Wacken Open Air organizers have issued the following statement regarding the recent announcement that German pagan metallers VARG are playing this year's festival:

"The public reaction on our announcement of Varg playing W:O:A has become more intense lately. Among other things diverse mass emails occurred, stating, a radical right-wing band would have been announced for W:O:A.

Initiative for the discussion has been a photography from 2007, showing the band's singer wearing an ABSURD t-shirt. Varg, including singer Philipp Seiler, through diverse statements and in all of their shows, positioned themselves clearly against fascism and right-wing radicalism. Being the organizers we have certainly faced up to this topic. In several conversations the band downright substantiated that they regret very much having done wrong in the past, and that there are no right-wing ideas or even tendencies represented by any of the band's members at all.

On top of this we gained information from diverse authorities in the scene and from major metal-related magazines, showing our own insights on the topic to be confirmed: Varg are not a band driven by right-wing tendencies. Among others Rock Hard author Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann is going to publish an interview with Philipp Seiler in Rock Hard April's issue to give in-depth facts about the whole topic.

We the organizers decided, based on these facts, to let Varg play on W:O:A instead of cancelling the show, since specially we the metalheads are well known for giving people, who acknowledge their own faults, a second chance.

In the near future we are going to publish a video-statement by Philipp Seiler in which he is taking a stand on the allegations."

For more info on Varg visit www.myspace.com/varghorde.

This year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival is scheduled for August 5th - 7th in Wacken, Germany.

Acts confirmed for W:O:A 2010 include: AMORPHIS, ARCH ENEMY, ATROCITY, BROILERS, CALIBAN, CANDLEMASS, CANNIBAL CORPSE, ALICE COOPER, CORVUS CORAX, CRUCIFIED BARBARA, DEBAUCHERY, DEGRADEAD, DELAIN, DESPISED ICON, THE DEVIL'S BLOOD, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, DIE KASSIERER, EDGUY, END OF GREEN, ENDSTILLE, EQUILIBRIUM, ETERNAL LEGACY, EVILE, GHOST BRIGADE, GOJIRA, GRAVE DIGGER, HACKNEYED, HANGGAI, HELLS BELLES, HOLY GRAIL, IHSAHN, ILL NINO, IMMORTAL, IMPERIUM DEKADENZ, IRON MAIDEN, KAMPFAR, KATAKLYSM, LAKE OF TEARS, LETZTE INSTANZ, MAROON, METSATÖLL, MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE NEW BLACK, NIGHTMARE, ORDEN OGAN, ORPHANED LAND, THE OTHER, OVERKILL PRIMAL FEAR, RAVEN, SCHELMISH, SECRET OF THE MOON, SLAYER, SMOKE BLOW, SÓLSTAFIR, STRATOVARIUS, SUICIDAL ANGELS, 1349, TIAMAT, TARJA TURUNEN, TÝR, U.D.O., VARG, VOIVOD, W.A.S.P.

For more info visit www.wacken.com or Wacken Open Air Myspace page.