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Millennial metalheads are eating well at Wacken 2025. There’s no shortage of nu metal and turn-of-the-millennium bands across the weekend with the likes of Helmet, Prong and Clawfinger, but on Saturday alone a run of Drowning Pool, Wednesday 13 and Fear Factory leading into Faster stage headliners Papa Roach suggests a serious cultural reappraisal and revival.
Not that the Vacaville, California quartet needed it, mind. Survivors of nu metal’s original decline, their arsenal of anthems shows they’ve not only weathered ups and downs, but continued to churn out massive bangers. All that said, this is their first time headlining a major European festival: they’re clearly here to make it count.
The crowd that greets them is biblical, easily surpassing the audience drawn by Thursday night headliners Guns N’ Roses, in spite of the mud. After a video premiere for new single Braindead, it’s straight to business. Flames erupt from the main stage and sound desk and bodies start flying overhead, an endless stream of crowdsurfers that persists throughout the set.
There’s an infectious zeal as Papa Roach get down to business. As good as songs like Even If It Kills Me and Blood Brothers are, it’s the heavy-hitters like To Be Loved and Getting Away With Murder that really make the set feel phenomenal as 80,000 fans belt out the choruses.
The set is also something of a musical grab-bag. Band introductions are made to an instrumental cover of 2Pac’s California Love, and later in the set there’s a crowd-pleasing nu metal classic medley featuring Korn‘s Blind, Deftones’ Change (In The House Of Flies), Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff and System of a Down’s Chop Suey! Most poignant however is Forever ending with Jacoby Shaddix first singing Linkin Park’s In The End in tribute to the late Chester Bennington, before repeating the choral refrain of Black Sabbath‘s Changes until the crowd join in.
This tees up the emotional heart of the show, as Shaddix talks about mental health and honouring those the rock and metal scene has lost ahead of a beautiful, acoustic Leave A Light One (Take Away The Dark), the field lighting up in a sea of torches.
If there’s any growing pains for Roach taking top billing, it doesn’t show. This is a full bells-and-whistles production with plenty of pyro and fireworks to underscore the excitement, Shaddix is practically bouncing on the spot between songs, visibly thrilled to see the crowd sing along to everything from Scars and Between Angels And Insects to current single Braindead, picking up the chorus as they go.
The quartet go out on a massive high with a flame-enhanced Last Resort, one last almighty singalong that underscores the sense that while they might’ve long ago left behind the realms of nu metal, Papa Roach still owe a debt of allegiance to the movement that first carried them. Following in the footsteps of Korn – who similarly made the leap to European festival headliners at last year’s Wacken – tonight’s triumphant, celebratory set is also proof that metal’s reverence for the old guard has blinded it to talent ready-and-willing to step into the big leagues.
Papa Roach setlist Wacken Open Air 2025
Even If It Kills Me
Blood Brothers
Dead Cell
…To Be Loved
Kill The Noise
Getting Away With Murder
California Love [2Pac cover]
Liar
Forever / In The End / Changes
Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark)
Scars
Braindead
Help
Born For Greatness
Between Angels And Insects
Infest
Blind / My Own Summer (Shove It) / Break Stuff / Chop Suey
Last Resort