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.

Mustaine had this to say:

“Thematically, I’ve never been known to be a silent bystander in a world that needs our participation. As more is revealed about our former President’s legacy, a little-known yet staggeringly frightening document which was signed into law, named ‘ENDGAME,’ has been uncovered. The album ENDGAME is the most energetic music offering I have penned in over a decade and is far more believable than knowing someone signed ‘ENDGAME’ -the document- into law. The album is also the perfect ‘ass- kicking’ music to listen to once you are done reading the aforementioned document!”

No word on whether the album’s liner notes will feature a reprint of the actual Endgame document for context, but we’re pretty sure they’ll contain at least one lushly painted skeleton.

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.

Their inclusion, though absolutely deserving in every conceivable way, poses a wider question to my ever curious mind: Will the inclusion of now two “metal” acts, (Black Sabbath being the other. Let’s face it, Led Zeppelin and The Who don’t count as metal.) clear the way for other metal and proto-metal acts?

The governing body of “The Hall” is still skittish when inductions are concerned. The Hall has inducted piano music lightweight Floyd Cramer, but has passed up The Stooges. They’ve welcomed jazz “rockers” Steely Dan and the doo-wop group The Moonglows, but took forever to induct The Ramones and The Talking Heads. So, what would make you think The Hall will get heavier anytime soon?

There are several bands that fall into the metal, punk, thrash and hardcore categories that are entirely deserving of the honor of induction. Here is a list of bands that are eligible and in my mind, should be included. Bare with me, it’s a short list.

Motorhead: Without Lemmy Kilmister and the boys, the genre of thrash (and Metallica) probably would never have existed. Their album, Ace of Spades, is a benchmark of lawn killing volume and speed.

Megadeth: Dave Mustaine, former member of Metallica, focused all his aggression and hatred into classic ear splitting albums such as Rust in Peace, Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, Countdown to Extinction and Killing is My Business and Business is Good. And as an added bonus, the band takes it’s name for the loss of lives from a nuclear detonation. Now that’s Metal.

MC5: The Detroit based house band for the Black panther Party was the first to “Kick Out The Jams”. Their explosive shows, incendiary guitar work of Fred “Sonic” Smith and Wayne Kramer and controversial political stances helped set the stage for both punk and metal.

The Stooges: Again, another band that helped in the invention of metal and punk. For god sake, listen to Raw Power and tell me Iggy Pop and his Ann Arbor, Michigan brethren don’t belong.

Black Flag: No they aren’t metal, but hardcore punk arose from the “forbidden beat” created by metal and more precisely, Motorhead. Black Flag gave birth to thousands of punk and thrash bands either by groups attempting to copy their sound or by guitarist Greg Ginn’s indie record label SST.

The Melvins: Masters of sludge and drone, no Melvins equals no Nirvana. No Nirvana equals none of the good bands and some of the bad (I’m talking to you, Bush and Candlebox) that appeared in the 1990’s wake of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

Judas Priest: Rob Halford is the King of the 1980’s wave of British Metal. British Steel is an album for the ages.

And there is just a taste of the metal, thrash, hardcore and punk bands that have shaped the musical landscape over the past 30+ years that are up for induction. They have all, either directly or indirectly, changed the public’s perception of what is great, what is groundbreaking, what is acceptable and what is not. And in the process have warped my brain for the better.

I must extend my congratulations to Metallica. They truly are one of the greats of this or any other time. Who knows, maybe next year someone from my list will be asked into The Hall, but my bet is that the voters will probably go with The Carpenters instead. Man, could they wail!