70000tons of Metal 2025 Artist Spotlight: Striker

Countdown to 2026: 22 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 43 of 61 Striker

Stats

2025 Voyage:

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

Artist Spotlight

Band: Striker
Number of 70000tons Appearances: 3 (2017, 2020, 2025)
Set 1: January 30, 2025 – Royal Theater – 4:30 am
Set 2: February 1, 2025 – Star Lounge – 10:45 pm
Attended: Set 1 – Yes, Set 2 – No
Country: Canada
Genre: Heavy Metal
Latest Album: Ultrapower (2024)
Standout Moment(s):
The resurgence of classic heavy and power metal is something you can thank the metal gods for. Then there’s Canada’s Striker, who take that revived sound and twist it into something distinctly their own, a formula that earned them a Juno Award in 2020. Beyond the music, the band’s stage presence is a reminder of what fun in metal looks like again. They clearly enjoy being on stage, fully using the space around them. For this case, it doesn’t matter that it’s nearly 5:00 AM; you’re simply watching a band doing exactly what they do best.

Striker– Set 1

Latest Striker News

Striker’s most recent tour in 2025 saw them opening for Rhapsody of Fire, a run Metal Insider was fortunate to catch, and one that ended up among Ian’s favorite gigs of the year. As of now, the band’s 2026 calendar remains empty, which could point to time spent working on new music or other projects. Either way, we’ll be keeping an eye on what they have coming next.

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 53 out of 60:

Ad Infinitum
Amorphis
Anthrax
Arkona
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
Ignea
Illdisposed
Illumishade
In Mourning
Insomnium
Izegrim
Jag Panzer
Kamelot
Kanonenfieber
Orden Ogan
Paradise Lost
Persefone
Rhapsody of Fire
Royal Hunt
Satan
Saturnus
Seven Spires
Skeletal Remains
Skyclad
Soen
Soilwork
Suidakra
Tribulation
Tyr
Vader
VBO
Vio-lence
Wind Rose
Wolf
Xandria