For over a decade at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival Wacken Open Air, independent metal bands from around the globe have been performing in front of thousands and competing against one another for one to be crowned champion of the world along with winning multiple prizes. For the fourth year, Wacken Metal Battle USA is returning to America and will be hosting qualifying rounds in select cities across the nation. The national champion of those battles will perform at 31st edition of the festival taking place from July 30th – August 1st, 2020 in Wacken, Germany. The sold-out 2020 Wacken Open Air line-up includes Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, Amon Amarth, Sodom, Annihilator, Overkill, Venom, Sick of It All, Nervosa, U.D.O., Hypocrisy, Death Angel, Beast In Black, At The Gates and many more. Details here.

Unsigned bands interested in participating for 2020 battles, can apply at the following link until November 30, 2019 at 11:59 PM PST. 

Application link: https://metalbattleusa.com/apply/

About:

Wacken Metal Battle USA is part of an international competition that sees bands from across the country battle each other for the chance of winning their spot among 29 other countries’ champions, and representing the USA in an international battle of the bands at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival: Wacken Open Air, which has been taking place in Wacken, Germany for the last 30 years. The winner of Wacken Metal Battle USA will perform at the 2020 festival taking place from July 30th – August 1st.

2020 battles will be held in Phoenix, AZ, Tucson, AZ, Inland Empire, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Oakland, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, San Francisco, CA, Atlanta, GA, New Orleans, LA, Las Vegas, NV, New York City, NY, Portland, OR, Austin, TX, Fort Worth, TX, San Antonio, TX, Houston, TX, Seattle, WA with more to be announced.

Concert promoters interested in hosting a Wacken battle in their city can apply at this link: https://metalbattleusa.com/promoter-application-for-wacken-metal-usa-battles/

How it works:

Participating cities will host qualifying rounds plus a city final organized by a local city concert promoter where one band will move forward to the American national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will move on to perform at the 31st edition of Wacken Open Air and compete against the winners of 29 other countries in a final global battle.  All bands will be judged during battle rounds by respected local music industry representatives.

Rules: https://metalbattleusa.com/rules/

Last year’s 2019 national final was hosted in Los Angeles, CA and featured Dissentience (Winners, East Coast), Monarch (Winners, West Coast), Nahaya (Winners, Texas), Toxic Ruin (Winners, Chicago), Violence System (Winners, Atlanta) whom were selected from over a hundred bands that participated in battles across the USA.

2019 – WMBU Winner
Monarch (San Diego, CA)
Video – Live at Wacken 2019 here.

2018 – WMBU Winner
VOICES OF RUIN (Anaheim, CA)

2017 – WMBU Winner
CORPSE HOARDER (Philadelphia, PA)
Video – Live at Wacken 2017 here.

For more info:
MetalBattleUSA.com
Facebook.com/MetalBattleUSA
Instagram.com/MetalBattleUSA
Twitter.com/MetalBattleUSA
Wacken Open Air – Wacken.com

Sponsors / Partners:
MetalAssault.com
MetalDevastationRadio.com
MetalMasterKingdom.com
Metal-Rules.com
PureGrainAudio.com
PureRockRadio.net
Dungeon Works Productions
Asher Media Relations
Fatal Illness Management
Come And Take It Productions
Mosh Pit Army
Masquerade Atlanta
Saint Vitus

Jonathan Zazula, known the world over as Jonny Z, has lived an intense life. Born in 1952, he began his extraordinary journey as a renegade youth who went from living on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, to later working on Wall Street, and eventually (and unexpectedly) transitioning into the music business and discovering Metallica and others. Today, Jonny Z remains one of the most respected names in heavy metal and the music industry as a whole.

Jonny Z tells all about his incredible life in a brand new book that he describes as, “not a typical rock n’ roll book, but rather, a blue collar success story” – entitled Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula, scheduled for release on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. Heavy Tales is the detailed, never before told story of how Jonny Z founded legendary New Jersey-based label Megaforce Records with his wife, Marsha, and built a dynasty unmatched by others – forever changing the scope of heavy metal.

