Articles by D.T. Metal

Well rested and ready to tackle another day of awesomeness; bring it 70000 Tons Of Metal.

It's that time of the year again and our annual Metal Storm Awards are right around the corner. But before we let you lose to vote for your best album(s) of 2018 we compiled a list of our "best of", so make sure to check them out.

Still a little over 4 months to go, and yes, I am stoked for the 9th edition of 70000 Tons Of Metal, The Original, The World's Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise.

The last day was upon us and I did it my way; I took it easy and instead of trying to watch bands I had missed thus far, I instead opted to be a 'social butterfly' and catch up with friends.

Yes, by now all of the bands had played already once, but there was more, much more ahead, but thankfully Day Three of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise is a "half day"; a much needed break from all the metal debaucheries on board.

I was ready for a full day of metal; literally - full day. The first show started at 10 in the morning and the last gig was scheduled to end at 05:30 the next morning.

You thought you were alone while arguing that band A should win over Band B in one of the categories? Not so fast...

It's that time of the year again? time to poke the bear. ;D PCD (Post Cruise Depression) is in full swing for most 70000 Tons Of Metal 2018 attendees and I assume even worse for first-timers. While for some the cruise is a once in a lifetime experience, for more and more metalheads it has become…

The MS crew, from the tall to the small, have picked out their hottest jams and the coolest gigs from the last 12 months.

Day 3 marks "Port Day" on 70000 Tons Of Metal. It's a time for anyone to have the standard mainstream vacation portion of the cruise?but in metal is anything "mainstream"? What awaited fans and musicians alike was sunning, swimming, snorkeling, exploring, volleyball, boating,…

It wasn't an easy task... emotions ran high? threats were made... longtime friendships were on the verge of falling apart? Nah, it wasn't that bad, and in the end we came to our senses, hugged it out, and "kumbaya" was echoing in the halls of the MS Tower.

Yes! It's that time of the year again. In less than a month I shall sip foo-foo drinks on board a cruise ship while listening to some kick-ass metal bands. 70000 Tons Of Metal here I come. :banger2:

Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveller of the metal world, rest a while here. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine…

Since the Metal Storm Awards are upon us, here are the highlights of some of our Jedi Knights, Padawans and Younglings ? hmmm, and even a Sith Lord gave his input.

The last day of the cruise is always bittersweet since ? well ? it's the last day. But it's also the day to catch bands which were missed previously.

When a sea of black shirts invades the colorful island of Jamaica it can only mean one thing: the 70000 Tons Of Metal crowd has arrived.

Compare our (Staff, Elites, and Official Contributors) highlights to your lists and have fun voting on the upcoming Metal Storm Awards. The folks at the 'Tower' \m/

The organizers took the old saying "Black Is Beautiful" to the next level and put together an awesome tour package for their 2014 run. This year's event brought us headliner Behemoth, rotating direct support acts 1349 and Goatwhore, one of the most dynamic duo's in the scene, Inquisition,…

The 5th edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise already promises to be even bigger and better than anything else the organizers have done before. And even though I barely got rid of my sea legs, it's time to get stoked for next year's cruise. Stoked why, you might ask. Simple. Bigger ship,…

Ahhh, the mighty Staff Picks! As most of you already know, we do not vote during the Awards, we just nominate and leave all the fun to you fine folks; well, most of the fun that is. Come on, did you really think we didn't want to argue amongst us who should receive the moniker "Staff Pick"…

The last day of the cruise was upon us and after finding those toothpicks to prop my eyes open I ventured outside. Atrocity was supposed to be playing on the Pool Deck Stage, but since they had a gig scheduled in Denver upon my return, I was just going to watch them while having my morning coffee and…

Day three of the self-proclaimed "World's Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise" is the day the ship's anchor gets dropped in a pre-determined port somewhere nice and warm. Costa Maya, Mexico, a man-made cruise port about 200 plus miles south of Cancun, was the voted on destination.

After taking a catnap, day two of 70000 Tons Of Metal started off with Swiss Thrashers Poltergeist who reunited in 2013 after an almost 10 year break. They enlisted ex-Destruction drummer Sven Vormann to sit behind the kit, and for it being 10 am in the fricking morning, Poltergeist put on a great show…

2000 fans, 41 bands, 1 ship can only mean one thing: I survived another 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise and am here to tell the tales. But before I get into the nitty and gritty details, here are some stats from the fourth installment of the self-proclaimed world's biggest heavy metal cruise.

