It’s time to crown the ultimate Canadian metal band! The final four contenders from this year’s Wacken Metal Battle Canada went head-to-head in Vancouver, BC, on May 31st at the Rickshaw Theatre. And the winner is… KILLOTINE! They’ll be representing Canada at the epic Wacken Open Air festival (July 30th – August 2nd) in Germany, where over 80,000 metalheads gather for a wild time.
The other three bands that made it to the nationals were SOULTHEIF (Ottawa, ON), BEYOND SUFFERING (Calgary, AB), and YEGG (Nanaimo, BC). Special guest ARROW IN THE QUIVER, the 2024 BC final winner, brought the house down with their performance. The judges were blown away by all the bands, but KILLOTINE took the top spot.
“What a finals we’ve just had in Vancouver. It’s so nice to see the level of the bands and the great performances from all of them. The result is that we’ve got something special this year: Killotine is the chosen one. This band has a career waiting for them, and the real beginning of that journey will be at Wacken Open Air,” said Canadian Organizer of Wacken Metal Battle Canada, JJ Tartaglia. He’s not wrong – KILLOTINE is on the rise!
The judging panel was a who’s who of Canadian metal royalty, featuring Brittney Slayes (UNLEASH THE ARCHERS), JJ Tartaglia, JJ Caithcart (Founder of Scrape Records), Kris Schulz (Founder of Empower Through Music), Abelardo Mayoral (Founder of The Invisible Orange), Stan Schinners (Owner of Broken Neck Radio), and Justin Dobbin (Owner of Main Stage Rehearsal Studios).
Let’s get to know the final four:
Hamilton’s KILLOTINE is the real deal – they’re like a freight train of riffs and solos that’ll leave you headbanging and breathless. With their “take everything, leave only metal” mentality, they’re not messing around.