Pre-orders for standard and signed hardcover and paperback copies of Heavy Tales are now available via www.jonzazula.com, as well as digital retailers such as Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble and Ingram Content Group.

The ebook version of Heavy Tales will be available for pre-order soon, and will be released on Black Friday, November 29, 2019.

Jonny Z and Marsha Zazula in the Golden Era of Megaforce

Jonny Z says about deciding to release a book about his life, “I wanted to tell the story of my life before someone else did. This is a story that has a motto behind it – “nothing to it but to do it”. There were a lot of odds factoring in for Marsha and myself, and we did it. No matter what anyone says to Marsha and I, we did it, and I just wanted to get that story down – that it took two people. I wanted our love story in there. I was also never very forward and transparent about my manic depression and bi-polar condition, and I just wanted to tell the story of how a man can get through that, poverty, incarceration and humiliation and rise to succeed with everything against him.”

After experiencing the horrors of Wall Street, in order to put food on the table for his children, Jonny Z began selling records at a flea market store he dubbed Rock N’ Roll Heaven in 1981, which blossomed into a major record store in the United States and influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. Seminal Megaforce Records publicist and Adrenaline PR CEO Maria Ferrero was his first customer before the store was even open.

Zazula adds, “I sold metal records because metal is foreground music, not background music. It inspires you to listen and pay attention to it. The fans of heavy metal music all came into the store with their painted jackets and denim vests and patches, which was very reminiscent to me of the late 60s and early 70s music scene that I was such a part of.”

In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from underground, unsigned band Metallica. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny and Marsha, founded Megaforce Records in 1983, and soon after, released Metallica‘s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. Through this release, Megaforce cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for heavy metal – but that’s just the start. The bands they would go on to work with released some of the most prolific and important albums in heavy metal history, giving it its Golden Era.

Heavy Tales details the stories of how Jonny Z worked miracles by managing and releasing albums by Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Ace Frehley, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits and others, and how one night in 1984, he jokingly created rap metal before anyone else conceived the idea.

With a foreword written by Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, plus over 100 rare photographs unearthed from the MegaVault and photographer friends worldwide, Heavy Tales is the definitive American story of a family man with a dream, determined to prove to the world that heavy metal belonged on the stage, in your car, on the radio, inand in your living room.

Chuck Billy mentions in the foreword, “After reading this book and learning about Jonny Z and how he helped to shape the future of heavy metal, I think you will agree that being a bat shit crazy genius is what it took to create the biggest independent record label in the world.”

Together, Jonny and Marsha built a musical dynasty out of modest beginnings unmatched by any other underground heavy metal label, a partnership that has stood the test of time, deaths, egos, and grunge.

Outside Rock N’ Roll Heaven record store in Clark, NJ  Photo: Brian Keith Nyers

Jonny Z and Scott Ian of Anthrax Photo: Mark Weiss

The stories told in Heavy Tales were captured and compiled by Harold Claros-Maldonado, a lifelong fan of heavy metal who originally contacted the Zazulas to write a report on early Metallica. After several discussions, Zazula felt Claros-Maldonado would be the ideal partner to help him tell his story in a book.

Harold Claros-Maldonado says, “Jon Zazula is without question the Godfather of thrash metal. Having the opportunity to work together, I learned about the miracles he worked in order to release some of the most potent heavy metal albums of all time. With this book, I know many fans of Megaforce Records releases will have a greater sense of how a working-class man built an empire out of nothing to give us all the soundtrack to our lives.”

L to R: James Hetfield, Scott Ian, Jonny Z, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton Photo: Metal Mike Rijswijk

Jonny says, “At one point we were one of the biggest indie record labels in America. With all of the mistakes and all of the successes, we managed to thrive. Readers may learn what to do and what not to do as fledgling industry hopefuls getting started in the business. The book is a hard, brutal unraveling of the truth, and tells it all. I’m putting this book out around Halloween, because there’s nothing scarier than the truth.”

Release parties are currently being planned for the fall – stay tuned for more details!

For more information on Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula, please visit www.jonzazula.com, www.facebook.com/heavytales and www.instagram.com/thejonzazula, and stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Photo: Gary Schwartz