The 9th stage of Wacken Open Air – Landgasthof Wacken – once again offers a full week of top-tier acts and entertainment in true metal fashion.
A special highlight will take place on festival Thursday, when Heaven Shall Burn will perform an exclusive, intimate club show at the venue. A total of 400 tickets will be raffled off among all W:O:A 2026 ticket holders in advance; information on how to participate can be found here.
Like Heaven Shall Burn’s most recent tour, the concert is being held under the banner “Pay With Your Blood” – an initiative of the W:O:A blood donation program. Blood donors had the opportunity to “donate their way” to free tickets for the Heaven Shall Burn tour by giving blood. The current raffle is not tied to a blood donation.
“Donating blood is a simple and safe act of solidarity that saves lives,” explains Heaven Shall Burn vocalist Marcus Bischoff. “Not only helping others, but also doing something good for yourself. I speak from personal experience as a long-time nurse. As soon as we heard that the ‘Pay with Your Blood’ campaign was back, we were in again right away. This year, we’re playing an exclusive show at Landgasthof Wacken, and we couldn’t be more excited! If you’ve been there before, you know what to expect: it’ll be packed, it’ll be loud!. See you there – it’s going to be one hell of a party!”
The rest of the festival week’s program ensures that every metalhead will find something to enjoy at LGH. Highlights include the brand-new outfit Jäst (featuring members of Grave Digger, Orden Ogan and Freedom Call) with their ‘80s-inspired AOR reboot, as well as The Limit. The doom-punk supergroup featuring Pentagram icon Bobby Liebling, New York punk legend Sonny Vincent and Slime drummer Alex Schwers will deliver a highly explosive dose of raw riffs on festival Friday.
The international contingent is represented by Chilean phenomenon Mawiza. The band combines profound messages about the preservation of nature with ritualistic, crushing live energy, performing entirely in the indigenous language of the Mapuche people. Also travelling in from Beijing are two-time Wacken veterans Die From Sorrow, ready to demonstrate why they won the W:O:A Metal Battle and are regarded as one of the leading forces in the Chinese melodic death metal scene.
Completing the bill is an unstoppable Swiss faction and their minimalist approach to sound: modern rock duo 2silent shines with cinematic anthems, while Cevret follows up with a progressive and complex metalcore steamroller.
Pure, untamed underground energy comes courtesy of Lausanne-based death hardcore outfit Dry and Shattered and Zurich’s wrecking crew XOXO. And proving that massive groove metal and punk rock do not even require guitars are The Hebridean Sheep, conjuring hypnotic sounds from drums, bass and vicious fuzz.
But that is far from all: Beyond the traditional concert experience, visitors can unleash their inner rock star at the Metal Karaoke Massacre.
Those looking to further their musical education on Saturday should not miss the Jazz Sabbath Special Breakfast Show. Is this really the legendary trio whose songs were allegedly stolen by none other than the Prince of Darkness himself – or might members of Black Sabbath actually be involved? Find it out on Saturday!
Further information and news will follow shortly. Stay up to date here.
Line-Up LGH:
Sunday, July 26:
– Wacken Firefighters, T.H. And The Boneshakers, Dark Embrace, Mob Rules, Jäst, Skyline, Metal Karaoke Massacre
Monday, July 27:
– „Presented by Greenfield Foundation“: 2Silent, Cevret, Dry And Shattered, XOXO, Metal Karaoke Massacre
Tuesday, July 28:
– „Presented by Wacken Foundation“: Tribute2Wacken, Mawiza, Die From Sorrow, – Pentastone, Grell
Wednesday, July 29:
– Megalive – A Tribute To Megadeth, Ragetrack – A Tribute To Rage Against The Machine, – Mother – A Tribute To Danzig, Ozzyfied – A Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne
Thursday, July 30:
– Heaven Shall Burn – Presented By Pay With Your Blood
(Tickets available by raffle only.)
Friday, July 31:
– The Hebridean Sheep, The Limit
Saturday, August 1:
– Jazz Sabbath (Special Breakfast Show)
WACKEN OPEN AIR 2026
July 29 – August 1 2026
For more information and ticket pre-sale, visit:
wacken.com and metaltix.com
