:: #1 JULY 2026COLLECTOR’S ITEM Let‘s hit the mosh pit, metalheads: With natural vitamins and minerals from plants, mushrooms, and lichens, you‘ll rock Wacken! Try it now at the Farmers Market. DE-ÖKO-007 | voelkel.biohe 35th Wacken Open Air is just around the corner, and once again all eyes are on the sky: what will it be this year – a dust bowl or a mud bath? Whatever the weather, one thing is certain: it will be faster, harder, louder. Wacken Open Air is part of Schleswig-Holstein, and it is a perfect fit for a state that em- braces diver- sity. Heavy metal in a field and a classical concert in a cowshed – you can find both here. A church service in Schleswig Ca- thedral or Judas Priest on the Holy Ground – everyone is free to choose. What matters most is a strong sense of community. That is something shared by the 85,000 festival-goers just as much as by the people of Schleswig-Hol- stein. Equally impressive is the commitment shown by the Wacken team and its fans to combine hard music with heart-warming initiatives. Whether supporting Lautstark gegen Krebs (“Loud Against Cancer”) or registering as a bone marrow donor, Wack- en Open Air also stands for social commitment. Above all, however, it provides a stage for bands from across the world of metal and a unique metal universe for fans from near and far. It brings people together through music – and there are few better ways to do that. I am looking forward to visiting the festival, would like to thank all the volun- teers, and wish all Wacken fans, the bands, and the or- ganisers a truly great W:O 2026! Yours sincerely, Daniel Günther Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein acken Open Air is celebrating its 35th anniversary – and The Bullhead has a reason to pop the corks as well: this is the tenth edition of the official W:O:A magazine! Just like this issue, all pre- vious editions are available to read online for free in both German and English on our website. As always, The Bull- head features exclusive inter- views with this year’s head- liners, including Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Derrick Green of Sepultura. We also take you behind the scenes and into the inner workings of the festival, explain the latest improvements to the festival grounds, and tell you everything you need to know about the Metal Battle audi- ence vote. Just click, dive in, and enjoy! www.wacken.com IMRPINT The Bullhead is a product of WOA FESTIVAL GMBH Schenefelder Straße 17 25596 Wacken Managing Directors: Thomas Jensen, Holger Hübner, Andre Jürgens Editorial management: Andrea Leim Design: arne__creates Project coordination: Peter Klapproth Editorial team: Nicole Ankelmann, Marc Halupczok, Christof Leim, Timon Menge, Stefan Reuter, Celia Woitas Copy editors: Hanna Wild, Christof Leim, Dr. Sascha Gerhards (EN) Editorial deadline: July 19th, 8.00p.m. #3 AUGUST 2025 Credit: WOA Wacken bosses at the mega gig Metal dinosaurs are the people’s headliner The best photos of fans & artists Powerwolf’s Falk Maria Schlegel Def Leppard’s Phil Collen In Flames’ Anders Fridén 85,000 metal fans celebrate a mudtastic, noisy week on the Holy Ground Credit: Jen Rosenstein The guitar hero talks about his father figure Ozzy, last messages and values that remain forever Chris Caffery about feeling at home on the holy ground Filippa Nässil dreams of a special birthday cake at Wacken 2026 What’s new in 2026 about TE.N.T., Moshtel and the other areas #4 DECEMBER 2025 A spectacular drone show announced the upcoming anniversary edition of Wacken Open Air Minister- President Daniel Günther Credits: W:O:A, StaatskanzleiIt’s a festival photo that could still be taken today: a handful of friends spending some days together, listening to music, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. Of course, there was plenty of hard work and delicious beer to be had at the first edition of W:O:A in August 1990 as well. By fans, for fans: This idea shaped the Wacken Open Air right from its early days and remains part of its DNA to this day. XXXAt the top are Holger (left) and Thomas (right), circled. In the circle in front of them, you can see Gösy Schlüter, Wacken co-founder and drummer for Thomas’s former band Skyline. Seated at the bottom right is Mark Ramsauer, who designed the legendary Bullhead. “The people in the photo all helped out in one way or another,” says Gösy. “It wouldn’t have worked without them.” by Timon Menge lueless”: That’s more or less how you could describe the early days of W:O:A. It was 1990 when Thomas Jensen, Holger Hübner, and their friend Andreas “Gösy” Schlüter put together the first Wacken Open Air– without any expe- rience, but with all the more passion. Their dream: to organize a festival they them- selves would love to attend. After all, the organizers had seen plenty of other events in the years prior and closely observed ex- actly what they want- ed to do better. “Plus, of course, we were