Lita Ford is rock history personified. As guitarist for the legendary Runaways, she broke all the rules in the 1970s and paved the way for women in heavy rock. Her solo career produced true classics such as ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ and the duet ‘Close My Eyes Forever’. For decades, she has been known for her uncompromising riffs, rebellious attitude and a voice that sounds like red-hot steel. Despite personal ups and downs, Lita has remained true to rock music and lives the lifestyle she sings about. When she takes the stage at Wacken, the hallowed ground will get its dose of pure rock power from a pioneer who still knows how to get an audience fired up.

Apocalyptica started out in 1993 as four students who played Metallica songs on their cellos for fun, creating a completely new sound that irrevocably fused classical music and metal. Their debut made them pioneers, and their courage to write their own pieces and engage in spectacular collaborations made them kings of a new art form. Millions of fans later, they stand as legends on the world’s biggest stages. When they return to Wacken in 2025, their mix of elegance and brute energy will electrify the crowd: four cellos that rumble like thunder and songs that strike the head and heart at the same time.

Prong have been an integral part of the New York metal scene since the mid-1980s and were one of the first bands to fuse thrash, hardcore, industrial and groove. Led by guitarist and singer Tommy Victor, the band shaped a sound with albums such as ‘Beg to Differ’ and ‘Cleansing’ that later influenced greats such as Nine Inch Nails and Korn. Prong songs are like steel beams: edgy, heavy and full of energy, with riffs that drill into your brain. Their latest work, State of Emergency, shows that they have lost none of their punch. In Wacken, they will make hell groove – powerful, precise and with the attitude of a band that has never known anything but charging forward.

Grave Digger have been a rock in the surf of German heavy metal for 45 years. Founded in 1980 by Chris Boltendahl, the Teutonic metalheads have made history with albums such as ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ and ‘Tunes of War’ and are still tirelessly on the road today. Their songs sound like battle cries full of pathos, power and unmistakable riff violence. For their 45th anniversary, they are bringing the full force of the Grave Digger myth to Wacken: a journey through almost half a century of metal with all the anthems that have shaped generations. On the hallowed ground, they celebrate themselves – loud, proud, uncompromising – and show that true heavy metal is timeless and hasn’t gotten any quieter.

Static-X brought a new kind of noise to the metal world in the late 1990s. They called their mix of industrial beats, heavy guitars and a dark, electric atmosphere ‘Evil Disco’. Frontman Wayne Static founded the band together with drummer Ken Jay, moved from Chicago to Los Angeles and achieved surprise success with their debut album ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’. Songs like ‘Push It’ and ‘I’m with Stupid’ combined machine-like precision with unbridled energy and made Static-X stars of the nu metal era. After Wayne’s tragic death in 2014, the remaining members found a way to carry on his legacy and preserve the essence of their music. Today, every concert sounds like an infernal dance in the engine room. A hot, mercilessly grooving monument to a musician who sought new paths until the very end.

Ministry are the forefathers of industrial metal – a band that emerged from the synth-pop beginnings of the early 80s to create a sound so brutal and mechanical that it influenced entire genres. Al Jourgensen, the walking enfant terrible, transformed electronic beats into thunderous walls of guitar, paving the way for acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein and Fear Factory. Classics such as ‘Stigmata’ and ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’ were disturbing and fascinating at the same time – a mixture of punk rage, metal heaviness and technoid rhythms. Ministry shows are assaults on the senses: bright lights, booming bass, distorted vocals and an apocalyptic atmosphere that is second to none. After ten years, they return to the Wacken field to celebrate their industrial life one last time – a unique spectacle for anyone who wants to feel the pulse of the machine age.

Brothers of Metal are the epic warriors of power metal straight from Falun, Sweden, armed with guitars, myths and a huge dose of self-irony. With three singers, bombastic choirs and anthems such as ‘The Other Son of Odin’ and ‘Berserkir’, they celebrate Norse gods, battles and legends in such an exaggerated way that it seems serious again. Since their debut ‘Prophecy of Ragnarök’, the band has been thrilling audiences with their rousing sound and theatrical show, in which fantasy and metal merge in a thunderous alliance. When Brothers of Metal take to the stage, the audience goes wild between horned helmets and devil horns – epic, loud and guaranteed to be unforgettable.

Fear Factory are the epitome of industrial metal – cold, precise and relentless. Since the early 90s, they have been fusing machine-like guitar riffs, electronic samples and alternating vocals into a sound that feels like a dystopian nightmare. With albums such as Demanufacture and Obsolete, they set new standards and influenced entire generations. Despite line-up changes, conflicts and new beginnings, most recently with new singer Milo Silvestro, their music remains uncompromising: the eternal struggle between man and machine. Live, Fear Factory are a thunderous vision of the future. Metallic, powerful, unforgettable. In Wacken, the gears will start turning again.

When Dimmu Borgir take to the stage, shadows and symphony descend upon the audience in a masterful inferno. Since 1993, they have shaped symphonic black metal with their blend of dark atmosphere and orchestral pathos. Albums such as ‘Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia’, ‘Death Cult Armageddon’ and ‘Eonian’ are hymns in minor keys and orchestral monumentality, where every chord storm becomes a ritual. Their rebellion against expectations, their theatrical artistry and their unbridled energy make them legends of the genre. At Wacken 2025, fans can expect a spectacle of superlatives: two decades of sound architecture in which black metal became opera, and a performance that amazes, moves and pushes relentlessly.

Sometimes a single note is enough to make it clear: nothing here is the same as it was before. For over four decades, Destruction have been delivering precisely this feeling with a force that has lost none of its sharpness. In 2025, they will be back in Wacken with a new album, a new line-up and their familiar heaviness. ‘Birth of Malice’ is the name of their latest work, on which the band uncompromisingly rails against human depravity and social decay. Frontman Schmier leads the band through a set that leaves no room for frills. Pure thrash, fast, hard and straight to the bone. Anyone who thinks veterans are resting on their laurels hasn’t seen Destruction live in a long time. Nothing burns out here, everything burns down.