THE METAL MASTERS TOUR - \m/

[ajcardfan]

After weeks of speculation, Live Nation has finally confirmed a killer package that is bound to go down as the heavy metal event of 2008 — JUDAS PRIEST, HEAVEN AND HELL, MOTÖRHEAD and TESTAMENT will be touring together for the first time.

Dubbed "The Metal Masters Tour", the fifteen-date U.S. trek kicks off August 6 at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. Tickets go on sale to the public beginning this weekend at www.livenation.com.

JUDAS PRIEST will be supporting their epic concept album, "Nostradamus", arriving June 17 via Epic Records, which tells the tale of the renowned 16th century prophet. A few tracks from "Nostradamus" will make their in-concert debut on "The Metal Masters Tour", but the majority of PRIEST's set list will include some of metal's all-time classics, as well as fan favorites that span the quintet's entire career. Without a doubt, this will be one of PRIEST's most powerful sets ever.

HEAVEN AND HELL will be supporting the release of "The Rules Of Hell", a five-CD boxed set available July 22 from Rhino Records, which features re-mastered versions of all four Dio-era BLACK SABBATH albums ("Heaven and Hell", "Mob Rules", "Live Evil" and "Dehumanizer") in a deluxe package with new liner notes.

Perennial road rats MOTÖRHEAD will be offering a blistering barnstormer of a set spanning more than three decades of molar-rattling biker metal. A new studio album — the 20th of their storied career — is currently being recorded at their old pal Dave Grohl's studio with an August release date targeted. Frontman Lemmy, named by the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper as "the nation's greatest living Englishman," blairs out, "Here it comes everybody, the test of your Metalness in 2008 and the years to come! Come one come all and be abused!"

Rounding out the line-up will be legendary thrash metal titans TESTAMENT, whose new album, "The Formation of Damnation", (April 29) displays TESTAMENT as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, "Uniting these bands is the heavy metal event of generations. We are so proud to be a part of it."

Although all four bands may represent different subgenres of heavy metal, all four have one thing in common – they have stuck to their stylistic guns through thick and thin, and have remained true to the metal form. And soon, band and fan will be united as one on "The Metal Masters Tour".

"As ever, we look forward to screaming out loud with our metal maniac fans when we hit the road," enthuses PRIEST singer Rob Halford. "Thank you once again for your devotion and support. The PRIEST is back!"

This tour will be limited to fifteen very special engagements, and Citi cardmembers will have pre-sale access to tickets through Citi's Private Pass Program, available to all Citi cardmembers at www.privatepass.citi.com.

Metal maniacs seeking the ultimate concert experience can access unique VIP ticket and fan experience packages that offer premium seats, meet & greets, pre-concert parties and more brought to you by the bands' official websites. VIP packages for the first events will be on sale by 10 a.m eastern time on Friday, April 25. Also, not all VIP packages are the same, so be sure to pick the right one that suits you best.

According to LiveNation.com, the following dates have been confirmed for the trek:

Aug. 06 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
Aug. 07 - Nissan Pavilion - Bristow, VA
Aug. 09 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
Aug. 10 - Nikon at Jones Beach - Wantagh, NY
Aug. 13 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
Aug. 16 - Post Gazette Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 18 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
Aug. 19 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL
Aug. 22 - Superpages.com Amphitheatre - Dallas, TX
Aug. 23 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, TX
Aug. 24 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - San Antonio, TX
Aug. 27 - Journal Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
Aug. 28 - Cricket Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 30 - Glen Helen Pavilion - San Bernardino, CA
Aug. 31 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA

Oh, yeah!

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Cool stuff.

BUT, No Slayer ? No Metallica ?

 

[BigRedRage]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Add a metal band if your going to call it a metal show.

 

[Mulli]

Ah, the days in high school listening to Testament, good times.

 

[ajcardfan]

Cool stuff.

BUT, No Slayer ? No Metallica ?

I'm sure they're playing some of the 300 killer festivals in Europe this summer. Actually, I'm sure these four bands are doing some of that circuit too. It's getting rare to get a metal show like this in the states anymore.

 

[ajcardfan]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Add a metal band if your going to call it a metal show.

