Pack the sun cream, polish the battle jacket and make sure your sea legs are ready, because 70000 Tons Of Metal is preparing to unleash another floating heavy metal invasion! 🤘⚓
The world’s biggest heavy metal cruise has revealed the first half of its enormous 2027 line-up, with Arch Enemy, Exodus, HammerFall, Moonspell, Evergrey, Primal Fear, Wolfheart and Uli Jon Roth among the first 30 names climbing aboard.
Public ticket sales open on Monday 7 September 2026 at 5pm UK time — and with only 3,000 tickets available, this could become a proper frantic scramble across the digital gangplank.
🌴 Metal Mayhem Heads to the Dominican Republic
The 2027 voyage will depart from Miami, Florida, on Thursday 14 January, sailing to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic before returning on Monday 18 January.
The four-night Caribbean adventure will take place aboard Royal Caribbean’s colossal Freedom Of The Seas — although “freedom” might be a slightly optimistic description once thousands of metalheads take over the pools, bars and corridors.
This isn’t your nan’s gentle cruise with bingo at six and a Neil Diamond tribute after dinner, mun.
This is 60 bands, four stages, more than 120 performances, sunrise karaoke, artist-hosted activities, musician clinics, meet-and-greet sessions and enough riffs to frighten every fish in the Atlantic Ocean.
Every band is expected to perform twice, giving sailors a second chance if two must-see sets clash — or if they accidentally spend the first one trapped at a bar discussing the greatest Iron Maiden album with a Finnish death metal fan.
🔥 The First 30 Bands Announced
The opening half of the 2027 line-up is:
- Abigail Williams
- Æther Realm
- Arch Enemy
- Avaland
- Battlelore
- Brainstorm
- Brymir
- Die Apokalyptischen Reiter
- Enforcer
- Equilibrium
- Evergrey
- Exmortus
- Exodus
- Famous Strangers
- HammerFall
- Melechesh
- Moonspell
- Mors Principium Est
- Naglfar
- Obscura
- Origin
- Primal Fear
- Rhapsody
- Sinister
- Talia Hoit
- Thulcandra
- Uli Jon Roth
- Warbringer
- Wolfheart
- Ye Banished Privateers
That’s only half of the full bill, with another 30 bands still waiting to be announced. The organisers have already delivered a hefty mixture of thrash, melodic death metal, power metal, black metal, folk metal and progressive heaviness.
Exodus playing The Toxic Waltz aboard a luxury cruise ship? That’s either the greatest holiday activity ever conceived or a nightmare for whoever is responsible for securing the furniture. Possibly both.
🐺 Wolfheart Planning a World Premiere at Sea
Wolfheart are preparing something particularly special for their third appearance aboard 70000 Tons Of Metal.
The Finnish winter-metal bruisers will use one of their two performances to deliver the world live premiere of their forthcoming album. Footage from the performance is also expected to appear in a future music video.
Their second set will be shaped by votes from the fans, with further details about the voting process due to be announced.
So, one performance offers completely new material and the other puts the setlist into the hands of several thousand excited metalheads. Brave lads.
🎤 Four Stages and No Traditional VIP Area
Performances will be spread across four very different venues aboard Freedom Of The Seas:
- The five-level Royal Theater
- The intimate, club-style Star Lounge
- The arena-like Studio B
- The enormous outdoor Pool Deck Stage
The Pool Deck Stage is the real jewel in this wonderfully unhinged metal crown. It combines a huge open-air concert setup with nearby bars, swimming pools and hot tubs.
Yes, you could genuinely watch Arch Enemy tear through a blistering set while sitting in a bubbling hot tub with a drink. Download Festival in six inches of mud suddenly feels like hard mode, doesn’t it?
There are no traditional VIP sections aboard the ship. Every ticket holder receives unrestricted access to the festival performances and activities, creating what the organisers describe as an all-access, backstage-style atmosphere.
Fans can also attend meet-and-greet signing sessions, selected artist clinics and the legendary Jamming In International Waters All-Star Jam.
There will even be artist-escorted shore excursions in Puerto Plata, providing the frankly surreal possibility of exploring the Dominican Republic alongside someone whose music normally sounds like an approaching apocalypse.
🍺 The Bars Never Close
Freedom Of The Seas also offers the luxuries expected from a major cruise ship, including complimentary dining, 24-hour room service and an impressive collection of bars.
Most importantly for certain members of the metal community, those bars apparently never close.
Four stages. Sixty bands. More than 120 shows. Caribbean sunshine. Hot tubs. Endless food. Permanently open bars.
Somebody has essentially taken a metal festival, removed the mud and tents, and replaced them with cocktails and ocean views. Tidy!
🎟 When Do Tickets Go on Sale?
Public ticket sales for 70000 Tons Of Metal 2027 begin on:
📅 Monday 7 September 2026
⏰ 5pm BST / 12pm EDT
🎫 Only 3,000 tickets available
Returning “Survivors” have been given an earlier opportunity to book and access their loyalty benefits before the general sale begins.
Bookings and further information will be available through the official 70000 Tons Of Metal website. Full event and line-up details were also confirmed in the cruise’s latest announcement. (Announcement details)
🤘 The Riff Report Verdict
70000 Tons Of Metal continues to look like one of the most gloriously ridiculous events on the planet.
Where else can you watch Exodus kick off a circle pit, meet members of your favourite bands over breakfast, attend a musician clinic in the afternoon and finish the night watching melodic death metal from a hot tub?
With 30 more bands still to be revealed, the 2027 voyage is already shaping up to be an absolute monster.
The only remaining questions are: who else will join the ship — and how many battle jackets can you realistically fit into a cabin suitcase?
Would you brave the high seas for four days of riffs, rum and heavy metal chaos? Let us know who you want added to the remaining half of the line-up! 🤘🌊🔥
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
