Written by:	D.T. Metal
Published:	September 21, 2020
Event:	70000 Tons Of Metal 2020 (Website)
Location:	Independence Of The Seas, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Galleries:	70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise 2020 - Day Four by CROMCarl (210) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise 2020 - Day Three by CROMCarl (185) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise 2020 - Day Two by CROMCarl (193) 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise 2020 - Day One by CROMCarl (127)

"Welcome to Cozumel, Mexico". It was Port Day, a much needed break for some rest and relaxation before the metal mayhem would start again.

Read up on what happened during Day One as well as Day Two of this year's cruise.

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The last two days of the cruise are usually reserved to catch bands which we didn't see the prior days, or to watch bands once more since their first set was just great. This year's 70000 Tons Of Metal was no different but we ran into several scheduling conflicts after looking at the running order. Devin Townsend on the Pool Deck Stage at the same time as Cattle Decapitation was playing in Studio B. Ugh

And yes, we once again missed the pillow mosh-pit during Origin's set at Studio B on Day Two. This time more organized and sanctioned then in 2015 and vocalist Jason Keyser even crowdsurfed on a mattress during this year's show. Oh well.

Our Day Three on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise started out pretty relaxing. We slept in and had a small late breakfast before making our way off the boat. Yes, per usual there were several shore excursions to choose from, but since most, if not all, cruise ports are so touristy, we opted not to partake in any of them.

Maybe I am spoiled, but Cozumel didn't do anything for me. The cruise port was like a train station with several ships already docked and a mass amount of 'civilians' everywhere. No beach access, unless you took a taxi (or went onto an excursion) and just meh. A lot of cruisers went to the Hard Rock Café, literally across the street from the dock, where some local metal bands advertised a show ahead of the cruise. I have enough metal on the ship; the Port Day should be for lounging in the sun or swimming in the ocean. We did venture onto Cozumel but only to stop at the local Harley store and to sip on some Margaritas at a small watering hole before heading back on board.

We caught Flotsam And Jetsam this time around since they were the first band on the Pool Deck Stage to start the festivities after everyone returned to the ship. Playing quite a few songs off their 1986 debut album Doomsday For The Deceiver and otherwise staying with their 80's songs, it was a great start to Day Three. Unfortunately the rain also started to be more persistent and before the band ended we were off to get a seat for Leaves' Eyes second set, this time in the Royal Theater.

Starting off with "Sign Of The Dragonhead" set the tone for their second performance and it only got better from there on out. During "Jomsborg" Alex had the audience going and even went down to the barriers to stand closer to the fans. I have to say, the song really keeps growing on me. "Swords In Rock" had everybody jumping and singing along. Since no other band played during that time, well, Without Waves, a post-metal band was in the Star Lounge, the Royal Theater was pretty much packed during Leaves' Eyes set.

We opted to get ready for dinner instead of watching Ihsahn on the Pool Deck Stage. He was already announced to play at ProgPower and we planned on seeing him there. Obviously this didn't happen-thank you COVID-19.

But since the weather took a turn for the worse the last couple of hours, I heard that Ihsahn's set was cut short due to high winds. Apparently the entire audience of the Pool Deck was evacuated so the riggers could take the big 70K banners down; they act like a wind sail during the slightest weather anyways. So I guess we didn't miss much after all.

This was the only time we actually made it to the a-la-carte sit down Restaurant and the food was great per usual. It's nice to have options for dining and the variety on 70000 Tons Of Metal is pretty good. One has a choice between the free food option at said Restaurant, the Windjammer Buffet, Sorrento's Pizza, and the Café Promenade. Specialty dining such as the Steakhouse Chops Grille, Italian fare at Giovanni's Table, sushi at Izumi, burgers at Johnny Rockets, seafood snacks at Fish & Ships, bar food at the Playmakers Bar & Arcade as well as ice-cream and smoothies at Ben & Jerry's and candy at Sugar Beach were available for a fee. To be honest, if one got hungry during the cruise they did it wrong.

When Devin Townsend was announced for 70000 Tons Of Metal 2020 the man himself let his fans know that this would be a heavier, 'full metal set' and he enlisted the help of no other than Megadeth's Dirk Verbeuren on drums, ex-The Faceless shredder Wes Hauch and Bad Wolves's Kyle Konkiel on bass. Strapping Young Lad music incoming.

