THE BEAST

Wacken Metal Battle Canada is proud to announce its 2023 battle rounds being held from coast to coast for one unsigned Canadian band to perform on one of the world’s most prestigious stages and largest metal festival Wacken Open Air, with over 80,000 people in attendance, held in Wacken, Germany for now over 30 years. (dates listed below)

WMBC has been on pause since 2019, due to the Covid pandemic, and has hosted battles across Canada from 2013 until 2019, with one skip year in 2017.

Previous winners have been The Slyde (Toronto, ON – 2019), Centuries of Decay (Toronto, ON – 2018), Profaner (Hamilton, ON – 2016), Vesperia (Toronto, ON – 2015), Mutank (Montreal, QC – 2014), Crimson Shadows (Toronto, ON – 2013).

Wacken Metal Battle Canada Trailer – https://youtu.be/b55Fh5Vo64k​

Battles will be hosted in the following cities: Vancouver, BC, Edmonton, AB, Calgary, AB, Toronto, ON, Hamilton, ON, Ottawa, ON, Montreal, QC, and Quebec City, QC.

All bands will be performing in front of experienced music industry professionals who will be making judgments at each qualifying round based on various categories of professionalism and musicianship.

Here’s the full list of dates below, event links for each battle can be found on https://www.facebook.com/MetalBattleCanada.Official/events​

Battle Rounds​
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Vancouver – Preliminary Round
Thurs, Feb 23 – The Cobalt
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Calgary – Preliminary Rounds
Tue, January 17 – Dickens w/ Grim Prognosis, Lÿnx, Tyrants of Chaos
Wed, February 1 – Dickens
Wed, February 15 – Dickens
Wed, March 1 – Dickens
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Edmonton – Preliminary Rounds
Thurs, Jan 19 – Starlite Room w/ Fall of Earth, Withered Days, Enosis
Thurs, Feb 2 – Starlite Room w/ Arcane Tyrant, Repugnant Scum, Malicious Intent
Sun, Feb 5 – Starlite Room w/ Pre Breaker, Sparrow Blue, The Judge The Juror
Thurs, Feb 16 – Starlite Room w/ Rising Sun, The Usual Suspects, Hollow Point & Buried Beneath
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Hamilton – Preliminary Rounds
Fri, Jan 27 – Mainstage Studios w/ Sarcophilous, Aquila, Eaten by Sharks, Hollow Core, Death Perception
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Toronto – Preliminary Rounds
Sat, Jan 28 – Hard Luck w/ Ammo, AxMinister, Devil Witch, Xephyr
Sat, Feb 4 – Hard Luck w/ Phantom, Burdizzo, Bloody Monroe, CNTRL
Fri, Feb 24 – Bovine Sex Club w/ Superchucker, I See Aura, Active Arson, Hellrager
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Ottawa – Preliminary Round
Fri, March 24 – Mavericks
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Quebec City – Preliminary Round
Fri, Feb 24 – Quebec City – La Source de la Martiniere
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Montreal – Preliminary Rounds
Fri, Feb 17 – Piranha Bar
Thurs, March 2 – Piranha Bar
Sat, March 11 – Piranha Bar
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Montreal – Eastern Final (Ottawa vs Montreal vs Quebec City)
Fri, March 31 – Piranha Bar
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Toronto – Ontario Final:
Fri, Mar 3 – Rivoli
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Calgary Final:
Fri, March 10 – Dickens
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Calgary – Western Final (BC, AB)
Sat, April 1 – Dickens
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Toronto – National Final:
Sat, May 13 – Lee’s Palace
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About: Wacken Metal Battle Canada is part of an international competition that sees bands from across the country battle each other for the chance of winning their spot among 29 other countries’ champions, and represent Canada in an international battle of the bands at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival: Wacken Open Air. The battles have been hosted at the festival for over a decade giving independent bands the opportunity to showcase their talents to an international audience along with the chance to win multiple prizes.

How it works:
​Participating cities will host qualifying rounds plus a city final organized by a local city concert promoter where one band will move forward to the Canadian national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will move on to perform at the Wacken Open Air 2023 and compete against the winners of 29 other countries in a final global battle. All bands will be judged during battle rounds by respected local music industry representatives.

Rules for participation: ​​https://metalbattle.ca/rules.html​

Links:​
​Metal-Battle.com​
​MetalBattle.ca​
​Facebook.com/MetalBattleCanada.Official​
​Twitter.com/MetalBattleCan​
​Instagram.com/MetalBattleCanada.Official​

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Media Partners:​
Bravewords
Metal-Rules
Absolute Underground
BrokenNeckRadio
V13
Metal Devastation Radio
Rich Embury (internationally syndicated DJ)
​
​Promoter Partners:​
Boonsdale Records
Dungeonworks Productions
The Invisible Orange
Big Nate Productions
ConcertWorks