30/05/2025
MEET THE JUDGES!
2025 WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA NATIONAL FINAL
May 31st in Vancouver at Rickshaw Theatre w/ YEGG, Beyond Suffering, Killotine, Soulthief
WMBC 2025 Final Spotify Playlist - https://spoti.fi/3Z55AFy
Tickets - https://orangetickets.ca/detalles_evento.php?id_evento=1914
Event Info - https://www.facebook.com/events/2015740435614140
2025 WMBC NATIONAL FINAL JUDGES:
JJ Tartaglia
JJ Tartaglia is the head organizer of the Wacken Metal Battle in Canada, which he launched in 2013. Leading up to that, he founded his own label, Boonsdale Records in 2008, which has been releasing Canadian albums since, and has brought JJ to spearhead export missions to the likes of the Inferno Festival in Norway and the Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki, speaking on numerous panels to push Canadian metal. As a musician, songwriter, and producer, JJ is a 2x JUNO-nominee and member/co-manager of heavy metal band Skull Fist, combining his passion for both business and music.
Brittney Slayes
Brittney has been a vocalist for over thirty years with training in chamber music, musical theatre, and opera. She has toured all over the world with various projects, including the UVic Chamber Singers choral ensemble, Arjen Lucassen’s ‘Ayreon’, and as front-woman for Unleash The Archers, the Juno-Award Winning heavy metal band that she co-founded back in 2007. Brittney also co-manages Unleash The Archers, and she can’t wait to share her knowledge and expertise with this year's competitors!
Claine Gorgoroth Lamb
Claine Gorgoth Lamb is a guitarist, vocalist, composer, and music educator with a deep passion for metal. Claine holds a Classical Guitar Diploma with Distinction from Capilano University and is currently pursuing a BFA in Music and Sound at SFU. With over a decade of experience playing in bands — most notably as a guitarist in The Hallowed Catharsis, and now leading Misyrion as guitarist and vocalist. She is excited and honored tol experience the next generation of metal at the Wacken Metal Battle. Beyond the stage, Claine works as an audio technician at Lobe, Vancouver’s 4DSOUND spatial audio studio, and teaches guitar, bass, piano, and vocals. They also share their musical knowledge and love for extreme metal through YouTube, creating content under Claine's World and 4 Levels of Death Metal.
Kris Schultz
Kris Schulz is an internationally recognized guitarist and music educator with over 34 years of professional experience. In 2018, Kris founded Empower Through Music with the purpose of gifting music education and instruments to younger musicians who would otherwise not have access. In 2019, Kris opened Horizon School of Music, which has gone on to reach over 2000 students. As a solo artist, Kris has released two modern acoustic guitar albums and placed top five in multiple international guitar competitions. His top 3 musical highlights are writing and recording an album with Gene Hoglan, touring with Lee Aaron and getting to play Eruption in front of 18,000 people at a Vancouver Canucks game.
JJ Caithcart
J.J. Caithcart is the founder of Hard Rock/Metal specialty record store SCRAPE records, which was open from 1997 – 2016 that morphed into SCRAPE Records “The Label” in 2017. J.J. has promoted/produced countless shows over the years on his own and with Mayo from The Invisible Orange. J.J. has worked as a Production Manager/Promoter Rep with Live Nation British Columbia and MRG Live. He also does occasional DJ work at the Commodore Ballroom. J.J. has been a judge for every Wacken Battle Vancouver, as well as being a 4-time Juno Award Judge. Currently, J.J. is the host of the online HARD ROCK | METAL | PROG radio show Different Stages Radio w/ J.J. which is about to celebrate its 100th episode this month
Stan Schinners
Owner of Broken Neck Radio, The online heavy metal radio station that has been providing an online outlet for up-and-coming metal bands since 2011 Metal Battle Judge since 2015 committee member/judge for the Calgary Music Awards for over 5 years.
Abelardo Mayoral
Abelardo Mayoral, also known as "Mayo", is the founder, owner, and operator of The Invisible Orange, a concert promotion company, since 2009, as well as the founder of the ticketing company "OrangeTickets" since 2021, and founding partner of the Covenant Festival since 2015. Through The Invisible Orange, Mayo has been part of organizing about 1000 concerts as well as booking dozens of tours across Canada. Outside of music, Mayo is a professional in the healthcare industry, working as a process improvement and service planning analytics professional.
Justin Dobbin
Justin Dobbin is the Owner and President of Main Stage Rehearsal Studios Hamilton, a globally award-winning name in the music and entertainment industry. With over 20 years of hands-on experience, Justin has built a reputation as a leading producer, sound technician, lighting expert, and studio construction specialist. His visionary leadership and technical mastery have helped shape Main Stage into a premier destination for artists and performers worldwide. Passionate about innovation and excellence, Justin continues to set the standard for rehearsal studio design and production services on a global scale.
Chris Gonda
Meet Christopher Gonda—Publisher and CEO of V13 Media, Co-Founder and CEO of V13 Promotions and V13 Press, and host of the heartdea13r Podcast. For over 20 years, he has been building platforms that celebrate music, culture, and storytelling. Through V13 Media Group, he aims to amplify unique voices, bridging the underground and the iconic. The heartdea13r Podcast is his way of gathering and sharing knowledge from some of the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the entertainment industry. It’s a space for conversations about artistry, mental health, entrepreneurship, and everything that fuels a life driven by creativity, passion, and balance—love and logic. Welcome to his world—where creativity thrives, stories matter, and every voice deserves to be heard.
Media Partners:
Bravewords.com
Metal-Rules.com
Absolute Underground Magazine
Broken Neck Radio
V13 Media
Metal Devastation Radio
Rich Embury (internationally syndicated DJ)
Ghost Cult Magazine
Rock'n'Roam
Vox&Hops Metal Podcast
The Metal Voice
Montréal Métal (CIBL 101.5 FM)
Promoter Partners:
Boonsdale Records
Dungeon Works Productions
The Invisible Orange
Big Nate Productions
ConcertWorks
Asher Media Relations
