[acidbasement]

I was just looking at last year's announcement thread. At the start of November there were 14 bands announced, one of which was Kamelot, so effectively 13. So he still had to announce 27 bands to make 40 (I think there were 41 though, ja?).

This year, we have 31 bands announced as of today, meaning there are 29 (or more?) still to come.

Last year, maybe four bands were announced in November, ending the crazy drought, and one band in early December. Then, on Dec. 23, the multiple-band announcements started coming in quickly. I'm guessing we might be looking at something similar this year.

[cowboy71]

Yep - last year's drought ended 9th November 2013 and we got The Haunted, Satyricon, Cripper and Victory that month then Obituary early December.

Then another break of 3 weeks before we had 21 bands announced from December 24 to the date of the cruise.

[bodomdragon]

Then another break of 3 weeks before we had 21 bands announced from December 24 to the date of the cruise.

50% of the lineup announced during the last month prior to sailing... oh man.

[Jotunheimr]

Another reason for a huge gap in between the announcements might be the fact that they have to print new ads (big ass signs) every time a new band is announced and place them in venues all over the US and Canada. Doing that repeatedly could get expensive and tedious.

[Mr.Kito]

i was thinking.. "what's up with all those bridges?" okay, he's giving us hints for the next bands.. but why bridges?

then i was reading the "forum v2.0" post and I just realized we are all posting in a forum called "THE BRIDGE" (oh really?!?! genious) i know it's pretty obvious, but still

does this have something to do with the "poisonous game" the skipper is supposed to be playing? or am i just overthinking things a little bit?

[Dutchguy-Tim]

i was thinking.. "what's up with all those bridges?" okay, he's giving us hints for the next bands.. but why bridges?

i was reading the "forum v2.0" post and I just realized we are all posting in a forum called "the bridge"...

does this have something to do with the "poisonous game" the skipper is playing? or am i just overthinking things a little bit?

you may be on to something there.
could be bridging between bands.... would be cool to see some bands unite just for the cruise

[Mr.Kito]

i was thinking.. "what's up with all those bridges?" okay, he's giving us hints for the next bands.. but why bridges?

i was reading the "forum v2.0" post and I just realized we are all posting in a forum called "the bridge"...

does this have something to do with the "poisonous game" the skipper is playing? or am i just overthinking things a little bit?

you may be on to something there.
could be bridging between bands.... would be cool to see some bands unite just for the cruise

Like "metal all stars" or something?

[Speedy]

i was thinking.. "what's up with all those bridges?"

Maybe he's hinting about BEYOND THE BRIDGE being onbroad.

[Stained Class]

i was thinking.. "what's up with all those bridges?"

Maybe he's hinting about BEYOND THE BRIDGE being onbroad.

Dude. Yeah.

[Empire]

those bridges are not in Solingen

[Speedy]

those bridges are not in Solingen

UnACCEPTable!

[bodomdragon]

those bridges are not in Solingen

UnACCEPTable!

May Andy hear you...

[FrenchMachoBoy]

The bridges are in our as*ses, they are friends with the halloween anouncement !

[deathmetalpat]

Jari just posted a picture of a bridge on his page.Titled "Another Dimension" it is a upside down picture of the underside of a bridge.

[Cardest]

Then another break of 3 weeks before we had 21 bands announced from December 24 to the date of the cruise.

50% of the lineup announced during the last month prior to sailing... oh man.

tick tock....tick tock....yep.
This will be my 4th cruise and
yet, here I am, getting impatient.
You'd think I'd learned by now.

Do you all know if the bands
are all booked but it's all hush-hush?
I don't see why it would be this way.

[cowboy71]

As azazel101 posted elsewhere, Kataklysm have announced they are going into the studio to record their new album in January.

And 70k is not listed in their tourdates on their facebook.

So maybe they have withdrawn from 70k and its part of the reason for the silence from the Skipper?

[deathmetalpat]

As azazel101 posted elsewhere, Kataklysm have announced they are going into the studio to record their new album in January.

And 70k is not listed in their tourdates on their facebook.

So maybe they have withdrawn from 70k and its part of the reason for the silence from the Skipper?

