70,000 TONS OF METAL

INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS, FORT LAUDERDALE/COZUMEL

Devin Townsend, Emperor and At The Gates go coastal on the high seas

TUESDAY It’s not every day you get to witness a black-clad flood of tattooed and pierced miscreants plunder a passenger ship upon the azure blue seas of the Caribbean. No, these aren’t pirates and we haven’t been whisked back 300 years in time. This phenomenon is 70,000 Tons Of Metal, and it occurs just once a year as more than 3,000 devoted metalheads embark upon the largest heavy metal cruise on the planet.

For four days, the usual debauchery you might expect to find at your typical land-locked festival is combined with double sets from more than 60 bands, all aboard a luxury cruise liner equipped with every facility you might expect to find on such a vessel. For those keen to maintain their picture-perfect beach bodies amidst all the beer there’s a gym, spa, climbing wall and fitness classes available. But the opulent experience of 70K doesn’t stop there. Water slides, a surf simulator, a casino, multiple bars serving up exclusive lavish cocktails, bottled wine, whiskey and good old-fashioned ale, fine-dining restaurants, an escape room (yes, really) and – in case you need a late-night drunken snack – a buffet that’s open almost 24 hours a day. Everything you need is aboard this ship; it’s a heavy metal mecca complete with blue seas and blazing sun.

Artists of every metallic-tinged subgenre play to punters who’ve travelled from every corner of the globe to party on these Caribbean waters. The atmosphere onboard the enormous Independence Of The Seas hits you just as hard as the Floridian heat, and on a personal level it’s just as warm, too; there is a camaraderie aboard this ship that’s unparalleled by any other festival. The chance to rub shoulders with your favourite bands in a hot tub,