The final round of the 2025 Wacken Metal Battle USA took place on June 21st at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ, where six regional champions competed for the chance to play one of the world’s biggest metal festivals, Wacken Open Air in Germany. Southern California and Arizona-based Mourning High (West Coast Winner) emerged victorious, earning the title of national champion. Their performance impressed a panel of industry judges: Jeff Buttermark (FM Management), Shawn Quinn (Napalm Records/FM Management), and Rob Caggiano (ex-Anthrax, ex-Volbeat).
The band will now head to Wacken Open Air (July 30–August 2) to battle on the international stage before a crowd of over 80,000. The prize package includes:
A performance slot at Wacken 2025
Full professional backline
$1,000 toward travel to Germany
VIP camping access
Other national finalists included: Prime Prophecy (NJ), What’s Wrong (PNW), Pontifex (FL), Firehaze (East Coast), and Broken Time (TX).
WMBU national organizer Eric Dow comments:
“Thank you to all the bands for making this a spectacular battle in 2025. Big congrats to all the bands who made it to the National Final. I’m always blown away by the talent we have here in the US. Thank you to our media partners. Especially BraveWords, Metal-Rules, and DEAN Guitars. Special thanks to Jon Asher at Asher Media Relations. Finally, a huge thank you to all the supporters who bought tickets to the Battles. We can’t do this without you!
I also like to add that I want to congratulate Mourning High for their impressive run that ultimately led to representing the United States in the Battle at the Holy Ground. This is a young and energetic band that defines grit and hard work. With members living in Coachella Valley and one member living in Arizona, it is quite impressive to see their devoted fan base follow them to Orange County, San Diego, and then Clifton, New Jersey. If you are unaware of Coachella Valley, let me fill you in. There is no metal scene. There are only Casinos, Coachella Music Fest (no thank you), and the American Hockey League affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. These boys and their fans have to travel. And now they travel to Wacken Open Air!”
Mourning High express their excitement:
“The band is so thankful that we met Eric and the Wacken Metal Battle team on the West Coast and in the USA. We were blown away at the professionalism and expertise of the judges at all of the battles, as well as the other talented bands we played with at each stage of the competition. We are proud of our hard work and so thankful that we have fans who have supported us on this journey. We have been manifesting playing in Europe for more than two years, and finally our hard work has paid off. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of the Wacken team, fans, and our crew. It’s time to get rowdy in Germany.”
