1. TOP ACT confirmed

Dear Metalheads,

first headline act for W:O:A 2009 has been determined:

MACHINE HEAD

The guys from the Bay Area are the first band for the "Best Of Programme" on the occasion of the 20th anniversary.

For more information about the band simply go to Billing/Bands

More bands and headliners will from now on be regularly announced within the next few weeks.

Moreover:

The Blackening Special Edition!

MACHINE HEAD were awarded Best Live Band at this year's British Kerrang! Awards - and rightly so, as they spent this summer headlining the second stage of the first Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour in the U.S. and also took the festival stages in Europe apart.

The special edition with a classy new artwork will include the following:

Disc 1 “The Blackening” - regular album

Disc 2 includes b-sides and rare tracks with material of the years 1994 - 2008.

It contains altogether 13 songs: 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' (Iron Maiden Cover), 'Alan's On Fire' (Poison Idea Cover), 'Negative Creep' (Nirvana Cover), 'Seasons Wither', 'My Misery', 'House Of Suffering' (Bad Brains Cover), 'The Possibility Of Life's Destruction' (Discharge Cover), 'Ten Ton Hammer', 'Hole In The Sky' (Black Sabbath Cover), 'Colors' (Ice-T Cover), 'Hard Times' - live in New York (Cro-Mags Cover), 'Halo (I Want Your Soul)' demo and 'Aesthetics Of Hate' demo.

On the bonus dvd you will find three uncensored videos of 'Halo', 'Now I Lay Thee Down' and 'Aesthetics Of Hate' with respective Making Ofs!

And those of you who haven't seen the guys perform live or who just cannot get enough of Machine Heads live presence now have the chance to have a look at the following gigs: 'Clenching The Fists Of Dissent' (With Full Force 2008), 'Now I Lay Thee Down' (With Full Force 2008), 'Halo' (With Full Force 2008)', 'Aesthetics Of Hate' (Rock In Rio 2008), 'Davidian' (Rock In Rio 2008), 'Imperium' (Download 2007), 'Old' (Download 2007), 'A Thousand Lies' (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004), 'The Rage To Overcome' (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004), 'Death Church' (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004), 'Blood For Blood' (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004).

Even future tour colleague James Hetfield of Metallica only has good words for them: "The Blackening [is] unbelievable. Unbelievable sound and power. It sounds like a band on fire. They have really turned it on again for me."

Your

W:O:A Team