2023-05-01 12:03:16
See dozens of concerts of heavy metal on the high seas from inside a jacuzzi and with the sea breeze hitting your face on the deck of a gigantic ship? If possible. The cruise Freedom of the Seas celebrates every year the festival ‘70.000 Tons of Metal‘ and has been transporting for more than a decade in each annual edition about 3,000 heavy rock fans of all nationalities through the waters of the Caribbean, offering an intensive rock ‘therapy’ on board for five days with 60 groups and a total of 120 concerts. Inside, four stages, 24-hour bars, swimming pools, a basketball court, mini golf, a casino, a spa, themed restaurants and the possibility of living together and sharing the experience with the members of all the bands. The fans who sell out their tickets every year come knowing that they will not hear siren songs; What they are looking for is to enter the floating paradise of metal music.
In this year’s edition, the Freedom of the Seas, which in reality, despite the name of the festival it hosts, exceeds 154,000 tons in weight (three times that of the Titanic), departed from Miami this January 30 heading to Bimini, a Bahamas, to return to the US coast again on February 3. In total, five days and four nights marked by the empire of powerful electric guitars, forceful voices, thousands of faithful among whom black clothing and tattoos predominated, and a marathon of daily concerts that began daily at ten in the morning and They finished at six in the morning the next day. A delight for the 2,761 fans who paid their ticket, who, in addition, could simultaneously enjoy the wide variety of fun and entertainment options offered by the mammoth facilities of the for a time it became the largest cruise ship in the world.
To the number of fans we must add the members and staffs of the 60 bands and more than 1,300 crew members who make sure that nothing goes wrong. The dimensions of the Royal Caribbean shipping company allow it to swallow everything without the slightest problem, including the 14 trucks with the material and equipment of the groups. She is a ‘little angel’ 338 meters long, 38 meters wide, with 15 decks, capable of sailing at 21.6 knots (about 40 kilometers per hour).
The prices per person of the metal adventure fluctuate between 1,366 dollars (about 1,250 euros) if you share a four-seater cabin, up to more than 4,999 dollars (about 4,500 euros) in the most luxurious version of the large exterior cabins and best location. To that amount must be added 464 dollars (420 euros) for fees and surcharges. The price does not include alcoholic beverages or the times you want to challenge Lady Luck on your own inside the casino inside the Freedom of the Seas.
luxury facilities
angel garcia He is one of the Spaniards who has been present in the last edition. In his opinion, it is a cruise “at mid-high, it is somewhat expensive. Many of my friends have not been able to go this year. After the pandemic they have raised it. You have to have some savings to be able to afford to go from Europe to Miami, stay at least one night there, and then pay for the cabin. You can share it with three others, but, yes, it is for medium-high purchasing power”. Of course, he acknowledges that “it is luxurious, because the facilities are high class. They are terrific. The cabins are very good. The ship is one of the largest. There are facilities for climbing, playing basketball, a surf wave simulator…”.
Although there is free food, the cruise also offers the possibility of enjoying other paid culinary options and visiting theme restaurants to try sushi, an Argentine barbecue or an Italian recipe. The gastronomic variety is wide.
practically, during every day several concerts are held simultaneously on the four different stages with which the cruise has. Each of the 60 groups performs twice and the calendar is organized so that travelers can plan to see all the formations. On the roof is the main stage, where you can enjoy the concerts while the fans sunbathe, take a bath in any of the pools or from inside a jacuzzi. The scene of heavy metal fans enjoying soaking in the performances of groups of death metal It’s really out of the ordinary.
Another of the settings is the Royal Theatre, a five-story room in which the seats on the floor are removed so that attendees can watch the musicians up close, while the rest can choose to attend the performance sitting in seats in the rest of plants. The smallest stage is the Star room, a kind of club, more intimate and smaller, and finally, there is a third covered stage, Studio B, on an ice rink, although it is covered during this trip.
