VOICE OF ROCK To Provide Wacken Coverage

Posted by {ga=voradmin} 15 July 2011

Featured News

VOICE OF ROCK RADIO is proud to announce that we will be bringing exclusive coverage and interviews from this year’s WACKEN OPEN AIR in Germany….

  

  

  


History of Wacken Open Air

When Holger Hubner and Thomas Jensen first had the idea of organizing an open air festival for fans of hard and heavy music in their home area, Wacken 20 years ago, they couldn’t guess that this idea was going to become te world’s biggest and most important heavy metal festival.  The first Wacken Open Air was visited by 800 fans, mostly from the area.  Six years later 10 000 fans from all over Northern Germany came to celebrate at the festival.  As one of the first did the Wacken Open Air acknowledged at the end of the 1990’s the growing importance of the internet and how to use it effectively.  Heavy metal fans all over the world could be reached with this new medium.  Bit by bit the Wacken Open Air became a meeting point for the international heavy metal scene.

    

Together with the festival village Wacken became an example for tolerance and acceptance of hard and heavy music.  The countrified County with 1800 inhabitants welcomes 100’s of heavy metal fans with unique hospitality year after year.  Every year the festival is an outstanding event for the village Wacken and the adjoining counties. 2003 firstly 30 000 visitors came to WOA.  In the meantime the festival advanced to the most important date of the year not only to fans from all over the world but also to artists of the genre, who made Wacken a fixed date in their schedules.

  

Internationally known artists are coming to northern Germany every year.  Whether its Motorhead, Saxon, Slayer or British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, who played 2008, no artist want to stand back when it comes to inspire 70 000 die-hard festival visitors in a distinctively peaceful atmosphere.  The movie “Full Metal Village” by Korean Sung Hyung Cho, which is honoured by Max Ophuls price shows impressively the atmosphere, village, fans and artists that are making Wacken a unique experience every year.

Furthermore did the organizers work not only on the improvement of the infrastructure constantly, especially the advancement and support of newcomer bands are a matter of importance for them.

2005 Metal Battle – a newcomer competition for heavy metal bands was found.  After being a national competition in the first year, 24 countries take part in the Metal Battle nowadays.  Firstly in 2008 an Israeli band won the final which is played at WOA.  The band gets a long-term support besides, of course, a label contract.  Finally the idea to create a foundation, The Wacken Foundation, was made up of this newcomer engagement.  This foundation does not only support young musicians but also families in need.  One of the curators is among others the German singer Doro Pesch.

  

2009 did the WOA celebrate it’s 20th anniversary.  Anyway, the organizers do not rest on their laurels of their success story.  They invested in the infrastructure of the field over and over again to guarantee the fans and musicians each year an unforgettable heavy metal experience at the WOA.  2010 was the WOA able to announce an ahead of time sold out for the 5th time in a row.  Three metal icons at one time – Iron Maiden, Motley Crue and Alice Cooper made once again festival history at WOA.

  

2011 will be made an unbelievable festival experience by names Blind Guardian, Avantasia, Apocolyptica, Judas Priest and last but not least Ozzy Osbourne.
Check the full line-up and additional information at this location.