Monday, July 12, 2010

Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax announces next tour dates

Metalheads, rejoice: North America's biggest thrash tour in 20 years is announced, as 1991's original American "Clash of the Titans" lineup - Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax - will tour together once again on Leg Two of the "American Carnage Tour." This trek kicks off September 24 at Verizon Wireless Theatre in Dallas, TX and will play 20 dates, including New York's Nassau Coliseum, concluding at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on October 21.

On Leg Two of American Carnage, Megadeth will continue to roar through its landmark 1990 album Rust in Peace from front to back, while Slayer will rip the roof off by performing its much-lauded Seasons in the Abyss album, which was also released in 1990. Anthrax recently welcomed back singer Joey Belladonna, who defined the band during its heyday, and now permanently back in the band, will be front-and-center.

A special pre-sale will launch this Wednesday, July 14, and fans should log onto www.slayer.net - www.megadeth.com - or www.anthrax.com - to obtain the special code needed for the pre-sale, and then go to www.ticketmaster.com (http://knoxvilletickets.com/ for the Knoxville date) to purchase tickets. The public on-sale will begin July 23 in most markets.

In the spirit of beating the recession, there will be pre-sale discounts on all tickets in most markets (see below for more details), and if that's not enough, a limited amount of $10 tickets will be available in many cities - log onto any of the bands' websites or onto Ticketmaster's site for those details.

But wait, there's even more. For Leg Two of the "American Carnage Tour," Megadeth has teamed up with iloveallaccess.com to provide fans with VIP experiences including priority venue access, meet and greets, parties, exclusive gifts and more. Logging onto www.megadeth.com will provide those details. Plus, fans who purchase their tickets online at either www.slayer.net or www.ticketmaster.com will receive a free download of the live audio track "War Ensemble," set to be included on Slayer's forthcoming, as yet unannounced, "Live Intrusion" DVD release.

Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax will kick off the second leg of the "American Carnage Tour" on the heels of the historic "Big Four" Sonisphere Festival concerts they played with Metallica in seven European cities this summer. The dates marked the first time that these four bands - acknowledged as the most influential bands of the thrash genre - had shared a concert bill.

The original "Clash of the Titans" tour united the three forces of thrash metal for the entire summer of 1991, with then-little known Alice in Chains serving as the opener. This tour, which falls under the "American Carnage" banner, isn't rewriting history, it's writing a whole new chapter of head-banging history that is sure to delight fans new and old.

Megadeth and Slayer return to North America late this month to co-headline the east coast "Canadian Carnage Tour," and then starting August 11, the first leg of the "American Carnage Tour" (dates below) with Testament as Special Guest. The tour was originally scheduled for a winter 2010 run, but was postponed when Slayer bassist/vocalist Tom Araya was forced to undergo neck surgery. But as is the case for anything good in life, this tour will be well worth the wait.

* * *
SLAYER
In the beginning, when there were no blueprints, no set paths, no boundaries or steps to follow, SLAYER assaulted the world with its new hybrid of metal and punk. Heavier, faster and darker than the rest, Slayer - guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, vocalist/bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo - set the new standard that all others continue to follow. And that has continued through to 2010. Revolver, SPIN and Metal Hammer have all named Slayer "Best Live Band." Esquire presented them with an Esky Award. They've got two Grammys, a Kerrang! Hall of Fame Award and multiple Revolver Readers' Poll Awards. And Slayer continues to be a groundbreaker as they become the first major artist to have a music-themed Apple app - "Slayer: Pinball Rocks."

Slayer's most recent album, World Painted Blood (released 11/09), offers a Slayer-ized point of view of our world - God's terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, and a chilling hypothesis of how the rest of the world might view America. As one major daily wrote, "If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he undoubtedly would be listening to Slayer." For "American Carnage," Slayer's Tom Araya promises "no ballads, no acoustic numbers, no slow tempos."

MEGADETH
For the past two decades, Megadeth's storied career has not only set standards in hard rock and metal, but defined them. Megadeth's signature shredding and rousing lyrics have drawn fans in since the band's beginnings, and are the very things that keep them interested, excited, and of course, head-banging, at every turn. Founding vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine, who was the recipient of the first annual Golden God Award at the inaugural Revolver Golden God Awards in 2009, is renowned for his ability to use the vehicle of music to shake things up, to make a point and to rattle your brain, literally, figuratively and sonically, which he did with 2009's ENDGAME, which received some of the highest critical accolades of the band's already impressive career.

The band's fourth album, Rust In Peace, saw the band cement their status as one of the most important metal bands with masterpieces like "Hanger 18" and "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due." The album enjoyed a top 25 debut on the Billboard charts. The album has been hailed as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time with IGN recently naming it one of the most influential metal albums ever. Megadeth are now rejoined by original bassist Dave Ellefson and are firing on all cylinders, as they will continue to perform the release in its entirety, something that fans have been clamoring for for years.

ANTHRAX
With worldwide sales in excess of 10-million, Anthrax, who along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, is credited with originating the thrash genre, is about to celebrate its 29th year as a band, and continues to be one of metal's all-time great acts. Over the band's career, Anthrax has received multiple Gold and Platinum albums, multiple Grammy nominations, and a host of other accolades from the press, industry and fans.

Earlier this year, Anthrax announced that vocalist Joey Belladonna, an essential part of Anthrax's lineup from 1985 to 1992, was rejoining the band, and has taken his place onstage this summer as Anthrax has joined Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth - The Big Four founding members of Thrash - as co-headliners of a series of Sonisphere Festivals in seven European cities. Plans are for the "classic era" Anthrax to write and record a new album for a 2011 release.

Confirmed dates for Leg Two of the American Carnage Tour are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
24 Verizon Wireless Theatre, Dallas, TX*
25 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX*
26 Verizon Wireless Theatre, Houston, TX*
28 Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA*
30 Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
OCTOBER
1 The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA*
2 Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
3 Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, Miami, FL*
5 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
6 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD*
8 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, NY*
9 Toyota Pavilion @ Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA*
10 LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH**
12 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
14 War Memorial Coliseum, Ft.Wayne, IN*
15 DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids, MI*
16 Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI**
19 E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
20 The Pearl, Las Vegas, NV
21 Gibson Amphitheatre, Hollywood, CA*

* $10 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale (excluding the special $10 tickets)
** $5 discount for tickets purchased during pre-sale

Canadian and American Carnage Tour/Leg One Dates

Canadian Carnage
JULY
23 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC CANADA
24 Heavy MTL, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC CANADA
26 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS CANADA
27 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB CANADA
29 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA
30 John Labatt Centre Center, London, ONT CANADA

American Carnage
AUGUST
11 Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY
12 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ
14 Tsongas Arena, Boston, MA
15 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
16 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT
18 Tower City Amphitheatre, Cleveland, OH
19 Joe Lewis Arena, Detroit,MI
20 UIC Pavillon, Chicago, IL
21 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
23 Cap Fed Park @Sandstone, Kansas City, KS
25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO
26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
27 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
29 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA
30 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA
31 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA
SEPTEMBER
1 Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA
3 Wamu Theatre, Seattle, WA
4 Washington County Fairgrounds, Portland, OR

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