Rock The Nation reports:

"This years contest has been a very successful one and before we are going to announce the winner, we first want to thank all the magazines who have been a partner to this award, all the bands that entered the contest and of course you for voting and showing us which bands you wanted us to consider as winner! Thank you!!

Last years winners ,SKULL FIST, has exceeded all expectations by far, they literally went through the roof top! First they hit the road with ENFORCER and BULLET to promote their EP, Heavier Than Metal, then they released their debut album, Head Öf The Pack, which was highly acclaimed by press and fans, and went out on the Power Of Metal Tour with SABATON, GRAVE DIGGER and POWERWOLF. For January, a tour with GRAND MAGUS and STEELWING has already been confirmed! All that's been made possible by winning the renowned Rock The Nation award.

But who's going to win this year's edition? It's getting more and more exciting...

In 2010 the choice was crystal clear and Skull Fist outranked all other bands by far, but this year's decision was a tougher one... From the 100 most-votet bands there were two truly outstanding and in the end we couldn't quite decide and go for only one. That's why we're very happy to again present two winners of the RTN award to all of you..

NEXUS INFERIS from the UK and KRAMPUS from Italy! Congratulations!"

Here's what the bands say about winning the award:

Nexus Inferis: "Since entering the award several months ago, we've received overwhelming support from Nexus Inferis fans worldwide! As of today we can confirm that Nexus Inferis is now signed to NoiseArt Records & Rock The Nation! We extend Infinite gratitude to everyone that voted for us!! Working with such renowned assets is a huge step for us and we're fervently optimistic about what the future holds for Nexus Inferis! This is very much the inception of a new aeon and together we aim to deliver many innovative episodes in the arena of extreme music! We're proud to be affiliated with such a highly professional unit that boasts a wealth of experience in all aspects of the music industry. That which we aspire to achieve as Nexus Inferis can only be perpetuated and enhanced with this great arsenal alongside us! Resonate the spark under his eye to the flames in outer space.“

Krampus: "So many people told us to stop dreaming, to keep both feets on the ground but we kept working to make our dreams come true. Rock the Nation gave us the chance to fullfill thoose dreams and here we are! We can't wait to take our music and message all over the world with this great opportunity that this wonderfull Award gave us. We are excited and ready to storm! Thanks to NoiseArt records we'll release our first full length in early 2012 to continue our fight for a better tomorrow on the side of the Planet, speaking from our modern folk metal songs. Fear the Krampus!"