Manowar
Photo: Magic Circle Music

Many smack-talkers have called Manowar cartoonish, silly, pompous and out of touch, but there's a legion of diehards for whom that kind of criticism warrants a sharpened spear to the groin. These are the Manowarriors, the fans that have followed the band through 25 years of music trends, label and lineup shifts and an increasing emphasis on the European music market.

"I have fans in the U.S. come up to me all the time saying, 'OK, next time, I'm flying to wherever it is in Europe that you're playing,' " bassist and band spokesman Joey DeMaio said. " 'And if I can't get the time off, I'll just quit and get another job.' You're talking about some seriously devoted people that are kind of like family to us."

The Manowar elite isn't incredibly huge (if Nickelback had an army, it'd outnumber Manowar's 1,000 to one), but it's unbelievably loyal. So much so that in July 2005, 25,000 fans from across the globe flocked to Geiselwind, Germany, to attend the first Manowar convention, which featured appearances by ex-bandmembers, the crowning of the lovely Miss Manowar and a band concert with full orchestra. So, when Manowar's first album in five years, Gods of War, comes out April 3, you can bet these folks will flock to the stores and celebrate with gallons of mead and mountains of beef cooked rare. Kiss, eat your heart out.

"People are so loyal to us because they listen to our songs and say, 'Yeah, they're talking about me. That's my life. That's the way I feel,' " DeMaio explained.

Manowar fans seem to take pride in what others mock — mainly, that their favorite band constantly strives to top itself, creating the loudest, most intense and most bombastic songs each time it enters the studio. Gods of War is no exception. The disc, which features titles like "Hymn of the Immortal Warriors," "Loki God of Fire" and "Glory Majesty Unity," is filled with crashing power chords, thunderous beats and orchestral arrangements that enhance the might and majesty of the music.

"It will fry the hair on your balls," DeMaio said, without a hint of irony. "These days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras. So it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that."

There's an inherent problem with metal bands that constantly try to be more extreme. There are ceilings on volume, speed and intensity, and when the barriers are pushed too far, the results tend to be either absurd or unintelligible. But according to DeMaio, the quandary lies in the musicians, not the formula.

"Most people that are out there playing in bands are not musicians, they're just people holding guitars," he said. "They're not playing the instrument, the instrument is playing them. But if you're truly a musician and you're able to look at music as a whole and understand it, you have a lot of doors open to you. There's a lot of different kinds of instrumentation, so you can always challenge yourself and give your audience a fresh taste of what you're doing."

Gods of War will be Manowar's first offering in a series of albums about mythological gods — in this case, Odin. "We've always been interested in Norse mythology and it's been a lifelong passion for our fans as well," DeMaio said. "The idea is that Odin was the god of war, and that lends itself to something big and dramatic."

Manowar worked on Gods of War last year at their studio compound in Valhalla (well, upstate New York, actually) and at the members' individual homes, and the process was fraught with frustration and rigid perfectionism.

"It's not easy for us, ever," DeMaio began. "There's too much [analyzing] of the material and equipment we use. You're talking about people who approach this as scientists, and we push man and machine to its limit. And that requires 100 percent commitment to each and every note played, and the quality of the performance and how it is reproduced and recorded."

It didn't help matters that Manowar's overwhelming volume tends to fry their equipment. "We have a saying that a speaker sounds best before it blows," DeMaio explained. "When you're living on the edge all the time and your whole mission is metal to the max, things get pushed to the limit."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Down will headline a gig March 9 at El Corazón in Seattle, the band has revealed. The Phil Anselmo-fronted sludge rockers will also perform March 30 in Worcester, Massachusetts; March 31 in New York; April 1 in Philadelphia; and April 2 in Washington, D.C. To top it all off, they'll serve as the openers, along with Megadeth, on Heaven and Hell's upcoming Canadian tour. ... Progressive-metallers Dream Theater have signed a deal with Roadrunner and will issue their next LP, Systematic Chaos, in June. ... Michigan metalcore collective Still Remains have begun tracking their next LP, The Serpent, with producer Steve Evetts (Saves the Day, He Is Legend). Expect the album to include 15 tracks, including "Anemia in Your Sheets," "The Wax Walls of an Empty Room" and "An Undesired Reunion." Frontman T.J. Miller said the album is "a lot darker and more honest," adding that the songs are "heavier and more melodic than anything we have ever written as a band." Look for the effort to drop this summer. ...

