MY DYING BRIDE, PESTILENCE and STRATOVARIUS are among the first confirmed bands for next year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Florida to Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

ELUVEITIE
GRAVE DIGGER
MY DYING BRIDE
PESTILENCE
STRATOVARIUS
THERION
TRISTANIA

"Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone has posted a 10-minute video report on this year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise — which set sail from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on January 24, 2011 and returned four days later. You can now watch the footage below.

According to Exclaim.ca, 70000 Tons Of Metal featured 42 metal bands and 2,000 fans sailing around the Caribbean for the better part of a week. Each band performed two sets over the journey, with many acts committing to putting on special cruise-only performances (NWOBHM legends SAXON played their 1980 albums "Wheels Of Steel" and "Strong Arm Of The Law" in their entirety; while TESTAMENT did the same with their first two records, "The Legacy" and "The New Order"). There were three different stages on the ship: an outdoor poolside stage, a mid-sized club stage and a full indoor theatre that could hold almost all 2,000 fans onboard.