From Bangalore Open Air to Wacken - Salman U Syed on Building a Future for Indian Metal

At Wacken Open Air 2026, Salman U Syed spoke to Sinusoidal Music about the festival, Wacken Metal Battle and the Indian metal scene.

If you are a heavy metal junkie from India, Salman U Syed is a name you might be familiar with. Yes, I am talking about the man, the myth and the legend behind Bangalore Open Air and Wacken Metal Battle India. Having spent nearly two decades working around heavy music, he has not only started his own IPs but is also an International Brand Representative for Wacken Open Air.

However, his connection with Wacken goes back even further. Salman first attended the festival as a 19-year-old fan while managing Kryptos, the heavy metal giant from Bangalore. This experience left enough of an impression for him to return to India and start Bangalore Open Air. Years later, he now works directly with Wacken and remains one of the people helping connect the Indian metal community with the international scene.

The Wacken Metal Battle Has Become Bigger Than a Competition

At Wacken Festival 2026, Sinusoidal Music caught up with Salman to talk about the festival, the Wacken Metal Battle, Bangalore Open Air and where he thinks Indian metal could be headed over the next few years

For Salman, one of the biggest highlights of this year’s Wacken was the Metal Battle. The 2026 edition introduced online voting alongside the existing on-site voting, bringing in more than 12,000 votes from 92 countries. The competition also received more than 10,000 applications, with 31 bands ultimately earning slots at Wacken Festival. Chilean glam metal band Force went on to win the competition, sweeping both the audience live vote and the promoters’ vote.

The numbers are a reminder of how far the Metal Battle has travelled since India became the 27th country to participate. Today, the competition operates across more than 102 countries with over 54 partners.

But Salman believes its real value lies beyond the competition itself.

“Metal Battle is not a battle. I think it’s about bringing people together from different parts of the world”

That idea has only gained more importance as the competition has scaled. For bands arriving at Wacken, it’s not just about winning the prize. The festival brings together promoters, labels, media and musicians from across the world, creating an ecosystem where artists can build connections that may count a lot when it comes to forging their careers.

Salman sees this as one of the biggest opportunities Indian bands can take advantage of. Being part of a competition should not be viewed as something that makes a band look smaller. It is crucial in providing access to people and experiences that would otherwise be difficult to reach.

“You are right now in the epicenter of the heavy metal business,” he says, pointing to the sheer concentration of industry professionals at Wacken.

The Metal Battle also gives musicians a chance to understand how the international live entertainment industry actually operates, meet promoters from different countries and learn how the business works from the inside.

That same philosophy has influenced how Salman approaches Bangalore Open Air.

Making Bangalore Open Air Thrive and Looking Ahead

According to Salman, Bangalore Open Air has survived changing trends, financial pressures and a global pandemic. “It’s not a festival which makes us a lot of money,” he admits. But the motivation behind keeping the festival alive comes from the fans and their sheer love for metal music. Seeing thousands of people turn up for the festival is what makes the effort worthwhile.

He also believes that a lot of Indian festivals can learn from Wacken’s structure. With an attendance of around 85,000, the German festival operates as a huge system where sales, merchandise, infrastructure, PR, production and other departments have their own specialised teams.

Bangalore Open Air has been trying to apply some of those lessons on a smaller scale. For Salman, building a sustainable festival requires more than booking good bands. Every part of the operation needs to function properly if the event is going to grow.

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Salman’s Advice for Upcoming Indian Bands

His advice to younger bands is therefore fairly simple – keep making the music you believe in, but learn how to present it, build an audience, network and understand the commercial side of the industry.

“You can’t say I’m going to sit in my bedroom and I’m going to do this music and I’m going to expect shows. It’s never going to work,” he says.

That’s because a promoter or label booking a band needs an audience that will buy tickets. They need to see a concrete future towards generating revenue. For artists hoping to tour internationally, having good music is only one part of the equation.

For Indian metal, that tenacity could be just as important as the next big sound.

And if the scene can combine stronger international networks, better festival infrastructure, distinctive artists and musicians who understand both creativity and business, the next chapter could look very different from the one that came before it.

Check out the details for the first edition of Metal BC in India.