Floridian death-metallers Malevolent Creation have wrapped the recording of their forthcoming album Doomsday X. The LP is being eyed for an early summer release and will boast 11 songs in all, including "Strength in Numbers," "Buried in a Nameless Grave" and "Deliver My Enemy," which features a solo from Slipknot guitarist Mick Thompson. ... A Life Once Lost, those lovable metalcore hippies from the City of Brotherly Love, began tracking their next album on Thursday with engineer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, Dillinger Escape Plan). Look for the album, titled Iron Gag, to land in stores later this year. ... In related news, Norma Jean, the Chariot and the Handshake Murders will team with A Life Once Lost for a spring tour across the U.S. The trek kicks off March 17 in Homewood, Alabama, and dates run through April 14 in Charleston, South Carolina. ...

Avant-garde rockers Genghis Tron have inked a deal with Relapse. "We're incredibly excited to be joining the Relapse family," the band said in a statement. "The three of us have been huge fans of the label since the dawn of time and we can't wait to work with them on our future releases." The band has begun working on its first outing for the label, which Genghis claim is "sounding insane and awesome and entirely indescribable." ... The latest video from New Jersey metallers God Forbid — who're currently on the road with Goatwhore, Mnemic, Arsis and Byzantine as part of the Chains of Humanity Tour — will debut this weekend on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball." The clip, for the track "Chains of Humanity," focuses on the group's diehard fanbase, according to a press release. In other news, God Forbid will film their February 18 gig at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. The footage will be incorporated into the band's first DVD release, which has yet to be titled. ...

I Killed the Prom Queen have parted ways with singer Edward Butcher — a member of the fold for just over a year. "As some of you may have already heard, Ed ... has decided to leave the band," reads a statement from the Australian metalcore act. "His decision was entirely of his own accord and came as a bit of a shock to us, however, we must respect his decision to return home to the U.K." The band will announce Butcher's replacement in the coming weeks. ... Extreme-metal quintet Origin plan to begin writing material for their next album as soon as they've returned from their current European tour with Necrophagist and Misery Index. The jaunt wraps March 14 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Origin guitarist Paul Ryan said the band is "stoked about the material that we have now." He added: "As with all our CDs, we are trying to make the approach different than the last. We want to continue writing stuff that we find challenging as musicians as well as over-the-top in its approach." Expect the album to hit stores late this year. ...

More bands have been added to the lineup for the second annual California Metalfest, slated for March 31 and April 1 at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana, California. The bill includes Testament, Necrophagist, Flotsam and Jetsam, Animosity, As Blood Runs Black, Arsis, Decrepit Birth, Ion Dissonance, Light This City, the Funeral Pyre and Ankla, among others. ... Light This City are also joining forces with the Faceless and Antagonist for a tour that launches February 23 in Anaheim, California. The mostly West Coast run ends March 12 in Corpus Christi, Texas. ... Southern California experimental noise-mongers the Locust will hit the road next month with Cattle Decapitation and Daughters in tow. The tour commences March 23 in San Diego and will make stops in Seattle; Denver; Boston; New York; Philadelphia; Atlanta; and West Palm Beach, Florida. It wraps April 28 in Tempe, Arizona. The band's forthcoming album New Erections is set for a March 20 release.

• Manowar
• A Life Once Lost
• Origin
• Slipknot
• Cattle Decapitation

"Heavy Metal Thunder"
Photo: Chronicle Books

A few years back, metal journalists James Sherry (Metal Hammer, Kerrang!) and Neil Aldis (Rock World, Terrorizer) decided to sift through their record collections and put the best of the bunch into coffee-table-book form. That spawned "Heavy Metal Thunder," an extensive archive of the most kick-ass metal-album art of the last four decades, set to land in bookstores June 1.

According to Sherry, the book's intended to guide lifelong metalheads down memory lane — a time when you'd buy an LP based solely on the image that graced the sleeve, a time when ridiculous album covers were a genuine art form.

