70,000 Tons of Preview
Part Three
It’s 2017 and it’s January so that means this month is dedicated to prepping up for the next 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. This year will be my third year going and I am beyond ecstatic. As of today (17 January 2017), there have been 50 out of 60 bands announced. My gameplan is to cover 12 bands every week, except for the final week because at that point I will already be in Florida and not every band will be announced at that point. The order in which I review these bands will be in the order that they were announced. I will showcase a song from each band as well as my general impression of that band. Some of these names will be bands that I am just hearing for the first time. I will probably just select the first song that pops up on YouTube and make a determination from there. This is week three, so we’ll be looking at #25-#36.
#25 – STAM1NA (FINLAND) PROGRESSIVE METAL, THRASH METAL
Stam1na is a band that I had never heard until I pulled this song off of the YouTubes. It turns out they sound like might be pretty damn fun so I will probably check out one of their sets. I also learned that the reason they changed the “I” for a “1” is so that they could be searched in search engines much easier.
#26 – TESTAMENT (UNITED STATES) THRASH METAL
Testament is one of the early California thrash bands. They are a HUGE name for the cruise. They have a very large amount of success in other countries but also have seen their recent albums chart #12 and #20 on the Billboard 200. Like Anthrax, they are a band that I will at least be curious enough to check out.
#27 – UNLEASHED (SWEDEN) DEATH METAL
Unleashed is a huge name and incremental in the early Swedish death metal movement. They are particularly well known for not adopting the melodic death metal sound that became very popular at the time in Sweden. I will be seeing at least one of their sets, possibly two.
#28 – SERENITY (AUSTRIA) SYMPHONIC POWER METAL, POWER METAL, PROGRESSIVE METAL
Serenity is another band that I was unfamiliar with until this very moment. They are super cheesey power metal but their symphonic elements are awesome. If I can squeeze in a set of theirs, I definitely will.
#29 – ORDEN OGAN (GERMANY) POWER METAL, FOLK METAL, HEAVY METAL
This is another band that is new to me. They don’t appear to be awful but nothing in particular really stuck out at me as significant in their sound. I’m not opposed to hearing them live if the opportunity arises but I don’t anticipate seeking them out.
#30 – GOJIRA (FRANCE) TECHNICAL DEATH METAL
Up to this point, Gojira was probably the band I became the most excited for. This was before I saw them live and was completely blown away. I will definitely be catching each of their sets when they are on board. Their recent album charted #24 and I only expect big things for them in the coming years. This will definitely be a memorable experience.
#31 – DEMOLITION HAMMER (UNITED STATES) THRASH METAL, DEATH METAL
A lot of people love Demolition Hammer, but I think this is a pretty good reason why they didn’t last. This isn’t anything particularly different than what other bands were doing at the time. Unlikely to see their set, but not against it.
#32 – VREID (NORWAY) BLACK METAL, BLACK ‘N’ ROLL
Vreid is a super cool band and I am excited to have some black metal on board. This is a band I will definitely catch one set of.
#33 – MARDUK (SWEDEN) BLACK METAL
Marduk is a band that I’ve always wanted to see but have never had the opportunity because of one reason or another. They are one of the premier second wave black metal bands to emerge onto the scene. I will be seeing one of their sets for sure.
#34 – SCAR SYMMETRY (SWEDEN) MELODIC DEATH METAL, PROGRESSIVE METAL, POWER METAL
Man, I wish Christian Alvestam was still in this band so bad. But I will likely still be seeing both sets of this band because their shit is really cool. Maybe they can do some stuff from Holographic Universe. That album is one of my favorites.
#35 – PAIN (SWEDEN) INDUSTRIAL METAL, SYMPHONIC METAL, HEAVY METAL
While I am totally stoked about Pain’s addition to the cruise, the implication of this is huge. With Peter Tagtgren on board, Hypocrisy could very well be listed and I would probably die from amazement. Maybe in the subsequent weeks, you will catch me making an update about them being added. Seems reasonable considering that Katatonia and Paradise Lost netted Bloodbath being added last year. Pain has a very Rammstein type of feel and I will probably see both of their sets.
#36 – GRAVE (SWEDEN) DEATH METAL
Like Unleashed, Grave is one of the early death metal bands from Sweden. I particularly enjoy their slow and deep toned guitar. I will check out at least one of their sets for sure,
That’s week three. Two weeks to go and then I’m off to the boat. See you soon!
-Ryan