From Ozzfest and Warped Tour to the Up in Smoke and Anger Management treks, summer stages find more big-name artists on them than the guest list at the Playboy mansion. The lineup for the latest multi-band outing will have the marquee reading like a rock fan's dream come true.

Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park will embark on the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, beginning July 4, it was announced at a press conference in Los Angeles Wednesday (February 5). Although an itinerary is still being worked out, the trek is expected to visit 18 North American cities.

Each band will deliver full-length sets, and Deftones and Mudvayne, who will have already had the pleasure of touring with Linkin Park as part of April's Projekt Revolution Tour, will serve as openers. The Deftones are finishing up their fourth record, which is being produced by Terry Date and expected in stores in June.

Metallica will be supporting St. Anger, due June 10, their first studio album in more than five years. The LP, their eighth overall, follows 1997's Reload. The band hasn't embarked on a full-scale tour since 2000's inaugural Summer Sanitarium trek, which also featured Korn, Kid Rock and System of a Down. At press time there was no word on who would fill the bass slot left vacant by Jason Newsted two years ago (see [article id="1438016"]"Bassist Jason Newsted Leaves Metallica"[/article]).

Limp Bizkit are also expected to be supporting a long-awaited release. The spacelessly titled Lessismore, Limp Bizkit's fourth album, previously carried a tentative April 1 release date but is now slated to drop in May.

Meteora, Linkin Park's follow-up to 2000's Hybrid Theory, which amassed more than 7.6 million in sales, is due March 25 and will be prefaced by the first single, "Somewhere I Belong" (see [article id="1459710"]"Linkin Park Get Their Tempers Under Control To Complete New LP"[/article]).

Tickets for most shows of the tour will go on sale February 22.

Confirmed cities for the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, according to Elektra Records:

• Minneapolis