[Godflesh]

The 'artists' page has been purged of the old bands!!

We are seeing progress in the move towards announcements!!!

And the 6 Months post is out everywhere.

Not here. Still no official 2019 Forum post.

It's a little sad that we're excited about progress that really should have been made in March...

Agreed, everybody is getting excited about removing old bands from a web page and replacing them with one line of text, that’s masterful expectation management right there.
SOON, a digit will be replaced with another digit, and the crowd will go wild Unless of course they put the wrong digit like they did with the payment schedule

[cowboy71]

Yep.

And on facebook they are all excited about how 70k is responding to people with animated gifs etc.

If only they put that much effort into announcing BANDS

[Godflesh]

If I’m right and JUDAS PRIEST is announced as the first band, the reaction will be so wild that Facebook’s AI will interpret it as a Russian attack, and shut down the whole event.

[cegr80]

It's already August and no announcements have been made yet

[Ti7aNiC]

If I’m right and JUDAS PRIEST is announced as the first band, the reaction will be so wild that Facebook’s AI will interpret it as a Russian attack, and shut down the whole event.

I would kill for that. I've seen Judas Priest a few times, including at Wacken, but they are my favorite of the metal gods, and the first metal band of that caliber who I really got into (specifically Screaming for Vengeance) long before I ever considered myself a "metalhead." As well, Firepower is one of the best releases of 2018.

However, I think they are more suited to be a headliner for the 10th anniversary than this year; so we'll see. I totally think Rob Halford would be cool with doing a metal cruise, and enjoy it.

[cowboy71]

As far as I can see there are new cabins on decks 2, 3, 6, 11 and 12.

Does not appear that there are any changes to the numbering of pre-existing staterooms though.

I'd be amazed if they didn't update the deck plans on the website prior to opening up booking as there are a LOT of new staterooms.

Further update on this, there are actually new cabins on pretty much every deck that has cabins. Decks 2 and 3, and decks 5 through 12.

In total, 107 new cabins.

[Godflesh]

26 May -- Cardest (ooops)
1 June -- cegr80 (oops)
4 June -- Pellaz (damnit)
6 June -- TPH (sorry...)
8 June -- UltimoAviso (too sooooooon)
9 June -- Azazel101 (another rosy guess)
12 June -- Jaimie38 (sorry, try again...IF YOU DARE)
23 June -- Ti7aNiC (sorry...)
28 June -- DrinkMoxie (dead)
30 June -- headlinerluxi (that's a nope)
1 July -- Ethrivas (dead)
2 July -- mbob (shazbot!)
3 July -- meshuggah, Godflesh, Cardest (McNope, but maybe McLater)
4 July -- cowboy71 (the stats point to "no")
5 July -- Speedy, Extraneous (nope)
6 July -- Bodomdragon (every time I die)
7 July -- Phoenix (some sort of "rise from the ashes" quip goes here)
8 July -- Pellaz (dead AGAIN)
9 July -- Mr.Kito (dead)
12 July -- deathmetalpat (death^2metalpat)
13 July -- meshuggah (dead AGAIN)
14 July -- samayl6 (dead)
21 July -- Gratch (dead)
25 July -- acidbasement (dead)
1 August -- Castroh
8 August -- Shadow Son, PotatoPotahto

If 9 August rolls around without anything we'll start again with meshuggah's only-halfway-crazy guess of 30 June 2019.

Castroh is out, only two contenders left. My money is on them, although this week-end seems propitious.

[Phoenix]

Castroh is out, only two contenders left. My money is on them, although this week-end seems propitious.

Sounds about right, finally getting into announcements when I'm away without internet access for three days.

[Godflesh]

Demons and Wizards has teased their new official FB page with a comment that the first major news would be August 4th.
Could it be boat?
Probably not.

What are the odds that it's NOT boat? Obviously boat.

It could be any other major festival.
Come on, that would require UMC committing to an announcement date, and sharing it with a third party.
Not. Gonna. Happen.

The odds of this being true have increased due to the recent activity (including an avalanche of SOON gifs posted today by 70K).
Since D&W is not a headliner (never heard of them), that means that we would know >1 bands on Saturday. I’m guessing 10, as usual, or maybe even more, given the delay.
Let’s do an official “Guess the number of bands announced in the first 24h” thread

[Godflesh]

If announcements come before the 8th, that would make Castroh the winner, right?
I like to focus on the big picture

[cowboy71]

Wacken ends on the 4th does it not? Therefore they will be making first announcements for 2019 that day?

