Charting the course to 2024: reflecting on 70000tons of Metal 2023 Artist Spotlight: Nightmare

We’re counting down to the 2024 edition of 70000 tons of Metal! This is by far one of our personal favorite metal cruises where every artist is a headliner. Metalheads from around the globe share an insane experience of four days with very little to no sleep of nonstop metal shows. From big pool deck experiences to the intimate Star Lounge, there’s something for all metalheads regardless of subgenre, and we love it all. 2023 marked a significant return for the cruise after all cruises generally faced a halt due to the pandemic. The event’s future was uncertain, but it returned, giving sixty unique artists a go. This year we saw a number of acts having their first experience on the boat to artists having some notable silver-to-gold member status returns. We managed to capture all sixty bands, and as we countdown to the 2024 edition, we will share artist spotlights from the 2023 expedition leading up to the 2024 voyage. Artist Number 41: Nightmare.

The 2023 edition of the cruise marked the third appearance of the esteemed French power metal ensemble, Nightmare. Notably, this occasion stood out as the first with their new vocalist, Barbara Mogore. With 2024 signaling their forty-fifth anniversary, Nightmare’s journey on the cruise began in 2013, followed by a second appearance in 2017 and now the third in 2023. For the previous year’s voyage, their initial set unfolded on Day 1, January 30, 2023, at the Royal Theater, while the second performance occurred on Day 4, February 2, 2023, at 10:00 am on the Pool Deck. Our attendance at the first set provided a unique experience, witnessing Mogore’s performance with the group. Despite the late hour, her vocals and stage presence seamlessly blended with the band’s established style, creating a decent transition between vocalists.

Nightmare

Looking ahead to 2024, Nightmare appears to be gearing up for an exciting year with new music in the pipeline. Concluding 2023 on a high note, they gifted their fanbase with a re-recording of “Eternal Winter,” serving as an introduction to Mogore’s vocals. This offering also heightened anticipation for the forthcoming new material to be unveiled sometime in the new year. Stay tuned for more updates from Nightmare as they embark on this next chapter.

70000 tons of Metal will return on January 29th, setting sail from Miami, FL to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and back on February 2nd with another batch promising sixty bands to perform twice throughout the waves of adventure. The announcements have been moving fast this year as tickets have already gone on sale, and, well no updates since our last post but, in case you missed it, 36 bands out of 60 have been revealed thus far:

2024 70000tons of Metal artists:

Aborted
Angra
Blind Guardian
Blood Red Throne
Crypta
Dalriada
Depressive Age
Draconian
Dynazty
Epica
Equilibrium
Fleshgod Apocalypse
Grave Digger
Heidevolk
Infected Rain
Iotunn
Kataklysm
Legion of the Damned
Lord of the Lost
Marduk
My Dying Bride
Mystic Prophecy
Nanowar of Steel
Nervosa
Nile
Omnium Gatherum
Saor
Scar Symmetry
Serenity
Sodom
The Halo Effect
Tygers of Pan Tang
Unleashed
Victory
Warkings
Wind Rose