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What's So Great About Mystic Festival? Read This.

1. Certain bands that hardly come stateside but are easier to see if you’re in Europe. The bands I’m specifically referring to for this article are Gutalax, Asphyx, Furia, Satyricon and Blasphemy. Gutalax are actually going to be playing a couple of dates in the U.S. come September, but I didn’t want to wait that long to see them live for the first time. Asphyx, well…it was 2017 when they were stateside and Furia, I bet never. Satyricon has played some scattered dates here and there but are definitely more active in Europe. Mystic Festival has all of them this summer!

2. The cooler temperatures! This is my third Mystic Festival in a row and because it kicks off the metal festival season in early June, you can still comfortably wear a jacket at night. In fact, in 2022, the temperatures at the end of the first night of the festival were in the 40’s Fahrenheit. The Polish attendees are used to these types of temperatures but for someone that splits their time between Phoenix, Arizona and Athens, Greece, that’s called winter! The days, however, are beautiful. No complaints there.

3. The festival foods. It’s Poland, but this festival offers more than just pierogi and kielbasa. In fact, they are both more difficult to find at Mystic Festival than everything else available. There’s really good pizzas, hamburgers, some Mexican, Portuguese (!!!), lángos (think frybread with sour cream) and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. The prices are fair for festival food but the lines can be long at times. There’s an actual indoor food court with plenty of seating if you need to get away for a bit. More...

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70000 Tons Confirms First Third Of 2025 Lineup

There are your standard Heavy Metal festivals – and then there’s 70000 Tons Of Metal.

Envision this: Lounging on a Caribbean island, soaking up the sun on a pristine white beach. Later on, you feel the warm wind blowing in your face, now sitting in a hot tub on a giant luxurious cruise ship, in front of The Pool Deck Stage, The World’s Biggest Open Air Structure to Ever Sail the Open Seas. Surrounded by Metal fans from all across the globe (known as the United Nations of Heavy Metal at Sea), you headbang to your favorite band. Sounds perfect? Well, it is. Get ready for 70000 Tons Of Metal 2025!

The thirteenth edition of 70000 Tons Of Metal will take place from January 30th to February 3rd, departing from Miami, Florida – Cruise Capital of the World – to Ocho Rios, Jamaica and back aboard the Independence of the Seas.

This unique festival will once more see 60 Heavy Metal bands from various subgenres taking the four stages on board, with 3000 metalheads from around the world in attendance. Every band will play twice during the trip, ramping the total amount of shows played up to 120! 70000 Tons Of Metal has revealed 20 of the 60 bands for the 2025 lineup: More...

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A Wake In Providence Premiere New Single

A Wake In Providence will be releasing their new album, "I Write To You, My Darling Decay," on July 26th via Unique Leader Records. The first single from the album, "Mournful Benediction," features a guest appearance by Shadow Of Intent vocalist Ben Duerr.

Guitarist D’andre Tyre produced the album, with mixing and mastering handled by Cryptopsy's Christian Donaldson. Tyre commented: More...

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As I Lay Dying Premiere New Single "Burden"

San Diego, CA melodic metalcore band As I Lay Dying has returned with new music from their latest lineup. You can listen to their track "Burden" below. This song features longtime members Tim Lambesis (vocals) and Phil Sgrosso (guitar/vocals), joined in the studio by former Unearth members Ken Susi (guitar) and Nick Pierce (drums), along with current Miss May I bassist/vocalist Ryan Neff.

"Burden" will be included on the band's forthcoming eighth studio album, which they completed last year. As I Lay Dying has signed with Napalm Records for this release, with more details forthcoming.

In the meantime, the band has a headlining summer tour scheduled with Chelsea Grin and Entheos. Here’s the itinerary: More...

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