While hard rock and heavy metal fans around Australia were eagerly anticipating the full Soundwave 2016 lineup this month, promoter AJ Maddah has now confirmed that those plans will have to be put on hold for a little while longer.

Taking to Twitter, the Soundwave chief revealed that he is still waiting on confirmation from two bands before he drops the announcement, one of which is popular Japanese trio Babymetal. Maddah did not reveal the identity of the second act.

Maddah also did not comment on whether the second act is the elusive Soundwave 2016 headliner, who recently became all the more elusive when Maddah claimed that Tool, who were hotly tipped to be next year’s headlining act, are not playing.

Responding to a curious fan earlier this month, Maddah confirmed that next year’s headliner has never played the festival before, which rules out a considerable number of bands and leaves just a few potential acts.

Maddah has been busy ruling out potential headliners since before the dust settled on Soundwave 2015, but the latest revelation rules out repeat appearances from past headliners like Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink-182, and System of a Down.

All eyes quickly turned to Tool, who’ve previously played Big Day Out but have never made a SW appearance. Maddah had never specifically ruled out the alternative legends, saying simply that they would have to release a new album before venturing Down Under again.

However, when asked recently what the chances of seeing the Maynard-led outfit on a Soundwave stage in 2016 are, Maddah replied simply, “None.” The reply has certainly narrowed the pool of bands fit to headline Soundwave next year.

Another potential headliner fielded are recently reunited heavy metal veterans Disturbed. Maddah has indeed been trying to book the Chicago outfit for years, though it’s arguable if they would prove a viable festival headliner.

One name that has not been thrown around just yet is UK stadium giants Muse, whom Maddah said are candidates for a Soundwave spot but are “not available in SW time frame”. However, Maddah did make the comment back in March and has been known to throw a few curve balls at fans.

Muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme told Music Feeds back in May that the band are eyeing 2016 for their next Australian tour. “I think it’s more likely to be the middle of next year or maybe towards the end of next year,” he said.

Another possibility is that Tool were indeed poised to be the headliner — they have after all been working on a new stage show specifically designed for festivals — but were unable to commit and the headliner will now be someone who has played previously.

In the meantime, organisers are forging on with the Soundwave 2016 lineup drip feed and have so far announced Bullet For My Valentine, Dead Letter Circus, Failure, Refused, Northlane, Lordi, Bring Me The Horizon, and Devil You Know.

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