Metal Anarchy

A 41-year-old man ended up going overboard while sailing on Lamb Of God’s Headbangers Boat cruise. Search and rescue operations were underway, but have reportedly been halted after turning up no results.

The following statement was initially issued to Rock Feed:

“On the early morning of Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Norwegian Pearl was notified that a 41-year-old male guest went overboard while the ship was sailing near the Bahamas on its way to Miami. The authorities have been notified and the United States Coast Guard search and rescue operation is underway. The investigation is ongoing, and we will share updates as appropriate. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones during this difficult time.”

Metal Injection‘s Frank Godla, who is aboard the cruise, has since issued a statement as well:

“Around 3:30AM I was woken up by some really choppy waters and the boat making a hard U-turn that left me wondering what’s going on,” wrote Godla. “Roughly 20 minutes later, the captain made us aware a passenger went overboard and a search and rescue mission has begun. They made several more announcements over the next hours, and around 6AM informed everyone the program is canceled until 1PM.

An hour ago [roughly 2PM] , the captain had to make a very sad announcement to all onboard that after 9 hours of searching, they have no choice but to conclude the rescue mission and resume course to Miami. Everyone on board knows there was nothing easy about this, as the waters remained extremely choppy during the search. Our thoughts are with our fallen metal brother and his friends and family.

Despite the sad news, the attendees remain understanding of the situation and taking things as they come. There’s a lot of confusion, and it’s still unclear how much of the programming will change today. I’d like to point out this does not reflect on HBB, or Norwegian cruises in any way. In fact, after metal cruising for over a decade, HBB has easily been my favorite experience yet.

It’s a shame for this to happen to such a well behaved and gracious group of people celebrating the maiden voyage of what will be extreme metal’s best festival on the seas.”