[AceHugger]

This has got to be the longest that anyone has ever waited for anything... ever!

I mean for Christ sake, we've had a Metallica album in the time since the last announcement and that doesn't happen very often.


On the plus side, with only 72 days to go & 21 bands left to announce that's one every three days or so from today, - OR,...... a flurry of announcements on the horizon. - I heard one year there was a bunch at once? - that'd be cool.

Not that it affects our decision to go, it's all booked & set in stone I just want to start getting really excited once the final line-up is there.

P.s. is there any chance that the new emperor will do something mental like place an embargo on Metallers entering the country in his first month? - I'm really hoping not.

[Phoenix]

This isn't even the longest gap between announcements

Don't worry about it. Andy always comes through in the end, and delivers fantastic stuff. We know Psycroptic and Candlemass are how he's going to break the silence anyway. Consider it a lovely Christmas gift on its way.

Typically, when Andy announces Cripper (lesser known) bands, he does them in blocks of three or four.

Something something most metalheads are white... but if you're worried about it, don't tell them at the airport?

[Downvod]

This has got to be the longest that anyone has ever waited for anything... ever!

I mean for Christ sake, we've had a Metallica album in the time since the last announcement and that doesn't happen very often.


On the plus side, with only 72 days to go & 21 bands left to announce that's one every three days or so from today, - OR,...... a flurry of announcements on the horizon. - I heard one year there was a bunch at once? - that'd be cool.

Not that it affects our decision to go, it's all booked & set in stone I just want to start getting really excited once the final line-up is there.

P.s. is there any chance that the new emperor will do something mental like place an embargo on Metallers entering the country in his first month? - I'm really hoping not.

Trump is a businessman. His priority is money. I highly doubt he will interfere with the tourism industry.

[bodomdragon]

21 announcements is nothing, so to speak. I can picture 11 announcements for Christmas & beginning of January, and the remaining 10 during the last 7 days before departing. So don't keep your expectations too high :)

[General Zod]

I'm of the mindset that the announcements will come when the announcements come. That said, I strongly suspect the much anticipated Amon Amarth announcement will never come. Granted, there's no rhyme or reason for anything Andy does. However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange. Also, Amon Amarth is one of those bands whose schedule is typically locked in months and months in advance. This means they're either already signed to play the cruise or they're not going to be playing the cruise. And if they are signed, what possible value could there be in holding off on that announcement?

[mbob]

I am holding out hope for Amon Amarth. Keep in mind that Amon Amarth's commitments this year might have prevented UMC from being able to announce until after those commitments were completed...like their tour with Megadeth. So not announcing a big band early might not be up to them.

Big announcements can happen last second...I though the Wintersun add in 2015 was a big deal!

I'm of the mindset that the announcements will come when the announcements come. That said, I strongly suspect the much anticipated Amon Amarth announcement will never come. Granted, there's no rhyme or reason for anything Andy does. However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange. Also, Amon Amarth is one of those bands whose schedule is typically locked in months and months in advance. This means they're either already signed to play the cruise or they're not going to be playing the cruise. And if they are signed, what possible value could there be in holding off on that announcement?

[General Zod]

I am holding out hope for Amon Amarth. Keep in mind that Amon Amarth's commitments this year might have prevented UMC from being able to announce until after those commitments were completed...like their tour with Megadeth. So not announcing a big band early might not be up to them.

The tour with Megadeath ended more than a month ago and Amon Amarth already has six festival dates announced for 2017. I can’t see any reason why 70K would be prevented from announcing Amon Amarth.

Big announcements can happen last second...I though the Wintersun add in 2015 was a big deal!

While Wintersun is a nice last minute addition, they’re not on the same level as Amon Amarth in terms of popularity. Amon Amarth is currently scheduled to headline Bloodstock, even over Blind Guardian.

I would love to be wrong on this.

[KeepTheDogsAway]

However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange.

Did you really just insinuate that Amon Amarth are a bigger act than Anthrax?

[captaingabbeh]

However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange.

Did you really just insinuate that Amon Amarth are a bigger act than Anthrax?

I actually think he has a point. Anthrax obviously was big in the 80s, but they're definitely the smallest of the Big 4 today. I'm pretty sure that these days Amon Amarth probably has a bigger draw than them, at least in North America.

As for whether we'll see Amon Amarth this year... I don't think they're a guarantee, but we do know Andy was waiting until the very end to announce them last year. I wouldn't rule them out.

[Downvod]

However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange.

Did you really just insinuate that Amon Amarth are a bigger act than Anthrax?

In 2016, Amon Amarth is most definitely a bigger act than Anthrax. The hype around them lately is unlike anything I've ever seen for an extreme metal band. They are filling large theaters in North America and small arenas all over Europe. It will be interesting to see what happens. I was also thinking that Amon Amarth may have asked to be a late announcement just because the cruise draws fans from all over the world, who may have skipped headline dates if they knew Amon Amarth was going to be on the cruise. There is no denying that they were HEAVILY hinted at early on, which is some serious trolling if they aren't playing. Another interesting twist is that Fredrik Andersson is going to be on with Therion. If the split was less than amicable, maybe him being on means that Amon Amarth will not be?

[Rjturtle9]

However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange.

Did you really just insinuate that Amon Amarth are a bigger act than Anthrax?

They played after Anthrax at Knotfest this year.

[bodomdragon]

I'm of the mindset that the announcements will come when the announcements come. That said, I strongly suspect the much anticipated Amon Amarth announcement will never come. Granted, there's no rhyme or reason for anything Andy does. However, not announcing the biggest band on the boat until a month or two prior to sailing would seem extremely strange. Also, Amon Amarth is one of those bands whose schedule is typically locked in months and months in advance. This means they're either already signed to play the cruise or they're not going to be playing the cruise. And if they are signed, what possible value could there be in holding off on that announcement?

You're trying to make too much sense. That's not how things work here :)

[General Zod]

Did you really just insinuate that Amon Amarth are a bigger act than Anthrax?

Yes, that's what I'm insinuating. Although, to be fair, I'd say they're on a similar level at present, while Amon Amarth is still growing and Anthrax is on a slow downward trajectory.

You're trying to make too much sense. That's not how things work here :)

LOL. Apologies.

[sara]

This has got to be the longest that anyone has ever waited for anything... ever!

I mean for Christ sake, we've had a Metallica album in the time since the last announcement and that doesn't happen very often.


On the plus side, with only 72 days to go & 21 bands left to announce that's one every three days or so from today, - OR,...... a flurry of announcements on the horizon. - I heard one year there was a bunch at once? - that'd be cool.

Not that it affects our decision to go, it's all booked & set in stone I just want to start getting really excited once the final line-up is there.

P.s. is there any chance that the new emperor will do something mental like place an embargo on Metallers entering the country in his first month? - I'm really hoping not.

I think they may try to ban people traveling from Syria or a similar place, but hopefully it doesn't actually happen. We do always have some very nice friends from the Middle East. I think they will be fine, though. We are all together, too.


In earlier years, by the way, we have had more bands left to go even at this point in the year. I don't know if Andy has ever announced so many bands so early before, but he has a reputation of leaving things to the last minute to keep up!

[ExtraneouS]

Someone posted this graph in a facebook group:

It looks like this is the second most bands that we've known at this many days to go, and the largest amount of bands in the initial set of announcements.

[sideways]

Someone posted this graph in a facebook group:

It looks like this is the second most bands that we've known at this many days to go, and the largest amount of bands in the initial set of announcements.

now that's dedication! kinda cool to see in chart form.