Wacken Open Air, the legendary metal festival that has dominated the calendars of metalheads worldwide since its inception, stands as the pinnacle of the hard rock and metal scenes. Each year, this colossal event showcases the best sub-genres of hard rock and metal, providing a stage for both established icons and emerging talents. Among these rising stars are bands from across the globe, many of whom earn their place through fierce heats and metal battles held internationally.
In our latest episode, we delve into the world of such metal events with Sashquita Northey, the driving force behind Emalyth Events and the organiser of the sub-Saharan Africa metal battle for Wacken.
Metal Battle Origins in SA
The sub-Saharan Africa metal battle has seen bands like Megalodon, Facing The Gallows, Middle Grounds, and more, win the competition, so where did it all begin?
Sash says, ‘The metal battle started in South Africa in 2013, and at that point we still had TV stations that played music. It was organised by MK Ondergrond at that time with Louis du Pisani. He ran it until 2016, and in 2017, he handed it over to me, and that was the year that we sent Megalodon through, but I had been judging since year one. I’d already been established with Emalyth and had been on the scene for quite a while. As it went on, I saw the value of this competition to the South African scene, so I started to get more involved in helping Louis book all the venues until eventually he kind of aged out of the scene and I took over from him.’
Behind the Scenes
Pulling off an event in general is no child’s play; imagine having to pull off an event consisting of bands from six different countries within sub-Saharan Africa. Sash offers a unique perspective on the monumental task of orchestrating such an event.
‘There’s a lot of challenges in trying to organise shows in countries you’ve never been to, whose language you don’t understand, but I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to connect with people who are on the ground in those countries and those scenes, and there are local promoters there who kind of manage the shows and the processes in those countries. It is a mammoth tool, as we have over 50 bands submitting, and you’ve got to slot them into 11 shows from the equator down. So it is a lot of work, but it’s such a great competition for growth and development, especially for newer bands.’
Emalyth Events
The role of event organisers is extremely important in keeping entire music scenes alive, and Emalyth Events has become one of the best to do it in South Africa. This is where we find out how Sash got into this in the first place.
Sash reminisces, ‘I started Emalyth in 2009, and I was actually drinking with Tom, the drummer from Vulvodynia. We were talking about how long we’ve both been in the scene, and he was like, Why do you do this, Sash? Do you really just love the music? And I was like, bro, I think it’s because when I was young, I really wanted to be cool, but I was too lazy to learn how to play an instrument like all of my friends did, so I thought I’d become a promoter instead. It seems to have worked out okay, I guess.’
Fruits of Collaboration
Collaboration tends to open up various doors for those involved, thus highlighting its importance. Sash has come to further realise this through her experience working with different promoters from different African countries.
‘I must admit that collaboration with people from other countries has just been incredible. Working with these promoters and building up these connections and relationships with musicians from other African countries is incredibly valuable. Again, just for us in Africa to build up our local scene. I think in South Africa we’re very Eurocentric; all of us want to tour overseas, but we might need to start thinking about how to develop and grow our market in Africa itself.’
Sponsors
One of the elements that make the metal battle astounding, considering its magnitude and quality, is that it’s not sponsored. Which is wild for an event that’s managing to pull bands from various parts of Africa and still deliver a stellar experience overall.
Sash expresses, ‘What a lot of people don’t realise is that this competition is not funded. People see the name Wacken and think it must be a big-budget show. We have no sponsors, no alcohol sponsors, and no investment in the competition. It’s run from ticket sales from the heats. Last year we sold about 300 tickets, plus another 100 people there; that’s 400 people, whereas you could do something like Park Acoustics that pulls 800 to 2000 people; that’s what it boils down to. People aren’t going to sponsor you because they like your story and think it’s cool; they want returns on those investments, and I think the metal demographic in Africa is too small for that.’
Conclusion
Sash touches on much more throughout the audio interview, like the dos and don’ts of band submissions, pet peeves, what it takes for bands to thrive in the content era, and more. Check out the full thing here, and keep an eye out for all the latest metal battle updates here.
