70000 TONS OF METAL, billed as the world's biggest heavy metal cruise, has revealed the first wave of confirmed bands for its 2027 sailing, scheduled for January 14-18. The lineup announcement is headlined by guitarist Uli Jon Roth, who will perform two full sets celebrating the 50th anniversaries of two landmark SCORPIONS albums he played on, including a complete performance of "Virgin Killer" and a set drawing heavily from "In Trance."
Joining Roth in the first 14 confirmed acts are ARCH ENEMY, MOONSPELL, BRAINSTORM, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, ENFORCER, EVERGREY, EQUILIBRIUM, MELECHESH, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, OBSCURA, THULCANDRA, WARBRINGER and ÆTHER REALM. Organizers say the full roster will ultimately reach 60 bands, each performing twice across the five-day voyage for more than 120 total sets — a hallmark of the festival's format that guarantees every attendee multiple chances to catch every act on the bill.
The 2027 edition will once again sail aboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom Of The Seas, departing from Miami, Florida, with a port call in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, before returning to Miami. Only 3,000 tickets are available worldwide, a deliberately limited capacity that organizers say is central to the cruise's identity. Performances will be spread across four venues on the ship — the Royal Theater, Star Lounge, Studio B and an open-air pool deck stage — allowing for a mix of intimate club-style sets and larger production numbers.
70000 TONS OF METAL has built its reputation over more than a decade on offering a fundamentally different concert experience than traditional land-based festivals: every ticket includes meet-and-greet access with all performing bands, artist-escorted shore excursions, and what organizers describe as an egalitarian structure with "no VIP sections" — as they put it, "everyone has a backstage pass." The absence of ticket tiers has become a defining selling point for a festival that routinely sells out its limited capacity well in advance.
With more than 40 additional bands still to be announced, organizers are teasing further reveals in the coming months. Tickets for the 2027 sailing are available now through the festival's official website.