It's that time of the year again - drumroll and stuff - the Metal Storm awards are upon us. Be ready to check out some excellent music and you know the drill; when we open the MSA voting, it is up to you to crown the best albums in each genre. Even though we worked long and countless nights…

It started in Denver, led me to Seattle before crossing the (überstupid) border into Canada and ended, back on US soil, in Portland, Oregon. "The Wild Hunt" is done; great success, tons of fun, lots of memories and luckily I didn't catch the "Uppsala Flu" like some of my…

Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveler of the metal world, rest a while here. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive…

Fair warning - these are MY thoughts - hence, it's a blog feature - but do comment on my ramblings and tell me if I'm too harsh on the offenders or right on the money. If you think I am too harsh though ? well, my Spanish isn't all that good but I would phrase a sentence with the word…

A couple of month ago when Ghost B.C. announced their Haze Over North America tour I was actually rather surprised on the choice of venue for their Denver gig. Last time the Swedes were in town (January 2012) they performed at the 500-seater Marquis Theater and this time they opted for the rather large…

Paganfest - America Part IV; and the pillage started in Denver, CO. A somewhat unusual town to start a tour and not many bands choose the Mile High City to begin their North American run, but hey - beggars can't be choosers. Especially since the headliner Ensiferum hadn't been in town for almost…

Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveler of the metal world, rest a while here. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive…

So not ready to get up on Thursday morning but not wanting to miss Nightmare on the much bigger Pool Deck Stage, I reluctantly got my butt in gear after a brief stint with the mattress. And judging by the small amount of people present for their performance I assume most folks did the same as yours truly…

Cockburn Town on the Grand Turk Island which is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands was the destination for this third installment of the self-proclaimed "Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise". Crystal clear water, powdered sand, a short walk from the ship, us the only cruise liner at port and a Jimmy…

After a couple hours of sleep I ventured onto the Pool Deck and Canada's extreme metal outfit Unexpect was already playing to the fans who were up and about or still awake from the night prior. Either way, they powered through their set and while Steel Engraved was playing in the Spectrum Lounge…

70000 Tons Of Metal - and 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of beer were consumed a day; with Corona and Foster's being the top two choices of brew. At this point I would like to add that I am proud to report that I somewhat contributed to the amount of Corona being chugged down. Yes I know there are way…

Man, I really didn't do my homework on the bands. There were quite a few that I've never even heard the name. For most of those bands, it didn't matter; the name or the logo was enough to tell that they weren't for me. But HeadCrusher sounded like they might be a thrash band. A fellow…

Yes, the cruise destination was Nassau in the sunny [and warm] Bahamas. Ultimate Music Cruise Inc., who also organize the 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise makes sure their customers get to see something of the world, which is a nice treat after watching and head banging to the bands on the ship. As matter…

Supernaturals beware - we traveled on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle - we were too evil - you spit us back out - Barge To Hell for the WIN !!! Wow, I listened to all of the incredible stories from friends who sailed on the past metal cruises. Everything from the awesome concert environment, the massiveness…

Halloween - the one day where people get a pass on dressing up as ridiculous as they want, and nobody even thinking twice about their outfit choices. And what better way to mingle with the sea of "zombies", "batmans" and "slutty nurses" than at a Gwar show.

So, everybody should have either watched or at least heard of the 2005 documentary, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. Under the Banger Films moniker, produced and directed by Sam Dunn and Scot McFayden, the film followed Dunn on his epic journey to bring us the inside scoop on all things metal.

The "North American Teutonic Terror Attack - 2012" tour featured no other than Swallow The Sun as direct support for two German titans, Kreator and Accept. While the Finns had toured our country before [mainly with bands close to their own genre], I really didn't know how the headliner's…

A couple of weeks ago the "Epic Kings & Idols Tour" rolled into Denver, CO. Kudos to whoever thought of this name since it combined the latest album titles of all three touring bands; well minus Stolen Babies, who didn't play in Denver anyways.

Summer Slaughter; here in Colorado it marks the last big bang at the end of the summer before the weather takes a turn for the worse. And what a "bang" it was this year. Headlined by no other than Cannibal Corpse, this annual spectacle once again made its way to the Summit Music Hall in Denver,…

Sometimes it sure does suck not living in Europe with all their cool Open Air Festivals. But in 2008 the founders of the Vans Warped Tour put their heads together and brought us a touring festival like no other. The Rockstar Energy Company was one of the main sponsors from the get go, and therefore the…

Municipal Waste just played a show at the Marquis Theater in Denver and they brought 3 Inches Of Blood and Black Tusk with them to sweeten the "wow factor" for their headlining tour.

Alrighty Metal Stormers, I bet most of us had that unique concert experience which just stands out among the rest. Maybe our first concert we attended, or memories from the ruckus that happened on or off stage. It might have been at a small club or an open-air festival as we watched our favorite band(s)…

Allegaeon just celebrated the release of their newest album Formshifter with a show at the Marquis Theater in Denver, CO this past week. According to our own Metal Storm stats (as of today), their debut album Fragments Of Form And Function was ranked No. 2 in the Top 20 albums of 2010 category and Formshifter…