70,000 Tons of Metal is two weeks away

In two weeks’ time the third annual 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise will set off from Miami to Cockburn Town, Grand Turk and back, a four-day bacchanal of metal, food, booze, and sun, with 40 bands playing around the clock, and where artists and fans mingle together at one of the coolest gatherings of the metal community on the planet.

Featuring three separate venues on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas, including a fantastic pool deck stage that becomes the event’s focal point in the glorious Caribbean sun, it’s non-stop metal from ten in the morning to past five in the morning and bars open 24 hours, and the best part is, your room is a 60-second walk away from all the hijinks.

This year’s edition is looking good, with 34 of 40 bands have confirmed thus far, highlighted by such bands as In Flames, Helloween, Lacuna Coil, Doro, DragonForce, Sabaton, Kreator, and Nile. I’ll be covering the cruise again – having attended the inaugural 70,000 Tons in 2011 as well as Barge to Hell a month ago – and will be posting a recap here once I return.

Some quad, triple, and double/twin cabins are still available, and if you’ve been on the fence as to whether you should go or not, it’s an experience every metal fan should have at least once. Believe me, being on a lavish cruise ship with 2,000 fellow headbangers beats crashing in a miserable tent among 75,000 people at Wacken Open Air, plus you’re much closer to the bands, all of whom play two sets instead of one. Learn more about the cruise and book your trip at 70000tons.com.

Here’s the list of confirmed bands performing so far, with six more to be announced in the coming days:

3 Inches of Blood

Anacrusis

Angra

Arkona

Delain

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter

Doro

DragonForce

Ektomorf

Ensiferum

Evergrey

Flotsam and Jetsam

Gotthard

Heidevolk

Helloween

Helstar

Holy Grail

Immolation

In Flames

Inquisition

Kreator

Lacuna Coil

Lizzy Borden

Metal Church

Nile

Onslaught

Rage

Sabaton

Sinister

Subway to Sally

Tiamat

Turisas

Týr

Unexpect