Day Four began with another hangover, but Arsis was going on at 10:45AM, and I was not missing them. I don't know how I woke up on time, or remember walking to the stage, but Arsis put on a hell of show. It was the perfect way to start off the last day of the festival. After Arsis finished, we went outside to catch Sanctuary on the pool deck. They played an amazing set, but you could still tell that everyone in the crowd were either still hungover or still drunk. It was 11AM after all. Who the hell wants to mosh at 11AM after you've been drinking till 5AM? Not this guy. After Sanctuary finished their set, we went and grabbed some food before we had our final interviews of the festival.

On Thursday I had the privilege to talk with Blind Gaurdian, Raven, Exodus, and Sanctuary. The interviews went great, but it was definitely time to hear some more metal. Death Angel was ripping apart the pool deck stage and we luckily caught most of their set. The highlight of the show was their cover of "Heaven And Hell", of which they did an amazing job. After the song the crowd chanted DIO! DIO! DIO! and it gave me chills. With 48 nations on the ship, we were all one metal family remembering one of our fallen heroes, and it was one of my favorite moments of the whole festival.

After Death Angel, my liver and I decided to take part in some alcoholic beverages and the party was on! I found my German friends and we celebrated our new friendship in some Jager shots, which are dangerous, but it was the last day. How could I say no? Then we caught the belly flop contest, which was judged by Warrel of Nevermore and a few others. No Dino did no participate, although he was next to the pool the whole time taking pictures and video. It was a hilarious event, and the winner ended up being on the ship's staff members. It was well deserved, because the staff was absolutely amazing the whole trip. Ok back to the metal....


Testament played indoors on this day and it was insane. They played "The New Order" album and the crowd went crazy from the very first note. We enjoyed our beverages in the front row of the balcony as Testament played, and I must say that this band does not put on a bad show. They are legends for a reason. Chuck asked the crowd if they should do another cruise and the response was clear. We want another cruise, hell we need another cruise. It was such a special four days, and the bands and fans felt the exact same way.



The next few hours were kind of blurry in all honesty, but we did manage to catch some of Forbidden, Moonspell, and Blind Gaurdian. The event I was waiting for was happening at 12:30AM, and it was Amon Amarth on the pool deck. There needs to be a better word than epic to describe this performance. The wind was chilling, the smoke filled the air, and the ocean mist was spraying on top of everyone as the lights went out. Amon Amarth came on and right away the fans were in awe. We were watching them on a fucking pool deck! This is sick! I caught the first half of the set from the pit area and then raced upstairs to get footage from behind the band. Standing beside Byron from Fear Factory, we watched as Amon Amarth lit up the pool deck. The highlight was obviously "The Pursuit Of The Vikings". The crowd lost it and you can catch footage of this song in the video recap below!

After Amon Amarth we made our way back to the bar and began pounding beer after beer. It was the last night of the cruise and all the bands were done. Now the party hit full gear! We went to the karaoke club and the metal icons were everywhere. Looking around you saw members of Testament, Nevermore, Exodus, and more. I was sitting at a table with members of Obituary and Malevolent Creation during the karaoke mayhem. The highlight of karaoke was easily Warrrel from Nevermore singing Lady GaGa with females all around him. There were not many metal covers, as everyone took this chance to bring a little humor to the boat. It was priceless! The last thing I remember is looking out the window and seeing the sun rising over the ocean. I quickly realized that it was 6AM and we had to be off the ship at 7:30AM. So I rushed back to the room to get an hour of sleep, and the trip was done. Dammit. I miss that ship.




If you missed any other my other recaps, check them out here: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.