Image: Wacken 2026 Lineup Poster
While this year's festival was still in full swing, the organizers of Wacken already revealed the first 35 bands for next year’s edition. Why exactly 35? Because the legendary metal festival will be celebrating its 35th anniversary next summer! The anniversary edition will take place from July 29 to August 1, 2026, and tickets are already on sale – so act fast before everything (once again) sells out! For now, here’s a first look at the 35 acts already announced for the lineup.
The first wave of bands for W:O:A 2026
A whole string of highlights for the 2026 birthday edition has already been unveiled. Rock legends Def Leppard will take the stage as headliners, joined by strong acts like Powerwolf, In Flames, Savatage, Running Wild with their farewell show, and Sepultura, who will play their final concert in Germany!
Even more highlights in this first band wave range from fresh metalcore by Future Palace to crushing Swiss deathcore from Paleface Swiss. Here’s the full list:
- Def Leppard
- In Flames
- Powerwolf
- Savatage
- Allt
- Airbourne
- Any Given Day
- Blood Command
- Blood Fire Death – A tribute to Bathory
- Broken By The Scream
- Einherjer
- Emperor
- Europe
- Faun
- Future Palace
- Gutalax
- Grand Magus
- Insanity Alert
- H-Blockx
- Kupfergold
- Lamb of God
- Luna Kills
- Mantar
- Nevermore
- Orbit Culture
- Paleface Swiss
- Pig Destroyer
- Running Wild
- Sepultura
- Ten56.
- The Gathering
- The Hardkiss
- Thundermother
- Thrown
- Triptykon
Tickets & Prices
Click here to go directly to the ticket page.
The limited Faster Tickets (10,000 units) are already sold out, but you still have a chance to grab a Harder Ticket (351€) or a Louder Ticket (351€)! The difference between the two ticket categories isn’t the ticket itself, but the merch bundles you can order along with them. Either way, you’ll get the full Wacken experience!