This show has #1 (Sabbath), #2 (Priest) and #8 (Motorhead) from MTV's top 10 greatest metal bands:

http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/

I've seen all of them live multiple times, and I've never been disappointed. Most recently, I saw Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio) and Megadeth last year. It was a damn good show, but this one is way bigger.

 

[ozzfloyd]

Cool stuff.

BUT, No Slayer ? No Metallica ?

Metallica is playing in Tucson May 16th.

 

[Darth Llama]

What does Metallica have to do with metal? Other then the name.

 

[ozzfloyd]

What does Metallica have to do with metal? Other then the name.

Well they used to be at least somewhat metal.

 

[BigRedRage]

This show has #1 (Sabbath), #2 (Priest) and #8 (Motorhead) from MTV's top 10 greatest metal bands:

http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/metal/greatest_metal_bands/071406/

I've seen all of them live multiple times, and I've never been disappointed. Most recently, I saw Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio) and Megadeth last year. It was a damn good show, but this one is way bigger.

Did you really just use MTV as an example of a credible music source? and with Metal?

Sabbath and Megadeth is a metal show. Priest, Motorhead are Hard Rock IMO. If that.

 

[BigRedRage]

What does Metallica have to do with metal? Other then the name.

The first 5 albums that were the epitamy of Metal and pioneered the way for thrash bands abroad. Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax single handedly made Metal 10x more hardcore.

 

[ajcardfan]

Did you really just use MTV as an example of a credible music source? and with Metal?

Sabbath and Megadeth is a metal show. Priest, Motorhead are Hard Rock IMO. If that.

I just googled "greatest metal bands" and took the top link. I figured all 3 would make most lists. You don't agree, that's fine. I'll take Kenny King's (Slayer) opinion of Judas Priest over yours when it comes to metal. Of course, he agrees with me.

"I still get giddy when we go on tour with Priest. I think they have a really unique two-guitar attack. Glenn Tipton's probably the most underrated guitar player in existence — he's just stunning. And K.K. Downing was a master of the dive bomb, so you'd probably say I patterned myself more after K.K. There's a little bit of both of them in [my style]. And they're just great f---ing dudes. I still clam up around them." — Kerry King, Slayer

"Real metal for me is Judas Priest, because they don't have any other qualities except metal. They're just pure, 100-percent metal, whereas a band like Metallica has gone through stages where they weren't so metal." — Michael Amott, Arch Enemy

"The first Priest tune I ever heard was 'Painkiller' when I was, like, 10 years old, and it just blew me away. That whole album is still one of the best metal albums ever. I was hooked, and it wasn't until five years later that I even heard their earlier stuff. Probably my number-one metal moment was when I got to play 'Living After Midnight' with the metal god himself, Rob Halford, in Japan." — Alexi Laiho, Children of Bodom

 

[ajcardfan]

The first 5 albums that were the epitamy of Metal and pioneered the way for thrash bands abroad. Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax single handedly made Metal 10x more hardcore.

This I agree with. Any band that survives long enough has clunkers. You just can't discount what Metallica achieved because of that.

 

[BigRedRage]

I just googled "greatest metal bands" and took the top link. I figured all 3 would make most lists. You don't agree, that's fine. I'll take Kenny King's (Slayer) opinion of Judas Priest over yours when it comes to metal. Of course, he agrees with me.

Kenny king is actually a DT, you mean Kerry King ; )

Sure, I guess its 80s metal, whatever, I think it sucks.

When you say Metal I think slayer, pantera, fear factory, morbid angel, anthrax, heavy mean loud stuff. JP was just loud.

Then again, I am 25 and heavily influenced from the 90's, hate most the 80's.

 

[ajcardfan]

Kenny king is actually a DT, you mean Kerry King ; )

Sure, I guess its 80s metal, whatever, I think it sucks.

When you say Metal I think slayer, pantera, fear factory, morbid angel, anthrax, heavy mean loud stuff. JP was just loud.

Then again, I am 25 and heavily influenced from the 90's, hate most the 80's.

That's what I figured. "Painkiller" came out in that era, just before Halford left Priest. It's classic 90's metal.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JAagedeKdcQ

 

[vince56]

Painkiller was just f'n fantastic. Heaven & Hell I hear is badass too. Testament, with Murphy & Skolnick, count me in.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO!!!

