< PreviousExpellow Expellow from Switzerland took first place at the W:O:A Metal Battle 2025 – and are already looking forward to returning to Wacken next year. Thunder from Zurich: Expellow and lead singer Mik Dean Swiss winners: Expellowt’s Wacken Friday, 3 p.m. The press tent in the Wacken United Area is bursting at the seams – like every year, the W:O:A Metal Battle award cere- mony doesn’t just attract the participating bands, but also the global metal press, who are eager to find out who took the top five spots in the competition. The event is hosted by Metal Battle organiser Sascha Jahn and music journalist Gunnar Sauermann, who de- liciously tease the audience with small talk before the announcement. A short time later, they welcome Wacken organiser Thomas Jensen to the stage, who cheerfully ex- presses his excitement about the competition: “The whole world is gathered here un- der the banner of metal. We are all friends.“ Loud cheers. Every band seems to root for the others to win. This year’s Metal Bat- tle saw a number of firsts: Kyrgyzstan took part for the first time, sending My Own Shiva from the capital Bishkek into the fray. Malta dispatched the young band Morsrot to the Holy Ground, and Venezuela flew Vhill to northern Germany. For the South American band, their performance at W:O:A was particularly emotional, singer Joel Rodríguez reveals: “Our band founder Jorge Díaz died of COVID-19 in 2020. We are here for him and for everyone who has supported us so far.” At the end of their show on the W:E:T Stage, Vhill held up a photo of their late founder – for him to be part of the per- formance, after all. The winners of the Metal Battle preliminaries in 2025 hail from all corners of the globe, from South America to Europe and South Asia. Fifth place goes to Panchabhuta from India, who thrilled the audience with a mix of metal and their country’s tradition- al music – and whose victory is announced by the beaming W:O:A employee Salman U. Syed, who also happens to be from India. Elnueveonce from Argentina are delight- ed with their fourth place – so much so that singer Naz- areno Gomez Antolini acci- dentally knocks over one of the photographers in front of the stage as he rushes onto it. Third place goes to Hell- bøund from Bulgaria. And second place is taken by Nu- mento from Finland. All four bands can look forward to cash prizes totalling 7,000 Eu- ros, as well as non-cash prizes, for example from Schecter Guitars. “ !“ After the applause for Nu- mento has died down, silence envelops the press tent. The announcement of the win- ners is imminent, and the two hosts ramp up the suspense. Then last year’s winners, Thus from Denmark, take to the stage. Together, the three Hellbøund Numento Numento from Finland impressed the jury of Wacken Metal Battle with their extreme progressive metal. Frontwoman Katri Hiovain is known to use unusual instruments. Bulgaria’s Hellbøund put on an energetic performance in purple outfits on Wacken Thursday – good vibes guaranteed! The jury of the W:O:A Metal Battle seemed to agree, as the band rocketed to third place. Finns Numento made second place Hellbøund from Bulgaria took home bronze Noisy newcomers from all over the world: the bands of W:O:A Metal Battle 2025death metal musicians shout the name of their successors into the crowd: Expellow from Switzerland! Cheers erupt, especially at the back of the tent – because that’s where the band stands. Formed 19 years ago, the metalcore out- fit can hardly believe their luck. “This is crazy,“ shouts singer Mik Dean, her joy written all over her face. “Our participation here was an emotional rollercoaster! The performance was so awesome, we waited, hoped and had such a good time here. I don’t know how many days it will take for this to sink in.“ Mik is familiar with the Holy Ground, having visited W:O:A as a fan in 2007. In 2025, she especially appre- ciated the spirit among the participating Metal Battle bands. “It wasn’t competi- tive at all; we all had a great time,” she reports. “We are extremely glad to be here and have made new friends. We exchanged flags, T-shirts, contacts... Metal Battle is like a big family gathering. That was the best part of the whole experience, because you don’t normally get to meet bands from so many dif- ferent corners of the world with whom you can share something you love.” As the winners, Expellow will be invited back to perform at W:O:A next year, as is tradi- tion. “We’re really looking forward to it!“ beams Mik. Elnueveonce Elnueveonce from Argentinia create metal in Spanish, earning them fourth place Bands beim Wacken Metal Battle 2025 Elnueveonce (Argentina) Mark My Words (Balkan Regions / Croatia) Hellbøund (Bulgaria) Killotine (Canada) A Burning Rose (Caribbean) My Own Shiva (Caucasia & West Asia / Turkey) Theophobos (Central America) Eternal Power (China) Refore (Czech Republic) Danefae (Denmark) Numento (Finland) Gun Called Britney (Germany) Nefalem (Hungary) Gaddavír (Iceland) Panchabhuta (Indian Sub-Continent) AeSect (Ireland) Morsrot (Malta) Hellmidian (Mexico) Necrosin (Middle East) HYLA (Netherlands) Deadline (Poland) Namek (Portugal) Diluvian Collapse (Romania & Rep. Moldova) Radity (Spain) Vhill (South America Northern Region) Halvar (Sub-Saharan Africa) Expellow (Switzerland) Primal Instinct (Sweden) Alpha (Uruguay) Mourning High (USA)“It’s brilliant that women are making such a strong im- pact on the scene.” Mik is also enthusiastic about the role women now play in metal. “I joined the band 18 years ago, and for the first ten years I was often the only woman at shows,” she explains. “The mindset was different back then, and you had to fight your way through. That’s no longer the case today. I see women in sound engineering, I see women among the stage- hands, I see women as tour managers, and I love that. I think it’s brilliant that women are making such a strong impact on the scene and delivering at all levels – and I’m extremely proud to be a part of it, because I think there’s still a way to go. I can only encourage all women out there to just go for it and get involved in music, because it’s the best thing there is.” “ ” The Swiss band doesn’t yet know what they’ll do with their prize money of 5,000 Euros. “We couldn’t count on winning here because we knew how incredibly strong the competition would be,” explains Mik. “But we’ll put our heads down and see how we can best use the money for the band. Our passion project is quite expensive, so we can really use the winnings.“ In addition to the cash prize, the mu- sicians will also receive new instruments, which they test- ed out on stage immediately. Once they get back home, Ex- pellow plans to start writing songs for their next album. “Now our minds are clear and we’re looking forward to it – and it seems like people want to hear from us.“ Vhill Panchabhuta Gun Called Britney Indian tunes: Panchabhuta came in fifth My Own Shivahe best metal par- ty in the world is over once more – and it’s our turn to say a loud and mighty thank you! And again, the weath- er had questionable plans during W:O:A 2025. But thanks to you, we’re able to brave and master these challenges every year. We weather these storms together! You’re our rock, the support we can count on any time. This thank you goes out to our team, the crews in front of, behind and on the stages, to all the artists and bands as well as their support teams, to the security personnel, the service providers and Met- al-Guards, the vendors and caterers, to our part- ners and sponsors. We also want to thank the police, fire depart- ment, emergency servic- es, customs and the dis- trict of Schenefeld for their consistent cooper- ation that makes W:O:A safe and secure. Without your ener- gy, your commitment, our collaboration and your heart for this festi- val, Wacken wouldn’t be what it is. Thank you! Holger Hübner & Thomas Jensen Wacken Open Air organisers Foto: WOANext >