70000tons of Metal 2025 Artist Spotlight: Emperor

Countdown to 2026: 148 Days

SOOOOOOON, a word 70000tons of Metal cruisers know all too well, love it or hate it. 70000tons of Metal, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, returns for its 2026 edition from January 29 – February 2, 2026, setting sail from Miami, Florida to Nassau, The Bahamas aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. For booking and full details are available on the official website. Read our essential packing guide here. Check out the testimonials from several 2025 artists at this location.

70000tons 2025 Round 13: ARTIST 12 of 61 Emperor

Stats

2025 Voyage:

Dates: January 30 – February 3, 2025
Destination: Miami to Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Ship: Independence of the Seas

Artist Spotlight

Band: Emperor
Number of 70000tons Appearances: 2 (2020, 2025)
Set 1: January 30, 2025 – Royal Theater – 11:15 pm
Set 2: February 1, 2025 – Pool Deck – 10:30 pm
Attended: Set 1 – Yes, Set 2 – Yes
Country: Norway
Genre: Black Metal
Latest Album: Prometheus – The Discipline of Fire and Demise (2001)
Standout Moment(s):

Full moon gravitating the motion within the waves, creating a windy, chaotic atmosphere where, if this is when I die, seeing Emperor in the full moon under the stars, I’d say that would be an awesome way to go. That was 2020, the time right before the pandemic hit. Move forward to 2025, post-pandemic, with 70000tons gaining momentum once again after the 2023 return, Emperor were invited back on the ship. While a new tradition formed, a very windy set on the Pool Deck, this time, unfortunately, the group faced a battle where guitarist Samoth’s visa wasn’t approved in time. While tracks of his parts were recorded, it was quite different seeing him missing from the stage. Ihsahn kindly announced the missing body on stage while promising his presence would remain via the recorded track. Even so, the two sets overall were among the best of the 2025 voyage, and among the few within the black metal subgenre.

Emperor – Set 1

Emperor – Set 2

Latest Emperor News

According to Emperor’s social media, Samoth’s visa may not have been approved until mid-April. The band expressed their excitement once all visas were finally cleared ahead of their U.S. tour. That run went ahead as planned, including their Los Angeles appearance, which we recapped, before the group continued across the European metal festival circuit throughout summer 2025. Looking ahead, Emperor are already confirmed for major appearances in 2026, including Wacken Open Air 2026.

What is the Artist Spotlight?

Well, it’s more than a review of their performance; as 70000tons goes, each band is a headliner, and we treat each one as such, giving them their own spread, discussing who they are and what they’ve been up to since the cruise. Each spotlight coincides with any updates from 70000tons organizers (if any), leading to days before setting sail. An extensive coverage like no other.

70000tons 2026 Lineup 46 out of 60:

Amorphis
Anthrax
Beast in Black
Bloodred Hourglass
Darkane
Dark Tranquillity
Dødheimsgard
Dragonland
Dust Bolt
Eluveitie
Ereb Altor
Firewind
Gama Bomb
Groza
Haggard
Harakiri For The Sky
Heathen
Hiraes
Hirax
Hour of Penance
Illdisposed
Illumishade
In Mourning
Insomnium
Izegrim
Kamelot
Kanonenfieber
Orden Ogan
Persefone
Rhapsody of Fire
Royal Hunt
Satan
Saturnus
Seven Spires
Skeletal Remains
Skyclad
Soen
Soilwork
Suidakra
Tribulation
Tyr
Vader
Vio-lence
Wind Rose
Wolf
Xandria