Do you feel like your life has been lacking a certain intensity lately? Wake up at night just yearning for a reason to bang your head in triumph once again? Well, have we got a show for you.

After being forced to cancel some European and Canadian dates for lead singer Tom Araya’s back surgery, Slayer is back on the road again, teaming up with metal juggernauts Megadeth and fellow veterans Testament to roam much of the U.S. (and fill in those Canadian dates they missed). The headlining duo haven’t toured the U.S. together for almost two decades.

Appropriately, the tour is called American Carnage. Nuff said. Dates and video preview below.

1.18 Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theatre
1.19 Portland, OR @ Memorial Coliseum
1.21 San Francisco, CA @ Cow Palace
1.22 Long Beach, CA @ Long Beach Arena
1.23 Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
1.25 Denver, CO @ Magness Arena
1.26 Albuquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum
1.27 El Paso, TX @ El Paso Coliseum
1.29 Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless
1.31 Nashville, TN @ Municipal Auditorium

2.01 Duluth, GA @ Gwinnett Arena
2.02 Louisville, KY @ Broadbent Arena
2.04 Minneapolis, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
2.05 Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
2.06 Detroit, MI @ Cobo Arena
2.09 Wallingford, CT @ Chevrolet Theatre
2.11 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
2.13 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Center
2.14 Lowell, MA @ Tsongas Arena
2.16 Quebec City, QC  @ Pavillon de la Jeunesse
2.18 London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
2.19 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
2.20 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
2.22 Moncton, NB  @ Moncton Coliseum
2.23 Halifax, NS  @ Metro Centre

According to Blabbermouth.net, rumors that the “Big Four” of thrash metal may tour together are officially airborne. In an interview with the U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine, Slayer guitarist Kerry King suggested that Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is currently plotting a tour and would feature Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax and Metallica on the same bill for the very first time. No public comment from Ulrich to be found yet, but King doesn’t seem so sold on Anthrax at the moment. Read:

“I’ve heard people referencing Lars. I don’t know Lars that well and I haven’t heard it from Lars, but apparently he’s talking to somebody about it. Maybe us, Metallica, Megadeth and, I think he even threw in Anthrax and I said in this day and age, I know we had that time together, but how do you leave out Machine Head? There’s better options than Anthrax and that’s nothing against Anthrax, but they’ve just been in pieces for quite some time and that doesn’t make as much sense to me.”

According to Dave Mustaine, ENDGAME, the 12th studio album from Megadeth is a commentary on “the state of the world we live in.” With song titles like “Headcrusher,” “How the Story Ends” and “This Day We Fight,” Mustaine miiiight be living in a different world than the one we’re familiar with, but hey, whatever works.

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Written by Danny R. Phillips

Metallica, the bay-area giants that legitimized “thrash metal” with albums like Kill ‘Em All, Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All and “The Black Album” were welcomed into the hallowed confines of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.
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