Written by:	D.T. Metal
Published:	November 19, 2012
Event:	70000 Tons Of Metal 2013 (Website)
Location:	Majesty Of The Seas, Miami, FL, USA
Organizer:	Ultimate Music Cruises
Galleries:	70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise - Day Four - 31 January 2013 by D.T. Metal (233) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise 2013 - Impressions by D.T. Metal (68) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise - Day Three - 30th January 2013 by D.T. Metal (113) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise - Day Two - 29th January 2013 by D.T. Metal (255) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise - Day One - 28th January 2013 by D.T. Metal (146)

I still remember when this cruise first made headways through the metal community back in 2010. A lot of people thought it was some sort of scam or it would never see the light of day. But here we are, a measly two month away from the third installment of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise.

Quick recap for those who might be unfamiliar with this event: 40 bands and roughly 2000 fans, all on one big ass cruise ship, leaving from the Port Of Miami, sailing to a tropical destination and returning back to Miami 4 days later. Sounds like fun? Ya betcha!




For a list of bands who played on the past 70000 Tons Of Metal adventures, as well as the ship's destinations, please direct your browser right [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70000_Tons_of_Metal]HERE[/url] and you can see what you might have missed out on. But to be fair, we had several members attending both cruises and judging from their stories - well, sounded like they all had a blast.

Round 3 of this "extreme cruising" festival will start, just as in prior years, the end of January and I can't wait to get away from the cold weather here in Colorado. Oh yes, totally forgot to mention - ta-da, drum roll and shit - METAL STORM WILL BE ON THE BOAT!!!

Organizer Ultimate Music Cruises Inc. out of British Columbia, Canada once again chartered the [url= http://www.70000tons.com/ship.htm]Majesty Of The Seas[/url], a cruise liner owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International, to host this floating Heavy Metal Paradise. And while the previous destinations were pretty darn kick-ass, the next journey will take us to the Turks and Caicos Islands, specifically to Cockburn Town which is located at the Grand Turk Island.

According to UMC, one can:

Quote:
Enjoy unrestricted festival access to all live shows on board, Open Mic Nights, Clinics, Work-Shops, our infamous Metal Karaoke, Bars that never close, two full days at Sea, a fun-and-sun-filled day on a beautiful Caribbean Island and an opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It's like everyone has a backstage pass!

The voyage will start on Monday, January 28th 2013 and will end on Friday, February 1st 2013. But instead of typing out all of the event on where, how, why and what - I shall take the high road and have you click right HERE, but I will highlight some of the bands who are already announced.

As of today, 25 out of 40 bands are confirmed and for a complete list click HERE. LOL - a hell of a lot of clicking going on; but come on folks, my fingers would be bloody from all the typing and you all know how to click a link.

Onward to some of MY favorites for the cruise in order of - "alrighty then, that's noteworthy", to "oh hell yeah!"

Doro - Which is a given! Been a fan since she started out with Warlock and other than that she is one of the last "Metal Queens" left from the Eighties, she is such a sweetheart while still rocking harder than most in her genre.

DragonForce - Haven't seen them in years and while their music somewhat declined, I am still looking forward to check out their new vocalist.

Immolation - Somehow every time they tour here in North America they either don't come to Colorado, or I am out of town. So it will be very nice to finally see Ross and gang again.

Kreator - Also a given and even though I just saw them a couple month ago, I am stoked that it finally worked out for them to be part of the cruise. Not that they weren't asked before, as a matter of fact, they were one of the first bands to be asked in 2010, it was just that Kreator either was on tour, in the studio or otherwise busy.

Metal Church - Apparently this will be a Reunion Show on the cruise and since I always liked them - yap, nice, but not a deciding factor.

Now on to the "hell yeah" section:

Arkona - They blew me away when I saw them a while back with Turisas, in part since they sing in their native language. Not that I understand a lick of Russian, but it just sounds great and gives their music that little bit of extra.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter - Sue me - I'm German and dig them.

Flotsam & Jetsam - NEVER seen them live and looking soooo forward to this one.

Gotthard - Oh well hello there - that's all.

Helstar - Something for my speed metal soul. Their newer songs sound nothing like the Helstar of the Eighties, so hopefully they mostly play their older stuff.

Rage - Hell to the fricking yes! Unless I go to Europe, there is a fat chance in hell that I will ever see them play here in the US. And to put the icing on the cake, Rage will be performing together with the Lingua Mortis Orchestra on board.

Subway To Sally - Again, German here. It floored me the other day at the Epica gig when this chick was actually sporting a Subway To Sally shirt; wow - Nice!

I was actually on the fence about attending the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, even after some of the aforementioned "hell yeah" bands were announced. What pushed me over the edge, and MY main reason why I am looking forward to the cruise is - here it comes -




I'm going to leave it like that, there is ABSOLUTELY nothing to add to this - PERIOD!

There ya go, a whole bunch of "easy listening" bands, some thrash, some death, all on a boat at high seas. So, what are you doing this coming January? Well, hopefully I am going to meet a bunch of you Metal Storm members. I am easy to spot - loud mouth, old[er] German woman, armed with a camera in the photo pit, or sitting with a bucket of beer in the hot-tub, depending on the time of the day.

For pricing and otherwise important information please visit the [url= http://www.70000tons.com/home.htm]70000 Tons Of Metal[/url] homepage.

Ship Ahoy!