‘HELLBOUND’ FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY A 3-NIGHT METAL CRUISE SAILING INTO THE ABYSS IN 2026

Wednesday, 30 April, 2025 - In 2026, prepare to GO TO HELL with Australia's first ever dedicated metal cruise HELLBOUND.

The boat will be rockin' and you'll wanna come knockin' next year, with HELLBOUND set to deliver an all-out, three-night floating heavy festival on the high seas! Promoted by CHOOSE YOUR CRUISE and DESTROY ALL LINES and bringing together the loudest bands and the wildest fans, HELLBOUND will transform a luxury cruise ship into the ultimate headbanger's paradise, departing from Sydney on Thursday 22 October in 2026 and, arriving back in Sydney on Sunday 25 October. With two uninterrupted days and three nights of festival programming and cruising, it'll be all hands-on deck for this once in a lifetime experience, also armed with a stacked lineup guaranteed to make even Captain Jack Sparrow weak at the knees.

Helming proceedings in 2026, HELLBOUND will be headlined by Aussie metal royalty, PARKWAY DRIVE, along with performances from POLARIS, NORTHLANE, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, MAKE THEM SUFFER, IN HEARTS WAKE, BELLE HAVEN, BLOOM, CHEZ, DIAMOND CONSTRUCT, FUTURE STATIC, OCEAN SLEEPER, RELIQA, THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT, THE GLOOM IN THE CORNER, TO THE GRAVE and WINDWAKER.

And the festivities don't end there! With DJ sets, themed nights, artist-hosted experiences and non-stop metal-fuelled mayhem on the horizon for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, HELLBOUND will play home to 3,000 heavy music fans next October with something truly on offer for everyone on board. Combining the luxury of a cruise with riffs and moshpits galore, HELLBOUND's Carnival Splendor vessel will boast a custom-built main stage on the pool deck, an onboard fitness centre, Cloud 9 Spa and daily fitness classes - plus, your all-in-one ticket covers all entertainment, accommodation and food. Immerse yourself in gigs all day and night, party 'til all hours, or just take it all at your own pace, with multiple vantage points throughout three decks meaning you won't miss a thing. And take the headache out of sorting a designated driver - that's the captain's job!
 

"We have talked about launching a metal cruise for many years, and the Choose Your Cruise team is thrilled to finally bring this vision to life. We're excited to add HELLBOUND to our lineup of successful cruise brands, and we have the perfect ship to deliver an unforgettable experience. A huge thanks to Destroy All Lines and Parkway Drive for their support in making this happen."  – Marius Els, Joint CEO - Choose Your Cruise

"I have been in discussion with Choose Your Cruise for years discussing a way to launch a Metal Cruise in Australia and I’m absolutely thrilled we have managed to pull this off. At Destroy All Lines we are always pushing the boundary with the experiences we offer the fans and ‘HELLBOUND’ is going to be one for the ages! Marius, Mick and his team are experts in their field and we couldn’t be in safer hands having them produce this incredible Festival on the open seas for our fans." – Chris O’Brien, Head Promoter - Destroy All Lines

One of Australia's most successful heavy music exports to date, PARKWAY DRIVE have spent the past two decades carving out a formidable reputation that doesn't merely live up to the hype; it sets the hype on fire (often literally). With seven full-length albums, three back-to-back #1 ARIA records, six albums certified Gold in Australia, multiple ARIA Award wins, millions of streams, international chart success, and thousands of live performances worldwide, the journey from teenage metal underdogs in Byron Bay to a bona fide global phenomenon is the stuff of heavy metal legend; and a PARKWAY DRIVE live show is a spectacle difficult to forget for those who have witnessed the fire and ferocity over the years.

Whether headlining the likes of Wacken, Good Things Festival in Australia and So What?! Festival, touring with Lamb of God, Soulfly and Killswitch Engage, or selling out some of their biggest shows to date with their 20 year anniversary Australian headline run last year, PARKWAY DRIVE are ravenous and riveting innovators in a live setting, not only set to make history in 2026 by headlining HELLBOUND, but also in 2025 via their entirely sold out one-off live performance this June, performing with a full symphony orchestra against the backdrop of a fellow Australian and international icon: the Sydney Opera House.

Balancing relatability with an explosive blend of melodic metalcore, lush post rock, electronic flourishes and beyond, POLARIS have faced and channelled life's angst, frustrations and despair through their music since first forming in 2012. In command of three studio albums, including their most recent outing Fatalism which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Charts, won Best Independent Heavy Album at the 2024 AIR Awards and was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, POLARIS have also ticked off sold-out headline tours of Australia, huge runs across Europe, the UK and North America, and unforgettable festival appearances, including their debut at Knotfest Australia earlier this year, and supports with Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps, Spiritbox and many more.

