Iconic German WACKEN OPEN AIR has recently revealed the name of the bands who are confirmed for the next year festival. The list of the bands can be read below:
Iron Maiden
Megadeth
The Dropkick Murphys
Wardruna
Jinjer
Beartooth
Two Steps From Hell
Ensiferum
Deicide
Pentagram
Nervosa
Burning Witches
American multi-platinum powerhouse, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH are excited to announce their major in-game collaboration with Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast free-to-play mobile game.
Following several successful collaborations Legacy of the Beast is now teaming up with Five Finger Death Punch! Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast needed a character that would fit perfectly into a story with Magma Beast Eddie, a scheming denizen of Hell itself, born of fire and darkness. This latest Eddie was released as a special edition of Beast Eddie, uniquely created for Legacy of the Beast during Maiden’s 2019 leg of the tour and will herald Maiden’s return to the Americas for 29 shows on August 27th in Curitiba, Brazil and concluding in Tampa, Florida two months later on October 27th.
This exciting collaboration is a dungeon event called ‘Afterlife’ inspired by Five Finger Death Punch’s forthcoming ninth studio album (out 8/19) & Knucklehead, 5FDP’s iconic mascot featured on many of their album covers.
The week-long event will take fans and players on a journey with Magma Beast Eddie and Knucklehead, a fierce warrior and a brutally efficient combatant who also guards the gate to Purgatory. As civil war wages in Hell, demons and devil-kin pour out to take advantage of the chaos. The gate to Purgatory, the most exposed entrance to Hell, is overrun. Even a powerful warrior such as Knucklehead has his limits, and as the demons escape through the gate, a mysterious new individual makes his presence known, offering assistance – but at what cost?
When asked about Knucklehead and Magma Beast Eddie teaming up in Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast game, Zoltan Bathory, founder and guitarist for Five Finger Death Punch said,
“You know, it’s an unexpected and impossible dream for me and my band that my childhood heroes – in this moment in life – are being let into the beautiful landscape of the game,” Zoltan continued by exclaiming, “to me Iron Maiden was the band that got me into heavy metal and slung me onto the path of my musical journey. Iron Maiden created a metal community when we were growing up – it was a brotherhood, and with this game, they’re doing it again because they’re bringing together all of these bands, and their mascots and it has this feeling of community. To me, that was very important about what got me interested in the genre in the first place.”
Will Moore, CEO Navigator Games said
“For over a year we have wanted to collaborate with Five Finger Death Punch and create Knucklehead as a playable character in the game. Knucklehead is one of the fiercest metal mascots and the perfect accomplice to join Eddie in battle against the hordes of demons as they try to escape Hell. We had an awesome time working with Zoltan on the Afterlife Dungeon concept and are excited to finally be able to invite fans to experience it.”
In Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast , metal and RPG gaming fans take on the role of the band’s iconic mascot, Eddie who travels across a spectacularly diverse array of worlds by traveling through time in captivating 3D environments. Eddie appears in many forms, each a part of Iron Maiden’s rich history, and each with a set of special powers and abilities.
Players can earn the Knucklehead character for FREE from our newest login calendar starting Tuesday, July 12th. Log in any 7 days between July 12th and August 11th to earn awesome daily rewards including Knucklehead himself on the 7th day!
Over the years the game has expanded to include 25 dungeons and 6 unique Worlds, from the pits of Hell, Ancient Egypt, World War II to the far future, hundreds of characters including 90 Eddies based on classic Maiden album covers. A vast array of enemies – corrupt Demons (Lucifer, Baphomet), Gods (Horus, Osiris, Odin) and Monsters, a bloody Player vs Player Battle Arena and a ruthless Gauntlet feature designed to satisfy new players and hardcore long term players. The latest feature ‘Clans’ allows players to join forces with their blood brothers to complete team tasks and face off against monstrous Raid Bosses. All to an in-game soundtrack of over 30 Iron Maiden tracks including – The Trooper, Where Eagles Dare, Aces High and more.
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast, is an action-packed, free-to-play mobile game available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
The Metal Voice’s Jimmy Kay talks to legendary DJ Neal Kay in an exclusive live interview about the rise of Iron Maiden & NWOBHM. These stories and more told in Neal Kay’s new official biography by author Stjepan Juras with a forward by Iron MaidenSteve Harris.
