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Since the dawn of it’s birth, the Wacken Open Air festival has been hallowed land for metalheads of all nations. The trip to the small village of Wacken has become a pilgrimage for those who worship the extreme. Each summer, swarms of men and women clad in their black uniforms flock to Wacken to watch the finest bands in metal play to their most dedicated fans. What more could you ask for?

We pick up the story 20 years on, in the year of 2009 where the boys and girls who run Wacken are slaving to create the best metal festival ever seen. It will simply have everything that any self respecting metal head could wish for: a huge metal camp, where the festivities never end; the largest metal market in the world, where you can purchase all of your metal goods from cd’s to chain mail; facilities for the disabled; games areas; lockers for safe keeping…and the list goes on.

You could have the weekend of your life without even visiting the stages, where the most prestigious acts that the organizers have chosen for you will play their incredible music. But nevertheless it’s a bonus, right?! The acts confirmed so far include Bay Area thrash kings Testament, Viking l overlords Amon Amarth and Rob Flynn’s true metal masters Machine Head as well as all time classics Motorhead and Heaven and Hell. With many more to come this 20th anniversary will surely be a date to remember.

While tickets for the festival being sold by the official suppliers over at Metaltix have sold out, there are still many tickets available as travel packages with one of the many coach companies organising trips around Europe which are all linked from the official website.

For those who are sadly unable to attend the main festival for whatever reason, Wacken have expanded their scheme of sub-festivals which go by the name of Wacken Rock. No fewer than three of these smaller scale festivals will take place from now until the main event in three different venues over Europe.

For more information about either the main festival or Wacken Rock see:

http://www.wacken.com
http://www.metaltix.com

See you in the pits!