I'd bet my house that the Demons & Wizards announcement is that they will be doing Wacken 2019.

[Godflesh]

Wacken ends on the 4th does it not? Therefore they will be making first announcements for 2019 that day?

I'd bet my house that the Demons & Wizards announcement is that they will be doing Wacken 2019.

I agree now, Blond Guardian’s repost on Facebook makes it all about Wacken - they and Iced Earth have been special guests together, apparently, but not D&W:
“This is half Blind Guardian,half Iced Earth and 100% Demons & Wizards news. :-)”

So we’re rumour-less again.

[Cardest]

All this waiting has been such a drag.

After a few cruises, I missed the last 2.
So I was keen as fukk to come back.
But, with airfares, hotels, car rentals, before/after cruise adventures across the US
and saving up $$ and not having the cabin sorted well & truly by now, I give up!
I'm out.

Haven't even told the boss what dates to get a replacement because I can't give any dates!
Even if they ram some bands up on the thing tomorrow. It's too late.
For the rest of you all, have a great cruise!!!


Cya yesterday
Cardest

[cegr80]

Castroh is out, only two contenders left. My money is on them, although this week-end seems propitious.

Aight, lemme give Castroh his proper send-off ...

Last night I had a weird dream about the boat next year. All bands were shitty and for some reason I was on that damn boat walking around bored

[Godflesh]

I share your pain, brothers.
“Hello, my name is Godflesh, and I’m a survivor.
It’s been 28 weeks since the last announcement.”

[Phoenix]

I'm out.

I feel you, and I might be doing something similar soon. Waiting like this is painful.

[Pellaz]

re: Demons and Wizards

What are the odds that it's NOT boat? Obviously boat.

It could be any other major festival.
Come on, that would require UMC committing to an announcement date, and sharing it with a third party.
Not. Gonna. Happen.

The odds of this being true have increased due to the recent activity (including an avalanche of SOON gifs posted today by 70K).

Have to agree with the others now....it will definitely be a Wacken performance announcement, since the 4th will be their "next year initial lineup" announcement day. Oh, well.
Since D&W is not a headliner (never heard of them), that means that we would know >1 bands on Saturday. I’m guessing 10, as usual, or maybe even more, given the delay.

[Mr.Kito]

I'm expecting the usual ten bands in 70K's initial announcement....but I really think they should announce fifteen or twenty. A lot of folks are on the fence by this point.
If it's just ten, then they'd better be BIG and from diverse genres. At least one of my 3 roommates is just about done with 70K at this point.

I lost 2 os my roommates last week, so yeah.. first announcements better be good

[PotatoPotahto]

re: Demons and Wizards

It could be any other major festival.
Come on, that would require UMC committing to an announcement date, and sharing it with a third party.
Not. Gonna. Happen.

The odds of this being true have increased due to the recent activity (including an avalanche of SOON gifs posted today by 70K).

Have to agree with the others now....it will definitely be a Wacken performance announcement, since the 4th will be their "next year initial lineup" announcement day. Oh, well.
Since D&W is not a headliner (never heard of them), that means that we would know >1 bands on Saturday. I’m guessing 10, as usual, or maybe even more, given the delay.

Wow.
I'm pretty sure Demons & Wizards would have been a headliner on 70K, or at the very least right behind that status. They consist of members of Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, both well-beloved power metal bands, and D&W plays VERY few live dates.
Let’s do an official “Guess the number of bands announced in the first 24h” thread

[Castroh]

I got two days left, don't count me out just yet.
It's "Price Is Right" rules (closest without going over), correct?

[PotatoPotahto]

I got two days left, don't count me out just yet.
It's "Price Is Right" rules (closest without going over), correct?

I am counting you out! But only because I'm one of the guesses for the 8th and I want to win

[alex_canada]

Lol @ whoever said that demons and wizards wouldn't be a headliner on 70k

[Pellaz]

I got two days left, don't count me out just yet.
It's "Price Is Right" rules (closest without going over), correct?

Sure, why not?

If you guess the exact TIME within an hour, you win BOTH showcases.