Neal Kay shows and explains the tape, “This is the original Iron Maiden Demo Tape, with the date, on the top. This is the tape that Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) gave to me at The Bandwagon. It’s the tape I used to take around the recording industry to let them hear what Maiden were. (1978). That’s the one and there aren’t many left. Steve has one I have one and maybe a couple of others. I know this thing is priceless, that I understand. But it is a direct family heirloom to me and it’s more important to me than any gold album. This is what started something immense, truly wonderful, you don’t get anything better than that. That is the tape that did it. “
Following up on the bold statement made by their 2018 debut album, the band founded by late Motörhead guitarist Würzel, LEADER OF DOWN, return with a killer new single “Hitman.” The song features the band’s trademark driving rhythms and gritty distorted guitars, including a brilliant contribution from one of Iron Maiden’s first guitarist, Dennis Stratton, who shines on a late-song solo that gives the song a fantastic finale. Lyrically, “Hitman” takes the listener deep into the mind of the song’s central character, a charismatic if mentally unbalanced murderer for hire. All together, “Hitman” hits its mark with professional precision!
Stratton himself declares, “It was a great pleasure to be asked to provide a solo for ‘Hitman’ and having guested on stage with Leader of Down on a recent UK show it was great to be back with the boys and appear in the video as well.”
The feeling is mutual for the band who add “We were thrilled to have Dennis play on our first single from the album. We can’t wait for you to hear this new record and get back out on the road.”
Also be sure to catch the song’s energetic video, which features Leader Of Down performing the song along with an appearance by Stratton!
“Hitman” previews the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, The Screwtape Letters, which takes its title from a tale of demonic correspondence written by Chronicles Of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. The album was mixed by long-time Motörhead producer and Grammy winner Cameron Webb and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. Watch for The Screwtape Letters to be released April 8 on CD with a 20-page full-color booklet and on limited edition RED vinyl!
POWERWOLF hits the stage once again, announcing a second German show as direct support to IRON MAIDEN! The great package will be opened by Airbourne before POWERWOLF perform as direct support to one of the most important bands in heavy metal. On July 26, 2022, the doors of Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt am Main will open for an unforgettable live show with an amazing line-up.
The last European Wolfsnächte headlining tour (2018) was almost completely sold out and became one big triumph. With the new studio album, Call Of The Wild, the two upcoming shows with Iron Maiden in Bremen and Frankfurt on the Legacy of the Beast Tour 2022 and the upcoming Wolfsnächte Tour through the biggest halls in Europe in autumn 2022, it is certain that the metal world will continue to be under the spell of the Wolfpack. POWERWOLF‘s holy mass in the name of heavy metal is unstoppable – METAL IS RELIGION!
Get a taste of the bombastic shows in the live recap video of the Wolfsnächte Tour 2019 HERE:
A few months after the Iron Maiden shows, POWERWOLF can be experienced headlining the upcoming Wolfsnächte Tour 2022 with their biggest production ever:
POWERWOLF live: 11.12.21 GER – Karlsruhe / Knock Out Festival (Headliner)
w/ Iron Maiden, Airbourne 20.07.22 GER – Bremen / Bürgerweide 26.07.22 GER – Frankfurt am Main / Deutsche Bank Park
w/ Dragonforce, Warkings 11.11.22 GER – Berlin / Velodrom 12.11.22 GER – Munich / Zenith 13.11.22 CZE – Prague / Tipsport Arena 14.11.22 POL – Katowice / MCK 16.11.22 HUN – Budapest / Barba Negra 17.11.22 AUT – Vienna / Gasometer 18.11.22 GER – Stuttgart / Schleyerhalle 19.11.22 CHE – Zurich / Samsung Hall 21.11.22 ESP – Barcelona / Razzmatazz 22.11.22 ESP – Madrid / Riviera 24.11.22 ITA – Milan / Alcatraz 25.11.22 GER – Frankfurt / Jahrhunderthalle 26.11.22 GER – Oberhausen / König Pilsener Arena 27.11.22 FRA – Paris / Zenith 29.11.22 UK – London / Roundhouse* 01.12.22 NL – Amsterdam / Afas Live 02.12.22 DE – Hamburg / Sporthalle 03.12.22 DE – Saarbrücken / Saarlandhalle 04.12.22 DE – Antwerp / Lotto Arena *without Dragonforce
Jimmy Kay from The Metal Voice interviews the first and original Iron Maiden roadie Steve ‘Loopy’ Newhouse who worked with the band from 1978 – 1984, from the Ruskin Arms to Powerslave recordings and wrote a book about his experiences.
Steve ‘Loopy’ Newhouse gives us an inside look behind the scenes of Iron Maiden in their Golden era. Loopy talks about growing up with Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno, his interactions with drummers Doug Sampson, Clive Burr and Nicko McBrain; to the replacement of Dennis Stratton with Adrian Smith; to the bands soaring success plus so much more…
All the details can be found in Steve ‘Loopy’ Newhouse book ‘Loppyworld’ The Iron Maiden Years https://loopyworld.uk/