After a week's worth of mysterious YouTube clips and countdown clocks, it's officially time to make the announcement: This fall, [artist id="966"]Alice in Chains[/artist], [artist id="605"]Deftones[/artist] and [artist id="1228325"]Mastodon[/artist], three of the heaviest and most influential bands in the business, will join forces for a tour of epic proportions.

Dubbed "Blackdiamondskye" (an amalgamation of AIC's Black Gives Way to Blue, Deftones' upcoming Diamond Eyes and Mastodon's Crack the Skye album titles), the trek will kick off September 16 in Chicago and will pummel cities across the U.S. and Canada, before coming to a close on October 16 in Las Vegas.

According to a statement from tour organizers Live Nation, additional dates will be announced shortly. Tickets will go on sale in select markets beginning May 15 at Blackdiamondskye.com and LiveNation.com. Fan-club presales begin on May 10. For more information, check out the tour's official site.

And after spending all that time building up the mystery, both organizers and the bands are raring to unleash this beast on their legions of fans.

"We're really looking forward to touring with our friends, Deftones and Mastodon," Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell said in a statement. "Each band has its own unique flavor and the combination of all three will make for a great show and a good time on the road."

Blackdiamondskye Tour dates are as follows:

» September 16 - Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island

» September 17 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre

» September 18 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

» September 20 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena

» September 22 - Boston, MA @ Agannis Arena

» September 24 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

» September 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood

» October 1 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center

» October 4 - Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

» October 7 - Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place

» October 8 - Seattle, WA @ Key Arena

» October 9 - Portland, OR @ Rose Quarter - Memorial Coliseum

» October 16 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint