The European leg of the mighty “Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter III” has been confirmed to kick off in Manchester on October 27 and will play nearly two dozen shows over a four-week period. This third installment of what has been hailed as “the heaviest, darkest tour of the year” will feature Slayer, TRIVIUM, and Mastodon. An additional opening act will be announced shortly. While Slayer will close the shows, they will be co-billed with Trivium on the UK dates.

Ticketing info is available online at: slayer.net, www.myspace.com/slayer, www.trivium.org, or www.myspace.com/trivium.

Matthew Heafy, Trivium’s frontman commented, “Trivium is honored that Slayer has invited us to tour with them on the ‘Unholy Alliance Tour.’ All of us in Trivium are diehard Slayer fans and we look up to them for their music and longevity. They are one of the true pillars of heavy metal and for us to share stages with them is both an honor and a privilege. We’ve also known the Mastodon guys for a few years and we’re definitely looking forward to hanging with them as well.” Guitarist Corey Beaulieu continues, “I can’t wait to get out on tour with Slayer so we can watch them crush every night and then have the opportunity to share many drinks with them and Mastodon after the shows! I better get my liver in shape… it’s going to be awesome!”

The Unholy Alliance tour first launched in Autumn 2004 with a European edition that featured Slipknot, Slayer, Mastodon and Hatebreed. The venture was so successful, the first North American trek, dubbed “The Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter II: Preaching to The Perverted,” kicked off in Summer 2006 with Slayer, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, and Thine Eyes Bleed stomping and screaming its way to 30 U.S. and Canadian cities. The European run of “Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter II” took place in Autumn 2006, featuring Slayer, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God, and Thing Eyes Bleed. Kerrang! said about The Unholy Alliance Tour, “It’s so metal, it HURTS!”

SLAYER
A journalist once wrote of Slayer, “If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he undoubtedly would be listening to Slayer.” Indeed, in the beginning, when there were no blueprints, no set paths, no boundaries or steps to follow, SLAYER assaulted the world with its new hybrid of metal and punk. Heavier, faster and darker than the rest, Slayer set the new standard which all others continue to follow. Slayer is the band that all other heavy acts are measured against, defining not only a genre but an attitude. For more than two-and-a-half decades, Slayer’s onslaught of sheer brutality has proven them to be the supreme thrash-metal band on the planet. Entire countries have banned their music, NARAS has graced them with two Grammy Awards. Slayer is currently writing material for a new album, release date TBD.

TRIVIUM
Orlando, Florida heavy metallers TRIVIUM are delighted to be co-headlining with SLAYER on the UK leg of this year’s colossal Unholy Alliance tour. Having performed over 600 shows in the last 36 months alone, Trivium are no strangers to the stage and life on the road. Last year, the worldwide million-selling band toured extensively with Machine Head, co-headlining the impressive Black Crusade tour, as well as finding time to play shows with the legendary Iron Maiden amongst others, supporting their Top Ten record “The Crusade” (which entered the mainstream UK chart at #7). Since then, they have been hard at work on their next studio album for Roadrunner Records, recently wrapping up recording with producer Nick Raskulinecz. It is due for release on September 29, 2008.

MASTODON
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Mastodon have been critically acclaimed by almost every publication in the US and Europe. Their Grammy nominated album, Blood Mountain, the group’s third release, isn’t just unconventional, it’s surreal, progressive and unrepentantly heavy. Mastodon combined their favorite musical styles, including thrash, doom, prog and psychedelic metal to concoct something utterly original, undeniably devastating and irrefutably entrancing. They are currently in the studio with producer Brendan O’Brien recording their follow up to “Blood Mountain.”

The initial European dates are (more will follow):

OCTOBER
27 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
28 NEC, Birmingham, England
30 Hammersmith Apollo, London, England
31 Hammersmith Apollo, London, England

NOVEMBER
2 CIA, Cardiff, Wales
3 SECC, Glasgow, Scotland
5 Stadthalle, Offenbach, Germany
6 Palladium, Cologne, Germany
9 Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart, Germany
10 Eishallel Deutweg, Winterthur, Switzerland
11 Zenith, Paris, France
16 Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
18 Zenith, Munich, Germany
19 Columbia Hale, Berlin, Germany