For two years it remained quiet in the tranquil village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein. The corona pandemic prevented Wacken Open Air 2020 and 2021. But this year there will finally be music again. 75,000 fans descended on the small community and celebrated to loud heavy metal sounds. Many dressed up for the occasion.
The British veterans of Judas Priest performed on Thursday. Slipknot, Powerwolf, Hämatom, In Extremo, Lordi and Slime, among others, will be playing until Saturday. The Cologne dialect band Höhner, who will be performing their hits for the first time at the heavy metal festival, will have a special appearance. “We were totally drained,” said festival organizer Thomas Jensen. “The blood kind of gets back in the veins and it doesn’t really matter which band is playing.”