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 13 of 61 Ex Deo
Stats
2025 Voyage:
Dates: January 30 – February 3, 2025 Destination: Miami to Ocho Rios, Jamaica Ship: Independence of the Seas
Artist Spotlight
Band: Ex Deo Number of 70000tons Appearances: 1 (2025) Set 1: January 31, 2025 – Pool Deck – 11:30 am Set 2: February 1, 2025 – Studio B- Ice Rink – 11:45 pm Attended: Set 1 – Yes, Set 2 – No Country: Canada Genre: Symphonic Death Metal Latest Album: The Thirteen Years of Nero(2021) EP – Year of the Four Emperors (2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music) Standout Moment(s):
Following a successful run in 2024 withKataklysm on board, Maurizio Iacono brought his side project, Ex Deo, to the ship this year. Taking 3,000 cruisers on a fictional time machine, the pool deck stage became a portal to the Roman Empire as the band stormed the stage in ancient-inspired attire blended with modern electronic elements, delivering a set of blistering brutality. If that isn’t a trip, we don’t know what is, and it worked well.
While rooted in heaviness, Ex Deo showcases a very different side of Iacono compared to Kataklysm. This marked the project’s first-ever performance on the cruise, and hopefully not the last. Many artists use 70000tons as an opportunity to highlight their side projects, often returning in consecutive years or appearing multiple times. Whether this signals more Kataklysm ahead or simply a fun getaway for two years in a row, time will tell.
Ex Deo – Set 1
Latest Ex Deo News
Not much activity has happened for Ex Deo since their 70000tons appearance. However, a social media post on May 8, 2025, suggests that won’t be the case in 2026. The group shared a cryptic message promising new music and live shows, stating:
“More Music, More live art … all coming for 2026 #ExDeo #romanempire Stay tuned, populous of Rome.”
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 47 out of 60:
Amorphis Anthrax Beast in Black Bloodred Hourglass Cemetery Skyline 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
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