Iron Maiden Celebrates With Wacken Triple

German metal festival Wacken Open Air has announced Iron Maiden as headliner for Aug. 4. It marks the British icons’ third reunion with the festival as part of a world tour in support of The Book of Souls, Maiden’s 16th studio album.

Boeing 747 to carry Iron Maiden, crew and full stage production.

Holger Hübner, CEO of ICS International, said “we are honored to welcome Iron Maiden in Wacken 2016. The guys are simply the best in their art and their show is always a highlight of the festival,” referring to the group’s 2008 and 2010 shows.

Apart from the gig at W:O:A Iron Maiden will perform three more times in Germany: one show each at DEAG’s twin festivals Rockavaria in Munich and Rock im Revier in Gelsenkirchen – both returning for the second time – and one final show in Berlin, details of which have yet to be revealed.

“It’s been some time since our last show and we cannot wait to get back out on tour,” said Bruce Dickinson, who is back after recovering from cancer, his treatment being the reason why the album release and subsequent tour had been put on hold for some time. Dickinson’s good health is important for another reason, as he is the pilot of the group’s customized 747-400.

The jumbo jet has recently received an upgrade, and between February and August next year it will have traveled 55.000 miles to 35 destinations across six continents, including El Salvador and China, two countries Iron Maiden hasn’t played before.

The German shows alone will take Iron Maiden from the far south to the high north. While Rockavaria takes place between May 27th and 29th in Munich, W:O:A is happening in Germany’s northernmost state Schleswig-Holstein Aug. 4-6. In between lie Gelsenkirchen for Rock im Revier (May 26-28) in the west and Berlin for the unconfirmed gig in the east.