Facebook post starts with "There is no rest for the wicked as they say" (no cruise vacation) and ends with "This December, the campaign which saw the band play 150 shows will conclude with three shows in Mexico."Couldn't be more clearly than that,so back to 30 bands.Somewhere in the past (Late March on Facebook Forum Fiends)I stated the breakdown of announcements as half by December 1 ,than 10 in December and 20 in January.Nice to be back on course!

[klons]

As azazel101 posted elsewhere, Kataklysm have announced they are going into the studio to record their new album in January.

And 70k is not listed in their tourdates on their facebook.

So maybe they have withdrawn from 70k and its part of the reason for the silence from the Skipper?

Joey mentioned on the FB group that he talked to them a couple weeks ago and they said they were excited about being on. Stranger things have happened around here though...

[cowboy71]

Indeed. While I personally think they will still be on the cruise, it could very easily have been:

TWO WEEKS AGO:
"Damn we are excited about the cruise!"

ONE WEEK AGO:
*awesome producer becomes available, only available in January*

Hasta La Vista, cruise.

[cowboy71]

Claim the Throne posted this on their facebook:

A few people have asked what we are doing on the FORGED IN FROST tour in the big gap between the east and west... Well we are heading to 70.000 Tons of Metal 2014 to DRINK & PARTY & WATCH AWESOME BANDS. But if you'd like to see us perform too then spread the word.... The 70000tons Facebook and website forum are probably good places to start.

So c'mon Skipper. They are gonna be on broad ANYWAY. Have 'em play!!!

[Azazel101]

They also said it was going to take place in multiple studios so maybe the cruise falls in between sessions

[cowboy71]

Interview andy did at Summer Breeze, he stated that more bands would be announced this week. Cool.

Also stated that the announcements would not drag out as long as previous years, except one big surprise that he will keep us in suspense about.

Really hope things happen this way!!!

I posted that on August 15th.

Since that date we've had:
- Four bands announced
- One band pull out
- Over seven weeks since the last band added

[bodomdragon]

Interview andy did at Summer Breeze, he stated that more bands would be announced this week. Cool.

Also stated that the announcements would not drag out as long as previous years, except one big surprise that he will keep us in suspense about.

Really hope things happen this way!!!

I posted that on August 15th.

Since that date we've had:
- Four bands announced
- One band pull out
- Over seven weeks since the last band added

Andy really, really gets to piss me off.

[Dundee]

I think this non-announcement-policy is just disrespectful against all the people who paid a lot of money for this cruise.

[meshuggah]

I think this non-announcement-policy is just disrespectful against all the people who paid a lot of money for this cruise.

We've gone through this every year. I was hoping that things would be different this time and I'm disappointed...but not surprised.

[Dundee]

It's my 3rd druise so I'm not surprised either. Still can't understand that Andy isn't getting more serious about the annoucements after all this critics. However, it will be a great cruise anyway so I don't want getting to mad about this.

[cowboy71]

Been this way for 5 cruises already, never expected it to change.
I can agree that is could/should be handled differently, but am not at all surprised at the way it is run.

My only issue with it, is that he said in that interview it WOULD be different.

To say that and then continue with the same old tactics is not cool.

[broegaard]

Maybe the guy doesn´t have bands to announce

[Azazel101]

Maybe the guy doesn´t have bands to announce

He has bands to announce.
He had bands booked before we set sail for the last cruise.
I would be willing to bet that he has at least 1/2 of the remaining booked all ready but this is the way he likes to do this.

[deathmetalpat]

Been this way for 5 cruises already, knever expected it to change.
I can agree that is could/should be handled differently, but am not at all surprised at the way it is run.

My only issue with it, is that he said in that interview it WOULD be different.

To say that and then continue with the same old tactics is not cool.

Old saying is "if it ain't broke,don't fix it " applies here.It is a business after all ,cabins have sold well so be need to fill them.Like everyone says it has been this way every year ,first couple of years they had to establish the cruise but after that no.What if they announced all 60 bands by June and cruise only filled 75% of cabins.They would permanently screw themselves into announcing everything early because if they went back to "normal " pattern, people would think something went wrong.

[Tono_Fyr]

Eh, I'm excited to know what other bands are going to be on the cruise, but I'm not really worried/angry about it... then again, I'm super excited about several bands on the bill already, so I'm not terribly distraught about the current lack of half the line up.

Way I see it, it's already awesome, and can only get better. I understand the folks who aren't excited about any of the bands that are currently on the bill being upset, but my observation is this: Previous years have been consistently awesome, even with lack of solid line up announcements.

I'm just saying, have a little faith.

[gundiesalvo]

Way I see it, it's already awesome, and can only get better. I understand the folks who aren't excited about any of the bands that are currently on the bill being upset, but my observation is this: Previous years have been consistently awesome, even with lack of solid line up announcements.

I'm just saying, have a little faith.

Completely agree, and if someone wasn't at least slightly excited about ANY of the bands currently listed then this would probably be the wrong ship for them anyways.

Now everyone just relax for another couple of weeks, as on the 21st we'll get another announcement and people will owe me beer

[Memnoch]

Old saying is "if it ain't broke,don't fix it " applies here.It is a business after all ,cabins have sold well so be need to fill them.Like everyone says it has been this way every year ,first couple of years they had to establish the cruise but after that no.What if they announced all 60 bands by June and cruise only filled 75% of cabins.They would permanently screw themselves into announcing everything early because if they went back to "normal " pattern, people would think something went wrong.

Umm, this makes no sense. If they sold out the cruise, it would. We (as in the "cruise family") seem to think that because we like the cruise so much and try and go every year means there's a lot of hype elsewhere and that people are just waiting to throw their money at Andy. Nope, talking to people who haven't been on the cruise shows that while a lot of people look at it like something they might do some time in the future, most also say the high price makes it a lot more lineup dependent. And at least for us Europeans and the Upsidedownians making the decision to go in January just isn't going to happen.
Most festivals, and most music cruises announce their lineups early year after year. And if a festival or cruise has proven to be so amazing that the lineup doesn't really matter, they sell out in a heartbeat with only a handful (if that) bands announced. And I don't think 70k is there yet. It could be, but with so many people bitching about the lack of announcements, it won't.

For me personally, this year is different in that I didn't book early and am not in the slightest bit annoyed by the lack of bands. Ok, maybe a bit annoyed or I wouldn't be writing this. I'm anxious to hang our with good friends in January, not so much about the cruise itself. It almost feels like a necessary evil that I have to go to to meet my friends. Sure, there are a few bands I'm thrilled to see, and without a doubt there'll be a couple more come January.


And I think this year has been a bit better in that at the very least UMC has been posting photos on their facebook and such, so there hasn't been a real radio silence this year. What does annoy me is the fact that they decided to bring back the scouting parties and the "we're headed south south-east" posts and the clues about next announcements, and then nothing.

[bodomdragon]

The problem here is that 70000 tons of Metal has no serious competitor. That gives the skipper the freedom to do as he pleases, because we are still filling his boat. Last year he was absolutely disastrous and he still sold out. What would make one think that this year is going to be different? According to the numbers, looks like some 85-90% of the boat is already sold out.

In the end, as we all cruisers know, Andy delivers, and the experience once in the boat is close to perfect. The problem is that Andy delivers the way he wants to. If there was another good cruise with very similar features (and dates) to this one and with the whole lineup announced months ago, he would be forced to act differently, and probably in a more pleasant way for us customers. But so far this looks like a utopical, unrealistic situation, so we have to deal with it. And it pisses me off big time.

[Mr.Kito]

What does annoy me is the fact that they decided to bring back the scouting parties and the "we're headed south south-east" posts and the clues about next announcements, and then nothing.

I Totally second that.. but i'm not worried.. just anxious and very veeeery curious about next announcements.

[Dutchguy-Tim]

in all 4 previous cruises the announcements came slow. but he, Andy ALWAYS delivers. so why worry
yeah, it may not be the perfect strategy but as longs as it works for andy, why bother?

in any case the scouting parties have returned. there are clues again, which is way more then last time.

just sit back and enjoy the ride

[bodomdragon]

Andy ALWAYS delivers. so why worry
yeah, it may not be the perfect strategy but as longs as it works for andy, why bother?

