[Press Release]

From the Faroe Islands to Seattle in less then two weeks! Thanks to climate change you can now sail the Northwest Passage! Please welcome NEVERMORE and for the very first time in 20 years live on stage we will find our very own SANCTUARY on board 70000TONS OF METAL, The World's Biggest Floating Heavy Metal Festival!!!

The confirmed 30 out of 40 bands are:

• Agent Steel
• Amon Amarth
• Cripper
• Death Angel
• Ensiferum
• Epica
• Exodus
• Fear Factory
• Finntroll
• Forbidden
• Gamma Ray
• Iced Earth
• Korpiklaani
• Marduk
• Moonspell
• Nevermore
• Obituary
• Rage
• Raven
• Sanctuary
• Saxon
• Sodom
• Sonata Arctica
• Swashbuckle
• Testament
• Trouble
• Týr
• Uli Jon Roth
• Unleashed
• Witchburner

70000TONS OF METAL will sail Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean “Majesty of the Seas” from Miami FL to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011.

Make no mistake, 70000TONS OF METAL is not your grandma's cruise. It's also not one of the cruises that share the ship with normal cruise guests. This is an all heavy metal cruise! Can you imagine that? A whole luxury cruise ship full of metalheads? And since there is no backstage area you will have the opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It's like everyone has a backstage pass!

Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$249 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, all meals, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and 24 room service!

What are you waiting for? You might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done! Check out 70000tons.com for more information and book your cabin NOW!

[Press Release]

MetalSucks writer Anso DF recently spoke with NEVERMORE vocalist Warrel Dane about the band's new record "The Obsidian Conspiracy," Dane's 2008 solo record "Praises to the War Machine," and the recently re-activated SANCTUARY. Dane revealed that SANCTUARY are presently in the process of writing new material... as in, right this second. An excerpt:

MetalSucks: I am fuckin’ psyched about this long-overdue Sanctuary reunion!

Warrel Dane: [laughs] Yeah, wait ‘til you hear some of the new stuff! I’ve got a song that I’ve been working on the last few days. It’s pretty frickin’ cool.


You’re not joking right now? You’re already working on music?

No, I’m not joking at all! It sounds like Into The Mirror Black stuff, which obviously is the evolution of our sound. We’re going to really start rehearsing again and just [pauses] deal with it. It feels right for some reason. I know I said years ago that I wouldn’t do this. That was probably because most of us weren’t really friends. We didn’t talk to each other.


No shit!

No, the ending of that band was weird. It got kind of ugly at the end. Eventually, we grew up a little and started talking to each other again. Now, we’re in a place where we’re good friends again. Which is cool cuz we’re all different people now.

I had always thought that Len [Rutledge, Sanctuary guitarist] … He tried a couple bands after Sanctuary broke up, but then he kind of quit doing music. One day, it occurred to me that he’s too talented to not be doing something. I thought, maybe we should work on something together and see what happens. It happened very slowly. It’s a good feeling.


Hey, those Sanctuary albums were magic. You guys were on track to eventually contribute an undisputed classic album to the genre. Everybody knows that. But working with Dave Mustaine on the band’s first record must’ve been weird. How old were you even?

Oh my god. I was a kid. You know what, I have to tell you: I am going to go back and take more voice lessons before I even think about recording another Sanctuary record. I have to! I haven’t been using that aspect of my voice for years because in Nevermore, I don’t think it’s really appropriate. When you’re singing that way, you have to be consistent. And since you’re never too old to learn anything, why not go back and take lessons?

Click here to read the full interview