"We wanted the book to be entertaining for people who aren't necessarily into metal," he said. "I wanted it to appeal to people who are really heavily into the music and can look through the book and go, 'Oh, I remember that record — I had it when I was a kid.' ... But we also wanted it to appeal to people who have no interest in the music and can look through it and go, 'These covers are hilarious.' We're not afraid to poke fun at it."

The book's documents everything from the earliest days of groundbreaking bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest through today's current class of metallers, like Mastodon and High on Fire. The book covers all the bases, with chapters devoted to black metal, death metal, nü metal, thrash, stoner rock and glam rock. There's even a forward penned by Anthrax's Scott Ian and an interview with Derek Riggs, the man who created Iron Maiden's symbolic Eddie icon.

"We were originally going to do each chapter in a different theme," Sherry explained. "We were going to have a chapter of all covers that just featured men with swords, which there are many. It's an ongoing theme in old metal records. We wanted a whole chapter on glam-rock covers, fantasy covers, ridiculous covers — even covers with babes on them. That became way too complicated, so we decided to do it genre by genre."

Several chapters are devoted to specific bands that've become known for their album imagery. "One of the first things we decided was that we had to give Manowar their own chapter," he said. "With this book, you get a taste for the imagery of each genre. I just think that metal, more than any other music, is very visually led. As a child, I would often buy records on the strength of the album cover, on how metal the cover looked. That doesn't happen anymore. Kids can hear stuff before they buy it."

One of the more amusing chapters is the one that examines the punk-inflected thrash era. "I love the thrash covers because it's all pre-computers, and these bands would have a friend who would say, 'Hey, I could draw you a picture for your cover,' " Sherry said. "That's why there was so much drawn artwork on those sleeves, and some of it's just terrible, but brilliantly funny as well."

Several album covers were cut from the book, including Marduk's 1995 masterpiece, F--- Me Jesus, and Autopsy's 2003 album, Sh--fun.

But Sherry's favorite album cover, and one of the first that readers encounter in "Heavy Metal Thunder"? "I love the first Black Sabbath album cover, because I think that one's genuinely creepy. You kind of look at it, and it's genuinely a quite scary album cover," he said. "I like a lot of the black-metal covers, too, because there's just something a bit creepier about them that's genuinely quite scary, whereas it's hard to get too scared by men with swords."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Megadeth have signed to Roadrunner Records for the release of their upcoming album, according to a source close to the deal. The studio sessions — held at Sarm Studios, outside of London — were filmed by director Michael Sarna (Anthrax, Obituary) and are available at Megadeth.com to fan-club members. ... The first batch of dates for Rob Zombie's American Witch Across America Tour with Anthrax has been revealed. The trek will kick off in El Paso, Texas, June 30 and last — at least until more dates are announced — through July 28 in Billings, Montana. ... Trivium have finished recording their upcoming CD The Crusade. On Thursday, frontman Matt Heafy started tracking vocals at Audiohammer Studio in Orlando, Florida, where the band also recorded guitars and bass. Heafy is co-producing the disc with Audiohammer owner and previous collaborator Jason Suecof, and the album will be finished by the end of May for a fall release. Songs include "Ignition," "Contempt Breeds Contamination," "And Sadness Will Sear," "Vengeance," "To the Rats" and "Contemporary Plague." "There's one acoustic song, a Skid Row/ Mötley Crüe-sounding song, a Def Leppard, Southern-rock metal song and then 11 ridiculously technical thrash songs," Heafy said. "It's a solo insanity CD, but in a good way." ...

Bloodsimple — which features ex-members of Long Island, New York, hardcore icons Vision of Disorder — are working on material for their sophomore LP. The band plans to record the effort this summer, and guitarist Mike Kennedy claims "the new tunes are sounding killer so far." ... Hold on to your horns: Cattle Decapitation have infiltrated the mainstream. Icing by Claire's, a teen girls' accessory shop, has built a storefront display of a trendy-looking punk-rock girl wearing a Cattle Decapitation T-shirt. Even more flabbergasting, the shirt she's wearing was only sold on tour. Icing shoppers will be pleased to know that the new Cattle Decapitation record, Karma Bloody Karma, comes out July 11 and the band will be on tour through July 22. ... Nepotism is one thing, but this is ridiculous: Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger has produced the debut album by Agent Sparks, which features younger brother Ben on guitar and stepbrother Paul Fried on bass. The disc, Red Rover, comes out June 20. Ben Einziger and Fried were previously in Audiovent, which featured Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd's brother Jason on vocals. The group released Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris in 2002, but broke up soon after. ...