[Godflesh]

Lol @ whoever said that demons and wizards wouldn't be a headliner on 70k

I don’t think any band that only released 2 albums in their entire career and is unavailable on Spotify (at least not in the USA) can be a headliner, despite all the Germans on broad.
Anyway, they both mentioned in recent interviews that D&W shows are happening “later in the year”, so still no boat.

[Godflesh]

I got two days left, don't count me out just yet.
It's "Price Is Right" rules (closest without going over), correct?

Sure, why not?

If you guess the exact TIME within an hour, you win BOTH showcases.

They both WON already by those rules, so congratulations to both!

[cegr80]

Shadow Son, PotatoPotahto ...

Thus Roy ends his reign of terror. We have no winners for this first round.

What shall we do next, Pellaz?

[deathmetalpat]

Also don’t forget to include the year of your prediction as only day and month isn’t enough

[Phoenix]

I mean, we said we were going to restart.

In which case, I'll take my birthday, August 20th, where we will get the only headliner-worthy band I actually want to see: Gojira.

[General Zod]

I'm out, regardless of line up.

At this point I just refuse to give this guy any more money. He simply doesn't respect his customers as is easily the worst promoter in the music business.

[cegr80]

I mean, we said we were going to restart.

In which case, I'll take my birthday, August 20th, where we will get the only headliner-worthy band I actually want to see: Gojira.

I will copy your birthday strategy. Mine is August 21st, so let it be my guess for the first announcement date

[Phoenix]

I'm out, regardless of line up.

At this point I just refuse to give this guy any more money. He simply doesn't respect his customers as is easily the worst promoter in the music business.

Yeah, you're not wrong. If we don't hear anything by September I think I'm doing the same, and this will probably be my last cruise in a long time (if not forever). I have wanderlust. I have better things to do.

[Gratch]

I mean, we said we were going to restart.

In which case, I'll take my birthday, August 20th, where we will get the only headliner-worthy band I actually want to see: Gojira.

I will copy your birthday strategy. Mine is August 21st, so let it be my guess for the first announcement date

I'm in on this strategy as well, so August 23 for me.

[Memnoch]

Hey, I want to join the birthday guessers. Mine's on January 28th.

[Gratch]

I'm out, regardless of line up.

At this point I just refuse to give this guy any more money. He simply doesn't respect his customers as is easily the worst promoter in the music business.

To each their own, but 70K has become the event I look forward to most every year. While I'm frustrated at the lack of info/communication, it sure as hell won't keep me away once things do get rolling.

[mbob]

I mean, we said we were going to restart.

In which case, I'll take my birthday, August 20th, where we will get the only headliner-worthy band I actually want to see: Gojira.

I will copy your birthday strategy. Mine is August 21st, so let it be my guess for the first announcement date

I'm in on this strategy as well, so August 23 for me.

Me too...August 25 (shared with Rob Halford, Gene Simmons, Vivian Campbell, Geoff Downes, Elvis Costello, Billy Ray Cyrus and Rachel Ray) here!

[meshuggah]

I'm in on this strategy as well, so August 23 for me.[/quote]


Me too...August 25 (shared with Rob Halford, Gene Simmons, Vivian Campbell, Geoff Downes, Elvis Costello, Billy Ray Cyrus and Rachel Ray) here![/quote]

...and 007 Sean Connery!

[Donutsauce]

I always thought you were supposed to book vacations 3 months out. Even international. I'm not talking about planning/visas/passports (we know the dates for the cruise, should be enough for that). Just booking flights and hotels.

Given some of the comments I've read, can someone please let me know in what way I have been mistaken on waiting till 3 months out?

[mbob]

I'm in on this strategy as well, so August 23 for me.

My biological sister's, who I discovered last year, birthday is the 23 too. She was born the same year as me!

[Phoenix]

I always thought you were supposed to book vacations 3 months out. Even international. I'm not talking about planning/visas/passports (we know the dates for the cruise, should be enough for that). Just booking flights and hotels.

Given some of the comments I've read, can someone please let me know in what way I have been mistaken on waiting till 3 months out?

I mean, you CAN book your hotels and flights three months out, but if you wait that long to book the cruise, you'll probably find that all but the most expensive rooms are already sold out.

But also, bear in mind that the hotels in the area are in quite high demand before and after the cruise. People are more than willing to book those in advance.

[mbob]

I am really starting to wonder if Slayer is the big announcement. Their final US date is August 26 and Andy might not be allowed to announce them until they finish the US tour.