Most people who go on a cruise wear tropical prints and shorts. They doze in lounge chairs, get a massage, maybe learn to tango. They don’t typically dress entirely in black, play air guitar, or listen to bands like Cradle of Filth. But then, they aren't spending the better part of a week on a shipped filled with headbangers.
Given that you can set sail with Star Wars fanatics, conservatives, and even a shipful of nerds, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would organize a cruise for metalheads. That's the one Giacomo Fortunato knew he had to take. He and 3,000 hardcore fans took over the Independence of the Seas for the sixth annual 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise from Florida to Jamaica. For five raucous days, they drank hard and partied harder as 120 metal bands shredded on four stages. “It was essentially a floating music festival,” says Fortunato, who caught it all for his series To Hell and Back.
Fortunato got his first taste of metal at just 8 years old when a cousin turned him on to *Live After Death, *Iron Maiden's seminal live album.(Screeeeeeeam for me, Long Beach!) It wasn't long before he was wearing denim and leather and banging his head to an impressive list of bands we'll let him rattle off: "Megadeth, Children of Bodom, Slayer, Anthrax, Pantera, At The Gates, Judas Priest, In Flames, Motorhead, Metallica, and Iced Earth.” Hardcore? Oh yeah. “I have been thrown into large mosh pits and drenched in the fake blood of a mechanical dinosaur slain on stage,” he says.
He stumbled upon the cruise website in January and couldn't sign up fast enough. His $1,600 ticket got him a small room with no window and a roommate covered in tats and piercings. The ship drew headbangers from 72 countries. There were plenty of n00bs, but more than a few seasoned "survivors" of past voyages.
The Independence ---a 1,112-foot behemoth with 15 decks, a promenade, and even a skating rink---has everything you'd expect of a modern cruise ship. But not a lot of people found their way to the gyms, or the high-end restaurants, or to the enormous screen showing the Super Bowl. The real action was on stage, where one band after another tore through their sets with the ferocity of Metallica's first album. "There were no fancy dinners or relaxing days at the spa or by the pool deck,” Fortunato says. “There was barely anytime to rest. If you did, you were missing out on something.”
When fans weren't caught in a mosh listening to the likes of Katatonia, My Dying Bride, and Fleshgod Apocalypse, Fortunato found them geeking out at workshops, waiting in line for merch, and hanging out in bars that never closed. He missed the All-Star Jam that included an epic melody of classic tunes, but he was front and center for the belly flop contest that drew 30 participants.
Fortunato caught it all with a Canon 5D Mark II and a flash. That's it. "Since the days were extremely long and I had to dodge crowds of drunk and enthusiastic fans, it was important to stay light and quick on my feet,” he says.
Fortunato had the time of his life, but after five days found himself happy to return to his quiet life in Brooklyn, New York. "The cruise was a unique experience and certainly unforgettable,” he says. “I wouldn’t exclude the possibility of attending another metal cruise, but I am not rushing to get my tickets for next year.”