Horse the Band will hit the road with Gatsbys American Dream, Portugal. The Man and Forgive Durden starting May 24 in Salt Lake City. Dates are scheduled through June 14 in Nashville. ... Candice Night, the singer for Blackmore's Night — ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's new outfit — will be crowned 2006 Queen of the Fairies at the Western Pennsylvania Fairie Festival, which takes place June 10-11. Attendees can enjoy the parade of the Fairie Queen and her court, special guest fairie artists, the astrologer to the queen, and holistic and metaphysical-medicine practitioners. ... When most metal singers shout "Kill!," they're living a fantasy, but Manowar frontman Eric Adams causes as much carnage with handheld weaponry as with his vocals. On June 27, Adams will showcase the brutality on the DVD "Wild Life and Wild Times," which he created with outdoorsman and wildlife journalist Chester Moore. The disc features the two bagging emus, American bison, snakes, elk and wild boar with shotguns, bows and arrows, and hunting knives. ...

Soilent Green, the Acacia Strain and Demiricous will tour together starting June 10 in Cleveland, with dates running through June 30 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ... This year's nominees for the second annual Peta2 World's Sexiest Vegetarian poll include Rob Zombie, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Cannibal Corpse bassist Paul Mazurkiewicz, Dillinger Escape Plan's Liam Wilson and Atreyu guitarist Travis Miguel. Cast your vote at Peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-sexyveg06.asp. ... Every Time I Die will re-release 2005's Gutter Phenomenon on June 13 with a bonus 30-minute DVD. The footage was edited from their upcoming DVD "Sh-- Happens," which is scheduled for release this fall. Every Time I Die will head out on the Warped Tour starting June 15 in Columbia, Maryland, and remain on it through August 13 in Montreal. ... Misery Signals have started working on their second album, Mirrors, with producer Ben Schigel (Zao, Chimaira). The album will feature new singer Karl Schubach, who replaced Jesse Zaraska in January. Mirrors will be the follow-up to 2004's Of Malice and the Magnum Heart and is scheduled for September. ... Progressive metallers Behold ... the Arctopus have signed with Black Market Activities. Look for their forthcoming LP to drop sometime in late summer or early fall. ...

• "Heavy Metal Thunder" Photos

• Megadeth
• Trivium
• Manowar
• Bloodsimple
• Horse The Band

Trivium's Matt Heafy (file)
Photo: Roadrunner Records

"Ever since the beginning of Trivium, it's been our goal to be the biggest metal band in the world," frontman and guitarist Matt Heafy said about his band of heavy-metal upstarts from the Sunshine State. "The next Metallica. We've had that focus, unfaltering, since day one. A lot of bands say, you know, 'We don't do this for the money' or 'We do this for fun' or 'We don't want to be that big.' Blah, blah, blah. We want to rule the world with our music. We're not stopping until it happens."

Trivium — rounded out by guitarist Corey Beaulieu, drummer Travis Smith and bassist Paolo Gregoletto — are off to a good start in reaching their lofty aspirations. They'll be part of this summer's Ozzfest tour and plan to play off-dates with In Flames and Arch Enemy. "I am beyond stoked, because those are two of my favorite bands ever," Heafy said.

Soon, the band will shoot a video — the third for its Roadrunner Records debut, Ascendancy — for "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation." Heafy said Trivium might head out with labelmates Ill Niño for a U.S. tour this fall, though that hasn't been firmed up yet.

Does Heafy, who said he's already written two songs for the band's next album, think his goal of reaching Metallica-like adoration is just dreaming the impossible dream? "We're working on it, man. We're working on it."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The five members of Brooklyn's progressive jazz-thrashers Candiria were awarded $29 million in damages from injuries they sustained in a near-fatal road accident in 2002. Candiria were on their way to a show in Cleveland when a tractor-trailer barreled into their van, which rolled over at least five times. The destroyed ride's depicted on the group's latest record, What Doesn't Kill You ..., which came out in July. ... Lamb of God's new DVD, "Killadelphia," comes out May 25. The package includes live footage filmed in Philadelphia at two October 2004 shows, as well as hours of behind-the-scenes clips shot during the Ashes of the Wake tour. ...

