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Mumbai metal band secures Indian slot at Wacken Open Air metal festival in Germany, set for July 29–August 1

Wearing T-shirts labelled ‘Nightmare’, Karan Kaul and Aditya Mohanan talk of how their dream came true. Their band Midhaven won the Indian competition to perform at the Wacken Open Air metal festival in Germany from July 29 to August 1. The victory adds to their achievements this year, which include a 19-city Europe and UK tour, and a performance at the famed Desertfest London.

“It’s a great feeling to represent Indian metal on the world scene,” says Kaul, vocalist and guitarist of the Mumbai-based psych/ sludge metal band. Adds Mohanan, lead guitarist, “This year’s line-up at Wacken has legends like Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Sepultura and Lamb of God. I’ve spent half my life dreaming of getting on that stage.”

The group is completed by drummer Aryaman Chatterji and bassist Akash Vyas. Says Kaul, “Our experience at Desertfest was fabulous. We got a huge crowd though we were slotted at 2 in the afternoon, and though we had been given only 30 minutes, our last song was loved so much we extended our limit and even got requests for an encore.”

The band had opened two shows for Indian folk-metal giants Bloodywood in France last year, besides doing a successful tour of Japan. Songs like Mahakaal, Bhairav and their 2025 single The Veiler received an overwhelming response. According to Mohanan, the effort is not to stick to straight-ahead metal but to add Indian influences through ragas on some songs. “For instance, The Veiler has elements of raga Todi. I was learning Indian music at one point so thought it would be a great idea to use a bit of classical inspiration. Karan was open to it, though he himself was part of a choir,” he adds.