able to play there with our band, Sky- line,” explains Gösy. Back then, Thom- as was also part of the group, playing bass. While he’s no longer on board to- day, Gösy still is – and Skyline still traditionally kicks off Wacken Thurs- day on the main stages. “It’s always like a big family celebration,” says the drummer. Right from the start, the W:O:A found- ers emphasized profession- alism, even though they didn’t really know what that meant back then. They wanted a big stage, a good sound system, and a steady supply of cold drinks. “The first year was awesome,” recalls Thomas. “But we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into, and af- terwards we were completely wiped out. On Sunday after we took everything down, I just fell asleep on the hood of my car.” The founders received active support from their friends pic- tured in the photo. “It still blows my mind when I think about how it all started,” Gösy marvels. “The preparations and setup back then… We hardly had any bad weather, as you can see in the photo. The sun was shining. We set up the stage, put up fences, booked bands, and knew our way around the tech.” All of this was possible be- cause the three young men from northern Germany could rely on their friends. “Back then, our buddies and we were outsiders for a long time,” recalls Thomas. “We’d always ride our bikes to the surrounding towns to par- ty. People would always say, ‘On the weekend, those guys from Wacken come and get absolute- ly wasted.’ Sometimes things went wrong on the ride back, and you’d end up in a ditch with your bike. (Laughs.) But it was a great time, and many of our friends still visit the festival. Some even work there, because deep down we still want the same thing we did back then: to have a good time with our friends and families –whether that’s our own family or the metal family. All of us in the photo are united by our love of music, and we’re very grateful that, in most cases, we’re still able to share that with each other.” Back then, none of the volun- teers in the photo had any idea how big the W:O:A would even- tually become. On the contrary: In the beginning, a lot of promo- tion was still needed. “We hand- ed out flyers and put up posters everywhere,” says Gösy. “We’d drive out at night and plaster :: !everything with them until the cops pulled us over.” That’s just what you do in provincial north- ern Germany. “There was noth- ing else,” explains Holger. “Back then, we didn’t think about what might be successful, because it seemed hopeless anyway. Stadi- um rock was dead, then grunge came along. The question was: They don’t have what we want here? Then let’s just do it our- selves.” And that’s how it hap- pened: Together, they planned the first edition; their buddy Mark Ramsauer drew the leg- endary bullhead for the promo- tional materials. And soon after, around 800 metalheads arrived to attend the first W:O:A, which was held in the legendary Kuhle back then – a hollow located be- hind today’s main stages. “ ” The first W:O:A team didn’t let setbacks discourage them either. “I remember how we set off back in a horse trailer to pick up equipment for the festival,” Gösy recounts. “On the way back, of course, we were just blasting music and chatting. But when we arrived at the festival grounds, the trailer was gone. We drove back and found it in a stream a few villages down the road.” The young organizers also had bigger worries: “When we did our first financial review, it was pretty rough. But by the next morning, we’d already forgotten about it. We just wanted to do even bet- ter next time.” Holger agrees: “Wacken is very much shaped by trial and error. We just always said, ‘Screw it– let’s keep going.’ We never even thought about just quitting.” The fact that W:O:A is now about a hundred times bigger than it was in the early ’90s doesn’t sit well with everyone. “Sure, I can understand that some people feel like there’s a Wacken overload,” Thomas ex- plains. “But honestly, that ‘over- kill’ is exactly what Holger and I wanted from the very beginning: ‘No sleep at all, rock around the clock, everything 24/7’– that’s exactly what the festival is now. If you look at old flyers, you could already see our attitude back then: It said, ‘So where the hell is Wacken?’– and as an ex- planation, we drew Hamburg really small and Wacken really big. That’s where my father’s local pride came through, along with that underdog feel- ing from back then.” With 85,000 attend- ees from all over the world, Wacken Open Air is now one of the world’s largest metal festivals. It all started with an idea and some helpful friends. Director Cordula Kablitz-Post tells more about the festival’s founding and the development of Wacken Open Air in the new documentary “Wacken– Hearts Full of Metal,” which has been available on MagentaTV since June 4, 2026. “We recounted everything and looked back,” explains Thomas. “That was important to us so that the fans could hear the whole story from us.” In addition to Thom- as and Holger, Gösy also talks about the early days in the documentary, as do musicians, fam- ily members, and companions from 36 years of Wacken Open Air. As beauti- ful and memorable as these flashbacks are, for Holger and Thomas, the future is naturally the main focus. “Wacken is our home, and it has become our life’s work. I don’t see all of this as a job, but as a calling,” says Thomas Jensen. That’s why both founders are doing everything they can to en- sure that the world’s best metal party continues for a long time to come, true to the motto: Party on! Here’s to the next 100 years! Gösy, Holger, and Thomas (back row, from right to left) with the other members of Skyline, Doro, and Jennifer Haben at the premiere of “Wacken - Hearts Full Of Metal” Credits: W:O:A, privatVisit us at our Cosmic Love Ground near the Louder Stage and look forward to attractive goodies, free drinking water and lots of loud metal love. COSMIC WHERE METAL HEARTS UNITE!After more than four decades, Sepultura are bringing one of metal‘s most influential careers to a close. During the band‘s farewell tour, we caught up with frontman Derrick Green to talk about the difficult decision to end the journey, the emotions surrounding each final performance, and why saying goodbye now feels right. Derrick Green has been Sepultura’s lead vocalist since 1997by Andrea Leim After more than 40 years, Sepultura have decided to call it a day. Why does this feel like the right moment to end it all? Derrick Green: I think it’s something you simply feel. After so many years and decades together, it just feels right. I think it’s healthy to take a step back, really recognise what’s been happening, and allow yourself to try different things. For us, this is about ending things on our own terms instead of waiting until we’re completely burnt out, or something else forces the decision. It’s great to finish while we still feel strong. The farewell tour stretches across 18 months. What does it mean to have this much time for the final run? Derrick Green: Overall, I still feel it’s the right decision, even though it’s incredibly hard and heartbreaking. Sometimes we’re playing a show and, right at the end, I’m standing on stage thinking, “Wow... this might be the last time we’ll ever play here.” You really feel the emotion from the audience. I’ve also been receiving handwritten letters from fans, and those are the ones that get me. They’re difficult to read because they’re so personal and incredibly meaningful. So many people tell us how much the band has meant to them and how it has helped them throughout their lives. I’m grateful that our music could have that kind of impact. So this isn’t just a celebration of Sepultura’s history. It’s also a process of letting go. Derrick Green: It’s definitely a celebration of everything we’ve achieved and all the work we’ve put in, but at the same time it’s also about letting go. It’s both. Do you ever find yourself having second thoughts about it? Derrick Green: Oh yeah. A lot. I’m not going to lie. The emotions at these shows are stronger than ever. We’re also getting along incredibly well as a band, and we’ve finally put together a fantastic crew that we love working with. We’ve stepped everything up. The shows are bigger, the production is bigger– it’s exactly what we’ve always dreamed about. At the same time, there’s something exciting about not knowing what the next chapter is going to be. Your last German show will be at Wacken Open Air, where you’ve played many times. What comes to mind when you think about Wacken? Derrick Green: Mud. Lots of mud. Drowning in mud (laughs). But what I’ve always loved about Wacken is the diversity. You see people from all over the world coming together. I remember being fascinated by all the different flags. I’m actually a huge flag person– I know pretty much every flag in the world. It’s nothing to brag about, but I always enjoy recognising where people have travelled from. Wacken has always been one of the biggest metal festivals in the world, and because of that it holds a very special place in Sepultura’s history. We’ve had some incredible moments there and I’m really looking forward to coming back. 1984 formed by Max & Igor Cavalera with Cássio and Beto Pinga 1986 “Morbid Visions” 1987 Andreas Kisser joins the Band 1987 “Schizophrenia” 1989 “Beneath The Remains” 1991 “Arise” 1993 “Chaos A.D” 1996 “Roots” 1996 Max Cavalera leaves the Band 1997 Derrick Green takes Cavalera’s place as the frontman 1998 “Against” 2001 “Nation” 2003 “Roorback” 2006 “Dante XXI” 2006 Igor Cavalera leaves the band 2009 “A-Lex” 2011 “Kairos” 2011 Sepultura play Wacken for the first time 2013 “The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart” 2017 “Machine Messiah” 2020 “Quadra” Green and guitarist Andreas Kisser deliver an outstanding performance at W:O:A „ .“Next >