SYSTEM DIVIDE have checked in with the following update in anticipation of their upcoming North American tour with headliners ELUVEITIE. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and HOLY GRAIL.

“We are thrilled to be part of this bill, not only is this our first full US tour, but it is also an honor to be part of such a diverse bill. Every band plays a very different style in the metal spectrum, ranging from death metal, thrash, heavy metal to folk metal, so everyone will be guaranteed to have their dose of metal right up the bum. One thing’s for sure: There’s a little bit of everything, for everyone in this package and we can’t wait to get out there and kick some asses. And to actually give you the chance to receive your dose of metal up wherever you like it they completely agree with us and one of our main efforts for this tour:

In this climate and economic recession we think low ticket prices are important - there are a crapload of shows and tours going around, and people simply cannot afford to pay big bucks for every show out there. Keeping prices low will allow people to see more bands and still be able to enjoy themselves getting some merch or to get some good ale flowing! It’s very important for every band to be close to the fans, because, without fans there is no scene."

Eluveitie frontman Chrigel comments:

"Well, everything's pretty much said already. All we have left to say (again) is that we're really, really looking forward to tour the USA and Canada again, to rock the living shit out of all of you and to drive a great tour together with three great bands!

And if it comes to the diversity of this tours package: To be honest, I'm not giving much of a shit about labels, but in my personal opinion there's well a golden thread in this line-up - and that's the raw energy of pure fucking metal! Everyone who's ever seen any of these bands live before will agree with me. And this is, what it's all about - pure goddamn metal!

And speaking of metal, I can only underline what our fellows from System Divide stated. Without fans, there is no scene! And without metal heads there is no metal! That's why we fought for as possible low ticket prices. Because it's not about some f***ing industry, it's about music, it's about fun and it's about you and us - the metalheads!

By the way, if you haven’t done so yet you might want to record a silly video of yourself for our ongoing contest:

Record a video of yourself performing whatever you do best to our song 'Thousandfold', upload it on www.youtube.com and send us the link to contest@eluveitie.ch. Don’t forget to include your name, age, and of course where you’re from / which show you are planning to attend. If we like what we see and it’s easy to put on stage we might invite you to join us on stage at a show near you.

Any winners will be handpicked by the band and will receive free entry (for a friend if you’ve already got your ticket), if possible early access to the venue, meet the band before the show and will finally perform the Song Thousandfold on stage with the band during their show. All videos will appear under 'Favourites' on Eluveitie’s Youtube channel and of course every participation is welcome even if you are from outside the US and Canada. You might just earn yourself some other kind of reward if you’re lucky.

Deadline for new entries is January 23rd, 2011, winners will be announced January 29th."

Tour dates are as follows:

February

1 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
2 - New York, NY - The Gramercy Theater
3 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
4 - Quebec City, QC - Cercle
5 - Montreal, QC - Le National
6 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
8 - Chicago, IL - The Bottom Lounge
9 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
10 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
11 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
12 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
14 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
15 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
16 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
17 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
18 - Hollywood, CA - The Key Club
19 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
21 - San Antonio, TX - Backstage Live
22 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
24 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
25 - Orlando, FL - Firestone Live
26 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade