Thousands of hardcore heavy metal fans arrived in a field in Wacken, northern Germany on 4 August for the Wacken Open Air Music Festival. With around 80,000 visitors each year, the festival see's people of all ages and is one of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world.
Wacken Open Air Music Festival attracts all kinds of heavy metal fans, such as death metal, thrash metal, folk metal and metal-core who dress many of whom travel miles to attend. First held in 1990, the event was reserved only for local German bands, but in just a few years it became one of the most popular European festivals.
IBTimesUK takes a look at some of the best photos from the festival so far:
