Muzach

The mighty Megadeth will join forces with Testament and Exodus for a month-long jaunt that will find these thrash titans crisscrossing the nation on the ‘Rust in Peace’ twentieth anniversary tour. These will be incredibly special shows that will delight Megadeth fans, as the band will be playing their landmark, genre-defining album, 1990’s Rust in Peace, in its entirety, in addition to other Megadeth set list favorites.

Megadeth’s latest, ENDGAME, was released in September 2009 and received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s career. The band performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and was nominated for yet another Grammy – the eighth nomination of their storied career- for “Head Crusher.” Megadeth also enjoyed heaps of praise in the press, from outlets as varied as New York to Revolver to VH1’s “That Metal Show” to PopMatters. With ENDGAME, Megadeth have once again ascended to the top of the metal world.

The tour will kick off on March 1 in Spokane, WA and will run through the end of the month. The dates are as follows, with tickets going on sale this Friday, January 29.

3/1 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory

3/2 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory

3/3 - Medford, OR - Medford Armory

3/6 - Calgary, AB - Big Four (Testament with Special Guests)

3/7 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre (Testament with Special Guests)

3/8 - Saskatoon, SK - Prairieland Exhibition Hall

3/11 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater

3/12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Palace Theater

3/13 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom

3/15 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

3/16 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live

3/18 - Scranton, PA - Scranton Cultural Center

3/19 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa

3/21 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle

3/22 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel

3/23 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall

3/25 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater

3/26 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Amphitheate

3/27 - Lubbock, TX - The Pavilion

3/28 - El Paso, TX - Club 101

3/30 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater

3/31 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Palladium (Testament with Special Guests)

Stay tuned for more information next week on the rescheduling of the American Carnage tour dates.

California thrash metal legends SLAYER have been forced to cancel all of their immediate tour plans — including the American and Canadian Carnage tour dates that were set to kick off on January 18, as well as the band's European headline tour scheduled for March and April.

SLAYER bassist/vocalist Araya, known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair.

while performing, began experiencing back problems while on the band's Australian/New Zealand/Japanese tour last October. In spite of his rapidly increasing pain and discomfort, he carried on with the tour, but immediately upon returning home saw an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed a cervical radiculopathy. The rocker initially did not want to take the major surgery route, so the specialist recommended a series of minimally-invasive procedures. While those procedures have resulted in some improvement, Araya continues to deal with intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms.

"Tom gave various medical treatments more than a fair shot," said SLAYER's manager Rick Sales, "but they just haven't handled the problem, so he's biting the bullet and is scheduled for back surgery at the end of this month."

The surgical procedure that Araya will undergo, called an anterior cervical discectomy with fusion, is a relatively routine practice and the recovery rate is excellent.

Booking agents for both SLAYER and Megadeth

are already hard at work rescheduling tour dates; tickets already purchased for all shows will be honored at the rescheduled dates.

Sales added, "As unfortunate as this is for so many people — the MEGADETH and TESTAMENT camps, the concerts' promoters, and, of course, the fans — Tom's health is the number one priority, and this has to happen."