Because some of us want time to get familiar with ALL the bands onbroad, and decide which ones we like and which ones we don't. Unfortunately I haven't listened to every single metal band ever, so chances are some of the 30 bands left will be complete or almost complete strangers to me. I want the chance to listen to them carefully before departing in order to make sure I don't miss anything I don't want to miss.

This point has been mentioned several times before, and luckily enough, not only by me.

[Mr.Kito]

This point has been mentioned several times before, and luckily enough, not only by me.

Specially if we're dealing with smaller bands, we need time to know and maybe give them our support by attending to the shows and buying their merch... but if andy only announce them 5 days before we set sail, then it becomes harder to do that.

Its awesome to see the bands you love, but is always nice to know some new awesome bands.

[Dundee]

Andy ALWAYS delivers. so why worry
yeah, it may not be the perfect strategy but as longs as it works for andy, why bother?

Because some of us want time to get familiar with ALL the bands onbroad, and decide which ones we like and which ones we don't. Unfortunately I haven't listened to every single metal band ever, so chances are some of the 30 bands left will be complete or almost complete strangers to me. I want the chance to listen to them carefully before departing in order to make sure I don't miss anything I don't want to miss.

This point has been mentioned several times before, and luckily enough, not only by me.

Absolutely agree with that. I'm not worried that we get only bad bands. For me so far, the line up is really great and I'm sure, there will be also more great bands. But there's also many people, who brings some cds with them to let them sign. So it would be nice to know the line up early as not everyone can buy 20 or more cds in one month.

[Dimma]

Old saying is "if it ain't broke,don't fix it " applies here.It is a business after all ,cabins have sold well so be need to fill them.Like everyone says it has been this way every year ,first couple of years they had to establish the cruise but after that no.What if they announced all 60 bands by June and cruise only filled 75% of cabins.They would permanently screw themselves into announcing everything early because if they went back to "normal " pattern, people would think something went wrong.

Umm, this makes no sense. If they sold out the cruise, it would. We (as in the "cruise family") seem to think that because we like the cruise so much and try and go every year means there's a lot of hype elsewhere and that people are just waiting to throw their money at Andy. Nope, talking to people who haven't been on the cruise shows that while a lot of people look at it like something they might do some time in the future, most also say the high price makes it a lot more lineup dependent. And at least for us Europeans and the Upsidedownians making the decision to go in January just isn't going to happen.
Most festivals, and most music cruises announce their lineups early year after year. And if a festival or cruise has proven to be so amazing that the lineup doesn't really matter, they sell out in a heartbeat with only a handful (if that) bands announced. And I don't think 70k is there yet. It could be, but with so many people bitching about the lack of announcements, it won't.

For me personally, this year is different in that I didn't book early and am not in the slightest bit annoyed by the lack of bands. Ok, maybe a bit annoyed or I wouldn't be writing this. I'm anxious to hang our with good friends in January, not so much about the cruise itself. It almost feels like a necessary evil that I have to go to to meet my friends. Sure, there are a few bands I'm thrilled to see, and without a doubt there'll be a couple more come January.


And I think this year has been a bit better in that at the very least UMC has been posting photos on their facebook and such, so there hasn't been a real radio silence this year. What does annoy me is the fact that they decided to bring back the scouting parties and the "we're headed south south-east" posts and the clues about next announcements, and then nothing.

Yeah, what he said.
Sure i like a few bands announced. Annihilator, Artillery, Schenker. I'd go watch the chick bands and the novelty ones.

But dude! You've got 60 spots this year! And only half full with just over two months till departure.

What's got me over the line the previous two years has been some kick arse bands. Metal Legends.

All i'm seeing now is repeats and bands i can catch at the local pub with a couple of hundred others.

For me to spend another 5K upfront, he's gonna have to drastically change his marketing strategy.

But then again, i think the cruise has become more about catching up with friends, seeing bands is just a bonus.