Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil (file)
Photo: Getty Images/Donald Weber

The last seven months have been rather eventful for Mötley Crüe, and with a 55-date North American summer expedition — with openers Sum 41, the Exies and Silvertide — set to kick off July 24 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it's only going to get more hectic for the ripe hair-metal legends.

The Crüe — who'll get their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 — couldn't be more excited to get back on the road. "My bags are packed," frontman Vince Neil said. "I'm standing by the door."

According to bassist Nikki Sixx, the second time around the continent's going to similar to their last outing. "We'd initially planned on changing the show quite a bit and then, in just talking to fans, and knowing that we're going to so many cities we haven't been to, we decided that we're going to keep it pretty much the same," he said. Once again, they'll mix older material and newer stuff and, of course, killer clowns and almost-naked aerialists. "We might play some different songs here and there, but at this point, it's a pretty labor-intensive show, and we decided to just take it around one more time."

Response to the Crüe's first spate of dates was so overwhelming that they just had to give it another go. "Vince has said over and over again, 'Rock and roll never really goes away,' " Sixx said. "Pop artists come and they go, but they never really come back. Rock bands, we go through phases of being more or less popular. ... We've been discovered by a new audience, a younger audience."

But those who missed the band's most recent reunion trek — and, for some inexplicable reason, commit the ungodly gaffe of missing the guys on this forthcoming tour — will still be able to experience the madness of the Crüe live. Carnival of Sins, a special double-disc DVD, hits stores October 4 and features footage from a concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with behind-the-scenes footage, in-depth interviews, a Claymation film, music videos and more.

"We shot it in high-def, we had 18 cameras, and it has a lot of the behind the scenes, putting together of the show," Sixx said.

"It shows every guy doing their, like, ritual or whatever, like [drummer] Tommy [Lee] blasting music, or me kicking back or meditating or whatever — how each of us prepares to go onstage," guitarist Mick Mars added. "Me putting on makeup and all that kind of crap. I'm the only guy who wears makeup. The rest of the guys have natural beauty."

The Crüe are even planning to record new material soon.

"We look forward to creating some new songs," Sixx said. "It won't be this year. We're definitely going back to do an album. The hard part is finding the time. This tour keeps adding dates and adding dates, so it's hard to pinpoint when people ask, 'When are you going into the studio?' The only thing you can say is 'When the tour ends.' We don't know when it will end yet. It's more important to have a great record than to rush getting it out. It's important for us to put a great record out."

The rest of the week's metal news:

"Viva La Bam" and "Jackass" cast members Don Vito and Ryan Dunn have assembled a new tour that will wed extreme antics with extreme-metal performances. Open Hand, Fight Paris and Disengage will play sets during shows that will also feature acts of self-abuse and other tomfoolery. The tour launches August 3 in Austin, Texas, and runs through September 11. ... Thine Eyes Bleed, a thrash/death-metal band that features John Araya (brother of Slayer singer/bassist Tom Araya) and ex-Kittie touring guitarist Jeff Phillips, will kick off their summer North American tour on July 19 in Rimouski, Quebec. Dates run through August 5 in Ottawa. ... Swedish death-metal veterans Hypocrisy will release their 10th studio album, Virus, on September 19. The disc was produced by frontman Peter Tagtgren in his Abyss studio and includes the tracks "Warpath," "Let the Knife Do the Talking" and "Blooddrenched." ...

The fifth album by Soulfly, Dark Ages, is due October 4. The disc was produced by frontman Max Cavalera, mixed by Terry Date and includes embellishments by musicians from Serbia, Turkey, Russia and France. Tracks include "Inner Spirit," "Corrosion Creeps," "Stay Strong," "Fuel the Hate" and "Molotov," which features guest vocals by M.O.D. frontman Billy Milano. ... Finnish melodic death metallers Omnium Gatherum have booked studio time for next spring to record their third album. ... Swedish operatic metal marauders Therion will invade North America this fall for the first time in more than a decade. The band will begin the crusade August 29 in Portland, Oregon, pillaging and plundering through October 6 in Utica, New York. ...

French-Canadian extreme death-metallers Cryptopsy are nearly finished with their still-untitled fifth album, which will come out in October. The band entered Vortex Studios near Montreal on May 16 with producer Sebastien Marsan. Cryptopsy will tour with Suffocation and Aborted starting September 28 in Farmingdale, New York. ... Rollins Band drummer Jason Mackenroth will release the eponymous debut from his new band Mack on September 13. The power trio features Mackenroth (drums/vocals), Jacques Wait (guitars/vocals) and Dan McNay (bass/vocals). Mackenroth has played on seven Rollins Band albums and was also in Mother Superior. ... Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen and his Rising Force will issue their new album, Release the Fury, on July 26. ... Speedy death-metal merchants Nile recently filmed a video for "Sacrifice Unto Sebek," a track from the band's recently released Annihilation of the Wicked. Shot on location in Atlanta with director Chad Rullman (Mastodon, the Agony Scene), it features the band rockin' hard inside an Egyptian burial chamber, "replete with actual design motifs of ancient Egyptian culture," according to a press release. ...

The Number Twelve Looks Like You hit the road on August 1 in Topton, Pennsylvania, for a 14-date tour that wraps on August 31 in Wilmington, Delaware. ... Blessing the Hogs' forthcoming opus will boast ex-Coalesce vocalist Sean Ingram's pipes on at least two songs — covers of Quicksand's "Fazer" and the Melvins' "Hog Leg." Called The Twelve Gauge Solution, the July 26 release will feature "Let's Play Doctor ... Kevorkian," "That New Car Smell," "Chemical Equalizer" and "Selficide." ... Floridian hardcore act Until the End have lined up two September shows, which will be the band's last. Both will go down in the Sunshine State (in Miami and West Palm Beach) and will feature both current vocalist James McHugh and original singer Mean Pete. ... Dutch death metallers Gorefest will start recording their reunion album soon at Excess Studio in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The group, which broke up in 1998 following the release of Chapter 13, have written 15 songs for the effort, 10 of which will make the disc, which Iis due for release by year's end. On August 23, the band's entire back catalog will be re-released on three double-disc sets with bonus tracks.

• Mötley Crüe
• Soulfly
• Yngwie Malmsteen
• Open Hand
• Fight Paris