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi will reunite with singer Glenn Hughes — who sang on Sabbath's 1986 disc, Seventh Star — for a still-untitled collaborative album scheduled for June 28. The 13-song disc was produced by Bob Marlette and will feature drumming by Kenny Aronoff. ... Sonic terrorists Daughters will hit the road with Melt Banana, the Locust, Torche, Mare and An Albatross this month for a slew of dates. Daughters also announced the return of founding guitarist Nick the Dick, whom they've been writing new material with since late December. ...

Swedish death-metal merchants Arch Enemy are in the studio with producer Rickard Bengtsson working on the follow-up to 2003's Anthems of Rebellion. "Maybe the fact that we're all jumping around the studio, headbanging, playing air guitar [and] drums is a good sign?" wrote guitarist Michael Amott (ex-Carcass) on the band's Web site. The still-untitled album's due late this year. ... Grindcore champs Pageninetynine have remixed the entire Document #8 session at Boston's Godcity Studio. Robotic Empire will re-release the seminal disc with expanded artwork this summer. The band's even working on a DVD, which has no release date yet. ... In related news, Malady, which consists of former members of Pageninetynine and City of Caterpillar, have inked a deal with Robotic Empire. They'll be recording songs next month for an EP. ...

The third disc from English grindcore band Gorerotted, A New Dawn for the Dead, will be released June 13. The album, produced by Markus Roedl, is the follow-up to 2004's Only Tools and Corpses. Bassist/vocalist the Wilson tackled all vocals and imbued the songs with a less jokey but equally demented vibe. "You'll find the new material to be darker and more complex both lyrically and musically," the Wilson said. "[It's] still very Gorerotted, [it] just doesn't sound like it got written by Beavis and Butt-head this time around." ... Flotsam and Jetsam, the band that once featured ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, will release their new album, Dreams of Death, July 26. Tracks include "Parasychic, Paranoid," "Requiescat in Pace" and "Bleed." ...

Leather-lovin' Manowar's upcoming "Hell on Earth IV" features two DVDs and a CD with a song from the band's next album for a total of more than four hours of muscular metal. The package includes 11 live songs filmed during the 2002 Warriors of the World tour. ... If you've got an ear for metal and an eye for art, you might want to take a stab at designing the next album cover for Canadian death-metal vets Kataklysm. Artwork should be centered around the album title, In the Arms of Devastation, and submissions can be sent via e-mail to smdesign@videotron.ca. The deadline for submissions is August 1. The winner will be chosen by the bandmembers and their label and will have his or her art featured prominently on the album cover as well as on merchandise for the record. ...

Indianapolis death metallers Demiricous will start recording their new album in June with producer Zeuss at Planet Z Studios. ... Polish death-metal band Devilyn fired bassist Cyprian because of creative and personal differences. "He did not bring in no ideas in creating new numbers," said frontman Bony in a broken-English press statement. "He was not on them you belong prepared." Bassist Cyprian has been replaced by Cyklon. ... Oakland, California, technical metalcore outfit All Shall Perish will release their debut album, Hate, Malice, Revenge, April 19. ...

• Trivium
• Lamb of God
• Candiria
• Arch Enemy
• Manowar

Howdy metallions, what's up? Iann Robinson, back again. I guess the big news this week is all the stuff going down with Exodus. Now for those new to the scene, Exodus were part of the Bay Area thrash scene that exploded in the '80s. Metal suffered a serious blow when original Exodus vocalist Paul Baloff died of a stroke in February of 2002. Well Exodus are back now and going strong. They've signed to Nuclear Blast Records and have finished up an album titled Tempos of the Damned, which will hit stores in February on the two-year anniversary of Paul's death. The band is also planning to hit you with a DVD that traces the roots of Exodus, going back beyond the Bonded by Blood era.

It's also a big weekend for us wrestling fans, as current WWE champion Triple H takes on Goldberg at this Sunday's pay-per-view "Unforgiven." It's not exactly metal, but this will be a killer match, and if Goldberg loses he has to retire from wrestling forever, which would suck. Plus, you have Shane McMahon in a "Last Man Standing Match" with Kane — that'll be trouble. It's gonna be a killer card for everybody who loves wrestling like I do. Well that's all for me, enjoy Metal File and I'll see you at the shows.

