Concert promoter AJ Maddah: His Soundwave festival has been cancelled, with debts reportedly as high as $25 million. Credit:Marco Del Grande

On Tuesday, British headlining act Bring Me The Horizon indicated they were not locked in yet, despite the metalcore act's name featuring prominently on the Soundwave website. The band is one of Soundwave's major drawcards, having hit no.1 on the ARIA charts here with its last three albums, including the recent That's The Spirit.

Veteran American rock act L7, most famous for the cult song S---list, pulled out of the huge touring festival with a short statement on Facebook.

The involvement of a third headliner was also thrown into question when Eric Melvin, guitarist for NOFX prematurely posted on social media that the festival had been cancelled, throwing fans into a panic.

But in what looked an even bigger red flag, music industry website Musicfeeds revealed bookings had not been confirmed with the planned venues: Brisbane Showgrounds (January 23), Sydney Olympic Park (January 24) and he RAS Melbourne Showground (January 26).

These developments follow an announcement on Tuesday by Maddah that there would not be a 2017 Soundwave. But he was attempting to salvage the 2016 festival.

The company running Soundwave went into voluntary administration in September over a court action taken by World Stages, which sought to wind up the company over an unpaid debt. But Maddah had vowed to hold the event.

The revelation that the festival is off for the next two years would appear to kill any future chance of a Soundwave resurrection. If it is dead it marks a mighty fall for Maddah, who was named the most powerful person in the Australian music industry in 2013 and seemed for a time to have the golden touch on the festival circuit.