One of the most dynamic forces in the modern metalcore scene, NORTHLANE effortlessly fuse heavy savagery with techno, drum and bass, and expansive arrangements. With multiple ARIA Award wins under their belts and six studio albums, including their #1 charting 2022 outing Obsidian, NORTHLANE's live show has seen them enamour both as headliners and/or supporting some of the giants of the scene, repeatedly praised for their energetic and enthralling stage presence and ever-expanding back catalogue. And repping the hard rock flag, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT ravenously returned to the airwaves and live scene since announcing their reunion back in 2017. With four studio albums, including the certified Gold Begins Here (2003), Imago (2006) and Final Conversation of Kings (2008), THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT have also recently ticked off extensive tours celebrating the 20th anniversary of Begins Here, performances at Good Things Festival in 2024, and released their hotly-anticipated fourth studio album IV in 2022, debuting at #5 on the ARIA Charts.

Injecting more melodic hues into their earlier deathcore leanings, MAKE THEM SUFFER have gone on to establish themselves as one of the most innovative bands on the scene, with their 2024 self-titled album cementing their status as global heavy stars. Balancing lashings of melodic light and blistering shade, MAKE THEM SUFFER have previously toured with everyone from Bring Me The Horizon through to Sleep Token and ERRA, and are set to tick off a mammoth Australian regional headline run later this year. Also in the innovative sonic vein, IN HEARTS WAKE first turned heads via their 2012 debut alum Divination, and have gone on to release six full-length albums, including multiple Top 5 ARIA debuts, and have wowed audiences across the world with their insatiable breakdowns, melodic hooks and dynamic live performance. Most recently performing to home crowds at Knotfest Australia in March this year, IN HEARTS WAKE are currently on the road in Europe supporting German metalcore behemoths Caliban.

No strangers to cleaving riffs with powerful lyricism, Melbourne alt rock trio BELLE HAVEN are set to bring their soaring anthems and post-hardcore sorcery to HELLBOUND crowds in 2026, while Sydney melodic hardcore heroes BLOOM, currently fresh off performing in Japan and North America, will ramp up the feels, hooks and turgid rhythms. And whether supporting the likes of Taylor Acorn, Scene Queen and Set It Off, or crafting vulnerable yet empowering rock and pop odes, solo powerhouse CHEZ will join the cruising fun next October, as will Taree-hailing djent-meets-nu-metal modern mavericks DIAMOND CONSTRUCT, who recently garnered resounding praise for their 2025 full length Angel Killer Zero.
 
Repping an exhilarating mix of alternative, melodic and progressive sounds will be Melbourne five-piece FUTURE STATIC, who recently ticked off performances with Enter Shikari and BABYMETAL for some Knotfest Australia sideshows. And whether touring alongside While She Sleeps and Stick To Your Guns or headlining their own spine-tingling shows, OCEAN SLEEPER are a breathe of searingly fresh air in the heavy realms, as are Sydney's forward-thinking alt-prog faves RELIQA, whose razor-sharp stage presence and cutting-edge sonic output has found them in demand opening stages for Periphery, Dayseeker and Halestorm.

Also locked in to melt faces and hearts in 2026 will be beloved Newcastle quartet THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT, who will brandish their genre-defiant rock aesthetic, catharsis and sonic innovation alongside THE GLOOM IN THE CORNER, aka Melbourne cinema-core purveyors fluent in their unparalleled theatrical and immersive take on metalcore. And rounding out this incredible HELLBOUND lineup for 2026, Sydney deathcore mainstays TO THE GRAVE will be armed with lashings of aggression alongside themes of dystopia, animal rights and beyond, while immersive metalcore chameleons WINDWAKER will be primed to unleash their unpredictable yet irresistible heavy gloss to the HELLBOUND masses next year.

And that's still not all! Adding to the festivities in 2026 will be TAKING BACK SATURDAY DJs, along with your official HELLBOUND stage host MANOV, one of Australia's leading open-format DJs and MCs.

Whether you're a fan of deathcore breakdowns, salivate over old school thrash, or love some progressive grooves, HELLBOUND is set to be the ultimate heavy experience on the high seas like no other. Prepare to sail into the abyss in 2026!

HELLBOUND LINE UP:

Parkway Drive
Polaris
Northlane | The Butterfly Effect
Make Them Suffer | In Hearts Wake

In Alphabetical Order:

Belle Haven | Bloom | CHEZ | Diamond Construct
Future Static | Ocean Sleeper | Reliqa
The Beautiful Monument | The Gloom In The Corner
To The Grave | Windwaker

+ Taking Back Saturday DJs
Stage Host: MANOV

DATES:

Thursday 22 October - Sunday 25 October 2026
Departs & Arrives From Sydney

Early Bird pre-sale tickets on sale Monday 12 May @ 10am AEST Time
Sign up now for early bird pre-sale tickets at https://daltours.cc/Hellbound

General Public tickets on sale Thursday 15 May @ 10am AEST Time

For more information head to http://www.hellboundcruise.com.au/