July 2027 in Wacken, Germany. Further band announcements and additional festival details will be revealed in the coming months.