Superjoint Ritual, Dimmu Borgir, Type O Negative, Morbid Angel and Cradle of Filth will headline the two-day New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Fest in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on November 14 and 15. Other confirmed acts are Nile, Nevermore, Children of Bodom, Hypocrisy, Strapping Young Lad, Deicide, Suffocation, Hate Eternal, Biohazard and Krisiun. Hundreds of other skull-crushing bands will play the event, which will take place at Asbury Park's Convention Hall complex. Tickets are $40 for Friday, $45 for Saturday and $75 for both days. ... Speaking of Nile, the acrobatic death metal band will embark on the Art of Noise II Tour on October 1 in Houston. Dates run through October 31 in Atlanta. Support acts will include Kreator, Vader, Amon Amarth and Goatwhore. The first Art of Noise Tour was last January, and featured Nile, Napalm Death and Strapping Young Lad. Nile's latest album, In Their Darkened Shrines, came out in August 2002. ...

Six Feet Under, Skinless, the Black Dahlia Murder and Behemoth with play the Un-Natural Born Killers Tour, which will launch October 16 in Tampa, Florida. Dates run through the end of November. Six Feet Under's new album, Bringer of Blood, comes out September 23. ... Meanwhile, the Black Dahlia Murder have run into more trouble. The band is now looking for a new vocalist. To expedite the search, Black Dahlia have put an instrumental MP3 for the song "Funeral Thirst" on their Web site. Hopefuls should go there, download the song and put their vocal stylings over it. ...

Long Island screamo band Bayside will enter Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland, on October 7 to record their new album, Sirels and Condolences. Ex-Jawbox frontman J. Robbins will produce. After a month in the studio, Bayside will tour through the end of the year. The new album will be released early next year. ... The fifth studio album by hardcore metal band Speedealer, titled Bleed, will come out November 25. The disc was recorded on June 10 and 11 at Top Hat studios in Austin, Texas, by ex-Butthole Surfers bassist J.D. Pinkus. The band will launch a tour on September 20 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dates run through September 28 in Springfield, Massachusetts. ... December are reissuing their album Praying, Hoping, Nothing on October 7 through Porn King Matt Zane's Inzane Records. ...

Brujeria's first show ever in the U.S. — which was supposed to take place at Allen's Theatre in Southgate, California, on September 27 — has reportedly been scrapped. No reason was given for the cancellation. ... Manowar are back in the studio recording a new album for release in 2004. … Seattle band Zeke are releasing a DVD called "Zeke You" to commemorate their 10-year anniversary. The DVD will hit stores November 18. ...

Russ Herpich from the band Watch Me Burn is directing the video for Cattle Decapitation's "To Serve Man." The clip is expected to surface in October. ... Vehemence recently hit the studio to begin recording their next album, tentatively titled Helping the World to See. The band hopes to have the album in stores early next year. ...

The recently reunited Cancer will release an EP titled Corporations in early November. ... Former Nile members Chief Spires and John Ehlers have joined forces in a new band called Shaitan Mazar. … And again, it ain't quite metal, but it's close: the movie "Bubba Ho-Tep," which stars Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis as delusional retirees who think they are Elvis and JFK, respectively, battling a mummy, will be released Friday in Portland, Oregon, and will then slowly open in theaters through the States. ...

—compiled by Iann Robinson, Robert Mancini and Jon Wiederhorn

• Superjoint Ritual
• Dimmu Borgir
• Exodus
• Manowar

After sending its first album to U.S. soil earlier this year, Chilean metal outfit Criminal began exploring the States for the first time this weekend on a U.S. tour that sees it share the stage with Dokken, Overkill, Manowar, the Misfits, and others at a few high profile shows.

• 8/2 - Des Moines, IA @ Hairy Mary's
• 8/3 - Chicago, IL @ Smiler Coogan's
• 8/4 - Lansing, IL @ JJ Kelly's
• 8/6 - Detroit, MI @ Old Miami
• 8/7 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater (Cleveland World Series of Metal)

• Dokken
• Overkill
• Manowar
• The Misfits