FULL METAL JAPAN 2026 Timetable: MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP And POWERWOLF Close The Two Days

October 24, Day 1 — Gus G. & Ronnie Romero open, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP close

The running order: Gus G. & Ronnie Romero 13:00–13:50 (50 minutes), VANDENBERG 14:30–15:30 (60), LOVEBITES 16:10–17:10 (60), STRATOVARIUS 17:55–18:55 (60) and MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP 19:40–21:10 (90). Changeovers run 40 to 45 minutes and the day is due to end at 21:10; the organisers note that times may shift slightly as the day goes on.

Opening the day, the Greek guitarist Gus G., who joined OZZY OSBOURNE's band in 2009, teams up with Ronnie Romero, chosen in 2016 to sing for the reunited RAINBOW. The organisers say the pair will play OZZY OSBOURNE and BLACK SABBATH songs as a tribute, Romero will sing RAINBOW and DIO classics, and both will bring in songs from their solo work. Romero played Japan in 2022 as a member of MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, the band closing the same day. On October 7 King Records releases Steel Burning Live, a Japan-only Gus G. EP timed to the visit, which includes a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "The Mob Rules" sung by Romero.

VANDENBERG, second on the bill, were confirmed on September 17 in place of RAGE, who had withdrawn on September 1 because their leader, singer and bassist Peavy Wagner, was due to have right hip surgery in September. Adrian Vandenberg formed VANDENBERG in 1981, and the current line-up has Mats Levén, formerly of Yngwie Malmsteen's band, on vocals. The organisers promise a set that puts WHITESNAKE hits he has not played in recent years alongside VANDENBERG's best-known songs; Adrian Vandenberg reaches fifty years in music next year.

LOVEBITES, on at 16:10, released their fifth album Outstanding Power in February, sold out their first show at the Nippon Budokan in March and in July played Wacken Open Air in Germany for the first time in eight years, on the main stage. STRATOVARIUS follow at 17:55 with their first show in Japan in three years, since LOUD PARK in 2023.

For MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, the organisers promise something quite unlike the all-UFO set that filled the Nippon Budokan in January: a set that runs from the classics of the past to the latest original album, Don't Sell Your Soul, with Robin McAuley singing.

October 25, Day 2 — HIBRIA open, ANGRA and POWERWOLF play 90 minutes each

The running order: HIBRIA 13:00–13:50 (50 minutes), PRETTY MAIDS 14:20–15:20 (60), LOUDNESS 16:00–17:00 (60), ANGRA 17:45–19:15 (90) and POWERWOLF 20:00–21:30 (90). Two of the five sets run 90 minutes, and the day is due to end at 21:30, twenty minutes later than the first.

HIBRIA open with a special line-up that brings in early members Iuri Sanson on vocals and Renato Osório on guitar. The organisers describe a one-night-only line-up of current and former members playing the early songs fans have long waited for. The band carries on with its current line-up as well, and Marquee Avalon released the Japanese edition of its eighth studio album, On the Shortness of Life, on August 5.

PRETTY MAIDS were formed in Denmark in 1981 by singer Ronnie Atkins and guitarist Ken Hammer. When Atkins made his illness public in 2019 the band paused; he kept up his solo work through his treatment, and PRETTY MAIDS have since resumed. LOUDNESS, on at 16:00, formed in 1981, and the organisers say they will play a run of their classic songs.

ANGRA announced a hiatus in 2025, then brought current and early members together for a reunion show at Bangers Open Air at the end of April 2026. In Yokohama they are joined by Edu Falaschi and Kiko Loureiro, the singer and guitarist who stand for the Rebirth era, for what the organisers say is the band's only show outside Brazil.

POWERWOLF take the last slot on their first visit to Japan. The German power metal band formed in 2003 and are fronted by Attila Dorn, who studied opera at the National University of Music in Bucharest; Preachers of the Night (2013) and The Sacrament of Sin (2018) both reached number one in Germany. Since announcing them on May 15, the organisers have billed POWERWOLF and ANGRA as the day's double headliners.

A line-up change for MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, and an Osaka show on October 26

On September 30 the committee announced that Steve Mann, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP's guitarist and keyboard player, will miss the Japanese shows and the European tour to concentrate on his recovery. Alessandro Del Vecchio, who played with Michael Schenker on the Rock Meets Classic tour earlier this year, takes over guitar and keyboards, and the organisers say the show itself does not change in any major way.

Two days after the festival, on Monday, October 26, the band play their own show at Zepp Namba in Osaka: doors at 18:00, show at 19:00, advance tickets 15,000 yen for 1F standing and 18,000 yen for a 2F reserved seat, including tax, with a 600 yen drink charge on top.

Tickets, the venue, and events in the run-up

Ticket Pia's general sale runs until 23:59 on October 15, and as of October 1 it offers S seats at 23,000 yen including tax for both days. Sales are online only, up to four tickets per person, and tickets can be issued from 10:00 on October 17. Preschool children are not admitted. The venue has no car or bicycle parking, and the organisers ask everyone to come by public transport.

FULL METAL has until now been held on cruise ships and at resort hotels; in Japan it takes the form of an indoor festival. The organisers plan to keep the screens busy through the changeovers with footage that carries the atmosphere of Wacken, rare film and messages from the artists, and the lobby will serve beer and food in the manner of a German metal festival, alongside the festival's own merchandise.

Events are already under way in the run-up. Hard Rock Cafe Yokohama runs a campaign on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from October 3 to 25: customers ordering food or drink get a coaster that is not for sale, a FULL METAL JAPAN 2026 ticket takes 15 per cent off the bill at the restaurant and the shop, and the screens play the artists' music videos twice a day. BS Nippon TV repeats the special it aired in August to introduce the festival at 22:00 on Saturday, October 10, with an interview with LOUDNESS singer Minoru Niihara and a message from LOVEBITES. And until October 18 the PGS METAL pop-up store, gathering official hard rock and heavy metal merchandise, is open on the seventh floor of Yurakucho Marui in Tokyo.