Lamb Of God are taking the Headbangers Boat out of American waters for the first time. The 2028 edition sails aboard the Norwegian Jewel from Southampton to La Coruña in Spain, from 27 to 31 May.
Six names are confirmed so far, and the shape of the bill says something about who the cruise is aimed at now. Alongside the hosts there are Paleface Swiss, Bleed From Within, Kublai Khan TX, Shadows Fall and Heriot.
That is two bands with twenty years behind them and four whose audiences arrived much more recently, which is the usual way these things are built: the older names sell the cabin, the newer ones fill the afternoon rooms.
The route matters more than it looks. A boat leaving from the south coast of England puts the whole thing inside reach of anybody with a train ticket rather than a transatlantic flight, which is the single largest cost of attending one of these for a European. Southampton to Spain over five days is also short enough to take as a holiday rather than an expedition.
More names are still to come, and the confirmed six are described as the first wave rather than the finished bill.