For some thirty years, Wacken Open Air has been the premier festival for heavy metal. One weekend every summer, a small village in the German region of Schleswig-Holstein is overtaken by thousands upon thousands of diehard headbangers. The representation of the industrial world has been off and on, with previous festivals hosting acts such as Ministry, Megaherz, the upcoming run, the first proper festival in three years thanks to – well, we all know – has gained an industrial metal mainstay for a first-time appearance.
Dope was announced for Wacken over the weekend, holding it down for the industrial world alongside Till Lindemann and his new solo project. While the Rammstein frontman played Wacken alongside his main band in 2013, this will be Dope’s first ever appearance at the metal institution. This comes off the heels of Dope’s previous announcement of a spring 2022 US tour alongside Fear Factory, Static-X, Mushroomhead, and Twiztid, which will take the band into early April, well before the August 4-6 block for Wacken Open Air.
Interesting enough, Dope hasn’t released any new music since 2016’s Blood Money Part 1, though a cover of Ministry’s thrash-tastic classic “Thieves” was recorded for part 2, the track also featuring Combichrist’s Andy LaPlegua. Perhaps the upcoming tours will feature tracks from Blood Money Part 2? Or even see the album be released by that point? Time will tell, but in the meantime, check out the full lineup for Wacken here, and blast Dope’s stellar cover of “Thieves” below: