It’s loud, it’s heavy and it’s badass. 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise took to the high seas and housed hundreds of metal fans and over 60 bands for five days. Royal Caribbean’s Independence of Seas ship left the port in Fort Lauderdale and after a mandatory safety drill filled with respectable metalheads, the booze flowed and the madness begun.

Day 1:

While the massive pool deck was being built on day one, tunes flowed in the Alhambra Theater, kicking off with Swedish melodic metal band Amaranthe, who delivered a soaring set. The main theater saw a lot of action as Grave Digger performed and Bay Area thrash veterans Testament played to a super packed house. Arch Enemy took hold with a forceful set, but even their high-energy show wouldn't stop fans from checking out more bands throughout the night. On this boat, live music goes for nearly 24 hours straight. Kalmah and Marduk brought the heavy and the beer guzzlers in Trollfest played into the wee hours of the morning.

On a normal cruise, the ice rink would be reserved for….ice skating. On this cruise, Death Angel, Moonsorrow, DevilDriver and Demolition Hammer were just a few of the bands that played on a stage in the Ice Rink.

Bands and fans come from all over the world to play and attend this annual gathering of metalheads. While fans sacrificed sleep, food and sanity aboard the ship, it’s all worth it to see their favorite musicians.

Day 2:

Whether cruisers slept or not, Day 2 was a full day at sea and a full day of activities on the boat. With their to-go cups of coffee in hand, metalheads were out and about. On this days, the majority of the bands on board held their meet and greets at various times in various places on the ship.

With the pool deck stage setup outside, bands like Suffocation, as well as notable guitarist Uli Jon Roth, performed under the sun. Fans also lounged in a hot tubs on the deck while watching the bands and another hot spot was the “Sprinkles” soft serve ice cream machine which was a popular haven  for the metalheads. The deck was also home to a very scared pigeon who seemed paralyzed by fear of the loud amps and concert festival on the ship.

Angra and Amorphis played the Deck Stage in the evening and everyone war-danced on the Deck when Anthrax delivered their enthralling set. Not to mention, on any given day of the cruise, Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna could usually be found by the Sprinkles soft serve ice cream machine.

Things heated up in the ice rink as it was home to a diverse group of acts on the second day of the cruise. From Boston metal band Revocation to hilarious instrumental act Powerglove to the gutturals of Dying Fetus, the blood was pumping throughout the day in the sweaty ice rink.

Carcass and Overkill, who were added to the cruise last minute, in place of Gojira and Nile, who weren’t able to attend, performed in the Alhambra Theater. Therion and Xandria also filled the theater with symphonic metal tunes. One of the best performances of the day happened early on in the venue by Israeli progressive metal act Orphaned Land.

Check out our gallery above of Days 1 and 2 of 70,000 Tons of Metal 2017 Cruise and stay tuned for our coverage of Days 3 and 4.

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