Just when you thought it was safe to return to your local amphitheater...

Perennial headbangers Iron Maiden, Dio, and WASP have teamed up for a summer tour that kicks off next week and promises to bring old fashioned, high-shrieking heavy metal to the U.S.

Iron Maiden, who will be touring behind the recently released "Virtual XI," say that this time out they will be packing a stage show suitable for a tour being dubbed "Metal Mania," and they are promising that this time their longtime mascot Eddie will be along for the ride (for more on the legacy of Eddie, see our Blowhard archive).

We're ready to bring metal back to our North American fans," Maiden bassist and founding member Steve Harris said of the tour in a prepared statement.

Harris will be joined by guitarist and Maiden co-founder Dave Murray, drummer Nicko McBrain, guitarist Janick Gers, and frontman Blaze Bayley (who replaced Bruce Dickinson in

1993).

The last time we toured here almost three years ago was the first tour with Blaze and we made a point of playing intimate venues that allowed the fans to get to know Blaze but didn't allow us to bring our full production," Harris said. "This time around we'll be largely in amphitheaters with the full in-your-face metal show that fans have been waiting for. Eddie is back in all his glory.

In addition to Maiden, Dio, and WASP, the tour will also feature a turn from Dirty Deeds, the first band signed to Harris' Beast Records. The tour will not feature UFO or Yngwie Malmsteen, as had been indicated as the tour was coming together (see [article id="1427947"]"Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P., Dio, Deep Purple, More For Metal Tours"[/article]).

Here's where the Metal Mania tour will stop (Dio will drop off the tour after July 19):

• 6/26 - Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
• 6/27 - Columbus, OH @ Brewery District Ballroom
• 6/28 - Hamilton,

ON @ Copps Coliseum