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[Darth Llama]

Anyone who says Judas Priest isn't Metal is just too young to know any better. Judas Priest is one of the pioneer bands of Metal, they are not as "hardcore" as bands like Slayer, but they did a lot of things musically that influenced sounds of yesterday and today. Painkiller was a brilliant album, as was most of what came before it. I haven't really listened to them after Painkiller, so I can't say anything about that stuff.

Bands like Priest, Iron Maiden, Testament, Exodus, Motorhead and yes, even Metallica, are all bands that paved the way for bands of today like Killswitch, Mudvayne, Drowning Pool, Fear Factory, etc. If you don't think of them as metal, you don't know metal. I just have to learn to think of Metallica as a band that broke up after the Justice Album.

 

[O]

Not to mention JP is the first Metal band with an openly gay member, Rob Halford.

 

[BigRedRage]

Anyone who says Judas Priest isn't Metal is just too young to know any better. Judas Priest is one of the pioneer bands of Metal, they are not as "hardcore" as bands like Slayer, but they did a lot of things musically that influenced sounds of yesterday and today. Painkiller was a brilliant album, as was most of what came before it. I haven't really listened to them after Painkiller, so I can't say anything about that stuff.

Bands like Priest, Iron Maiden, Testament, Exodus, Motorhead and yes, even Metallica, are all bands that paved the way for bands of today like Killswitch, Mudvayne, Drowning Pool, Fear Factory, etc. If you don't think of them as metal, you don't know metal. I just have to learn to think of Metallica as a band that broke up after the Justice Album.

You know, that is an incredibly tired arguement. I am not a beatles fan, so the reply I get is "the beatles are the reason you have this and that so yeah" I understand the progression of music and who went in to what, just because JP broke barriers and opened doors doesnt mean I have to consider them metal rather than hard rock.

When you tell me something is a metal song, I better want to punch someone in the face when it turns on.

 

[BigRedRage]

Not to mention JP is the first Metal band with an openly gay member, Rob Halford.

you win the irrelevant fact of the day.

 

[Darth Llama]

You know, that is an incredibly tired arguement. I am not a beatles fan, so the reply I get is "the beatles are the reason you have this and that so yeah" I understand the progression of music and who went in to what, just because JP broke barriers and opened doors doesnt mean I have to consider them metal rather than hard rock.

When you tell me something is a metal song, I better want to punch someone in the face when it turns on.

You can call it whatever you want, that's your right. The thing is, the term "Metal" is so generic, it encompasses so many different types of music. Back in the late 80's and early 90's bands like Motley Crew were considered metal, while I always called them "Glam Rock." I have even heard bands like Alice in Chains classified as metal, and IMO they are clearly not Metal. There is Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, etc etc. Anymore, the term Metal is as all encompassing as the word "Rock."

Either way, Priest was considered Metal before most people here were even born. You don't have to think of them as metal, that's cool, but a lot of people do.

 

[BigRedRage]

You can call it whatever you want, that's your right. The thing is, the term "Metal" is so generic, it encompasses so many different types of music. Back in the late 80's and early 90's bands like Motley Crew were considered metal, while I always called them "Glam Rock." I have even heard bands like Alice in Chains classified as metal, and IMO they are clearly not Metal. There is Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, etc etc. Anymore, the term Metal is as all encompassing as the word "Rock."

Either way, Priest was considered Metal before most people here were even born. You don't have to think of them as metal, that's cool, but a lot of people do.

Even my list of metal was several different styles of metal and I still find ICP in the metal section. I know where you are coming from and what you are saying, I just refuse to budge.

 

[ajcardfan]

Even my list of metal was several different styles of metal and I still find ICP in the metal section. I know where you are coming from and what you are saying, I just refuse to budge.

You're the only person I've ever known who calls 'painkiller' hard rock. But, you can call it whatever you want. It's America!

 

[Darth Llama]

Even my list of metal was several different styles of metal and I still find ICP in the metal section. I know where you are coming from and what you are saying, I just refuse to budge.

Fair enough.

 

[PortlandCardFan]

Metal has evolved since the 70's folks. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and others are the fathers of metal but metal is nothing like it use to be.