After weeks of rumors, Metallica and the Tattoo The Earth tour made their marriage official on Tuesday, announcing a joint show at New Jersey's Giants Stadium on July 20.

Metallica first confirmed that it will meet up with Slipknot, Slayer, Coal Chamber, Sevendust, and the rest of the Tattoo tour on Howard Stern's morning radio show (originating from New York's K-Rock radio). Spokespeople for the Tattoo The Earth tour then confirmed the date, noting that the full Tattoo roster will perform with Metallica capping the bill.

As we reported, the merger has been in the works for weeks (see [article id="1432060"]"Metallica, Slayer, Others Picking Out 'Tattoo'"[/article]), and finally became official on Tuesday.

The Tattoo camp had other news on Tuesday, announcing the first ten dates of the tour as well as some additional acts on the bill. As we previously reported, the tour will kick off on July 15 in Portland, Oregon, and the tour announced

additional dates through late July. An official spokesperson for the tour said that an announcement regarding the complete Tattoo The Earth tour is expected soon, but noted that the trek is likely to run through mid-August.

The Tattoo camp has also announced that Puya, Downset, and Hatebreed are the latest acts to join the tour, filling out a roster that also includes Slipknot, Slayer, Sevendust, Coal Chamber, Sepultura, Nashville Pussy, (hed) pe, Mudvayne, The Workhorse Movement, Full Devil Jacket, and Famous.

While a complete itinerary has yet to be released, here's what the Tattoo The Earth tour has lined up so far (as always, tour dates are subject to change):

• 7/15 - Portland, OR @ Portland Meadows
• 7/18 - Lawrence, KS @ Burcham Park
• 7/20 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Giants Stadium
• 7/21 - Scranton, PA @ Montage Mountain
• 7/22 - Boston, MA @ Suffolk Downs
• 7/24 - Cleveland, OH @ Nautica
• 7/27 - Des Moines, IA @ Waterworks Park
• 7/28 - Somerset,

WI @ Floatrite Park