Donating blood in exchange for a concert ticket – the principle behind the "Pay with Your Blood" campaign is simple, but its impact is massive. 

Launched in 2024, the initiative quickly grew into a true movement within the metal community. Together with Heaven Shall Burn, we carried this project across Europe as part of the Heimat over Europe Tour to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation – and we succeeded. 

The deal: starting in September 2025, participating blood donation services offered the chance to secure free concert tickets by making a whole blood donation. 

The tour: the campaign applied to eight German cities on Heaven Shall Burn's "Heimat Over Europe Tour." 

The success: the response was overwhelming. Within just two weeks, all tickets were completely "donated away." 

A huge THANK YOU to all participating metalheads who made this campaign a complete success! Patrons with real lifeblood For Wacken Open Air founders Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner, the partnership with Heaven Shall Burn is a matter close to their hearts. The band has been involved in social projects for years and fits the concept perfectly on a professional level as well: frontman Marcus Bischoff, a trained nurse himself, knows firsthand how important a secure supply of blood units is in daily hospital life.

Find the complete “Pay With Your Blood” Video Vlog playlist here!

Blood for admission—that’s the concept.

Together, we show that metalheads can do more than just party: we take responsibility, stand together, and make a statement.

Blood donation isn’t a trend; it should become a habit for everyone who is able to do so. 
With this campaign, we aim to wake people up. Blood supplies are urgently needed. The goal is to recruit new donors, honor regular donors, and keep the blood banks stocked. 
It’s for you, for others — simply for all of us. 
The Wacken community has proven for over more than 14 years that it can do this brilliantly with various blood donation initiatives: most recently, W:O:A, together with Charité’s ZTB, hosted the Bloody X-Mas Market in Berlin — a Christmas market of a bloody kind.