Coexistence between public and artists
Throughout the festival’s years of history, important groups and soloists from the heavy metal that go from Blind Guardian until Saxongoing by helloween, Accept, Doro, Michael Schenker, Gamma Ray o Anthrax. The 2023 edition has counted among others with the legendary German guitarist Uli Jon Roth (former member of Scorpions), the Finns NightwishGermans Creator or the Madrid band Wormed. The relationship of the musicians with the travelers is, inevitably, much closer than in a concert in a stadium or in a hall, since coexistence arises. “There are no VIP areas, it really is like everyone has a pass backstage”, is stated from the organization.
Ángel García highlights this aspect: “They do it with special characteristics that you don’t get in other events. ANDYou are around the groups, you eat with them, you go on excursions with them. It is a very different experience. They are with you waiting in line to get the food. They let you take pictures with them, you talk to them, they sign autographs. It is a very special environment. You interact with all the bands…”, describes this Spanish fan.
You are around the groups, you eat with them, you go on excursions with them. It’s a very different experience.”
The musical offer on board is, contrary to what one might imagine if one thinks about the heavy metal as a single genus, highly varied. The catalog (not that of a foundry) of styles includes variants such as death metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, folk metal, progressive metal, black metal… nuances, diversities and styles despite the repeated metallic nuance recognizable by all travelers. “Overall sound quality is fine, but that’s not the main value; it is that during the performances you are on the deck, in the jacuzzi, bathing, it gives you the air of the Caribbean… That prevails over the sound, which is good, but the environment around the stage is valued more. You can move, you can get to the front row and come back”, says Ángel García.
During the cruise, some of the musicians offer master classes for those who wish to attend, perform jam sessions and the meet and greet are frequent during the five days it lasts. In this way, the heavy On this voyage across the high seas, he stands as a universal language, a kind of Esperanto, a language conceived to unify, to make himself understood by metal fans from all corners of the planet. In the recent edition they brought together fans of 71 nationalities: Vietnam, Cuba, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Lithuania, Egypt, Chile, Sri Lanka, Denmark, Brazil, Cyprus, Indonesia… The organization defined this fact as the “United Nations representation of the heavy metal in high sea”.
Among the attendees friendships arise and a good atmosphere reigns. Especially in the case of Latinos. “You make friends for life. You have them forever. The Latin world meets in a moment, in a corner of the ship. We take out the flags and take pictures. It is done as soon as you enter the boat. It is emotional, because you meet people from other years”, says Ángel García, who has already attended two editions of 70,000 tons. He is known as corner of the Ñ
‘Sold out’ every year
Swiss businessman Andy Piller conceived the ‘70,000 tons’ project and began developing it in 2011. Since then, the festival has only been unable to celebrate for two years due to the covid pandemic. But each edition the tickets are sold out. The cruise offers an experience with the heavy metal as the main claim, but it does not neglect the aspect of entertainment. On the Freedom of the Seas there is a karaoke room where fans try with varying success to emulate the treble and bass of their favorite singers. One of the days there is a costume party and among the most popular activities is a tummy tuck contest in one of the indoor pools which always provides a great opportunity for the most seasoned photographers, as well as guaranteeing fun moments. And, something highly valued by passengers, there are bars that remain open 24 hours a day. “That whole environment makes it a kind of Disneyland del heavy metal. It is a privileged event for the people of the heavy”, explains Angel Garcia.
The cruise even has a nursery, so that “let’s see what I do with the children” is not an excuse if what you want is to have the opportunity to navigate between decibels and representing the unequivocal gesture of the horns raised with your fist used by fans heavy and whose ‘creation’ is attributed to the disappeared Ronnie James Dio. Not in vain, in the edition of last January several children attended and some, not so much. The oldest fan was 79 years old. Another interesting fact: four out of ten festival attendees were women.
There are more cruises like this dedicated to heavy rock. The current offer is wide. Groups like Kiss have theirs (the next edition will be in 2024), Megadeth had it too, and Bon Jovi sang about the Mediterranean in 2019. But everyone considers ‘70,000 tons’ as the biggest festival among those that keep the heavy metal. The existence of this and the rest of the metal cruises confirms that rock, contrary to what many have been proclaiming for many years, is still alive… and sailing under full sail.
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