'Hellbound' Metal Cruise Heading To Australia In 2026

On Wednesday (16 April), Aussie tour promoters Destroy All Lines started teasing the first-ever metal cruise to dock in Australia.

“Something HEAVY is coming. Where Metal Meets the Sea,” the caption for the teaser said. Yesterday (18 April), more details were revealed.

The inaugural metal music cruise is called Hellbound and will sail from Darling Harbour, Sydney, from Thursday, 22 October, to Sunday, 25 October, in 2026. The line-up is set to be shared soon, with organisers advising punters to comment #hellbound on social media to receive a direct message with a link to register for more information.

You can register for the Destroy All Lines pre-sale here.

While Destroy All Lines promotes festivals such as Good Things and Knotfest, as well as all of the metal and alternative tours in Australia, they tagged Rock The Boat on Instagram for their teaser.

Rock The Boat have locked in two huge at-sea events for 2025, one featuring Jimmy Barnes and James Reyne, while the other stars Suzi Quatro, Baby Animals, Jon Stevens, and more.

In a new interview with Wall Of Sound, Destroy All Lines General Manager Chris O’Brien dropped hints about the event prior to yesterday’s post, telling the publication the event would go down in 2026 and an official announcement was due in “the next fortnight”.

We received the name and dates yesterday—bring on the line-up. Considering how often The Amity Affliction’s lyrics reference the ocean, we’d say it would nearly be a crime if they weren’t featured on the inaugural edition of Hellbound.

The concept of metal and rock music on a cruise ship isn’t all that new – the US has hosted events such as Shiprocked, while Lamb Of God have presented Headbangers Boat, and Paramore have hosted their own cruise called Parahoy.

Check out the teasers for Hellbound below.

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