By the time we walked onto the pool deck Devin Townsend was already on stage. Though plagued with technical difficulties, the man made the best of it, hilariously commenting when his backing tracks on the laptop didn't work at all; seriously, Devy made oh so sweet lemonade out of the lemons the weather (and technology) presented him. Don't get me wrong, it was very, very windy, but this didn't stop him from laying down an awesome performance and the man really had fun on stage. The Pool Deck was packed and he constantly engaged the audience which at times was funny as shit; such a great frontman and talented artist all around.

Devin not only played SYL songs during the set, some of his 'regular' work came to shine as well. Mainly "Kingdom" and "Juular" were heavily celebrated that night. And it made perfect sense, since Ihsahn did guest vocals on the latter, that Devin casually brought him on stage during the song. This was special on so many levels. In my opinion, Devin Townsend and Ihsahn, perhaps two of the most talented artists on board and even though there are no 'headliners' and not to take anything away from the other great bands, those two gentlemen together on stage- awesome

Below is a YouTube video by PandemoniumMetalTV but there are several more of this magical moment.




Needless to say, we once again missed Cattle Decapitation but managed to check out a bit of Grave Digger's second set in the Theater before we went to Studio B for another dose of Omnium Gatherum. The guitar legend and his Michael Schenker Fest ensemble were playing on the Pool Deck Stage, but I have seen him plenty of times over the years and to be honest, it's nothing world moving anymore. Got it, he is a master of his craft and if you have never seen him, please do so, but not today and not for me.

The Finns on the other hand put down another great show to a packed Studio B which makes me wonder how many people actually were up on the Pool Deck since no other show was going on at the time.

Keyboards not working? No problem at all. Omnium Gatherum made the best out of it. Kinda weird sounding at first, but hey, the show must go on and about halfway through their set, the keys were fixed. The crowd was relentless from the get-go and I don't think they stopped crowd surfing at all. While during their first show the band played a more varied set, during this performance they relied heavily on songs from their 2018 album The Burning Cold. Nothing wrong with that, at least they mixed it up and didn't play the same set twice.

We did enjoy Bloodbound during their first show, but opted to watch Moonsorrow up next in the Royal Theater instead. It was announced that the Finns would play their 2005 masterpiece Verisäkeet in its entire and this was something we didn't wanted to miss. And not just us, the Theater was fucking packed.

Apparently the Pool Deck was closed again after Schenker to lower the lighting rig due to the high winds and it was announced that the At The Gates show would start 1 hour later. We were hanging out and casually scrolling through the Promenade Deck and a sizable crowd already lingered in and around the Ale and Anchor Pub. Cruachan was starting a special show with drinking songs and ballads to entertain their fans. We hung around for a bit before heading towards the Pool Deck where ATG apparently did start earlier than anticipated.

Also playing an entire album (1995's Slaughter Of The Soul) At The Gates joined several other bands who did just that. Normally I am not a big fan of such sets, but some of the albums the bands picked are actually kick-ass so I didn't mind at all this time around. Due to still very windy conditions we opted to sit just inside the Solarium and while a bit muffled, Tompa's voice came over more than satisfying.

The stagehands worked their magic and Axxis started their gig with just over half an hour behind schedule. Not bad. But since the weather was still shitty I guess most people decided to stay indoors to drink or watch Trollfest or Vio-lence's second sets instead. Well, for us who braved the elements, Axxis once again laid down a flawless and energetic performance. Looking around I noticed that most of the people were either German or at least from German speaking countries. Yap, party metal early in the morning is not for all.

We actually ended our party of the night/morning with another dose of Einherjer on the STILL very windy Pool Deck before calling it a day at around 4:30 in the morning.

My Top Five bands for the day were: Devin Townsend, Omnium Gatherum, Axxis, Moonsorrow and Leaves' Eyes.

Make sure you check out the awesome pictures by Carl, as well as the below Day Three Recap video by 70000TONS.TV.





Stay tuned for Day Four of 70000 Tons Of Metal and some afterthoughts by yours truly.

Visual highlights of Day Three below:

Click for more Day 3 pictures →