Wacken Metal Battle Canada has announced that HOLLOW (Montreal qualifying) and CRIMSON SHADOWS (Toronto semi-final) have advanced from their battling rounds. Hollow will perform at next week's Montreal semi-final on June 7th at Katacombes with DISSENSION, TRAINWRECK ARCHITECT, FALLSTAF and CROSSTITUTION, where two bands will move on to join Crimson Shadows at the national final in Toronto on June 22nd at the Opera House.

The final will see two Toronto semi-finalists and two Montreal semi-finalists along with a wild card band compete for one to rule them all at Wacken 2013 this summer.

The next semi-final in Toronto will be on June 7th at the Rivoli along with the Montreal semi-final on June 7th at Katacombes . All bands will be judged by a panel of local music industry representatives.

In additional news, Toronto's FINAL TRIGGER have been announced as the special guest band to perform at this year's Wacken Metal Battle Canada final. The band recently returned from their USA tour with MUSHROOMHEAD and will be releasing their new album Skrap Metal Vol. II on Boonsdale Records on July 9th. Their first single/music video 'Face It' can be heard and seen below:

About: The world’s most prestigious metal festival, Wacken Open Air, known for its elite line up of the globe’s best metal bands is bringing the largest metal contest on the planet Wacken Metal Battle to Canada. Recruiting 39 independent Canadian bands after hundreds of submissions to compete, Wacken Metal Battle Canada will select one true champion to represent the nation with highest honour at this summer’s 2013 edition of Wacken Open Air Festival in Wacken, Germany.

Being held in Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC during the months of May and June, Canadian metal bands from across the country will challenge one another to join a list of Canadian heavyweights such as VOIVOD, EXCITER, RAZOR, ANNIHILATOR, ANVIL, KATAKLYSM, CRYPTOPSY, 3 INCHES OF BLOODS, DESPISED ICON, DANKO JONES and EIDOLON who have performed at the festival in years past.

A free download compilation of competing bands is available here.

For more info visit Metalbattle.ca.