Sweden's outspoken and influential heavy metal band, ARCH ENEMY, has joined forces with the worldwide human rights organization, Amnesty International, to help raise awareness of social injustices around the world. Amnesty International booths will be present at many of the upcoming dates on Arch Enemy's headlining North American tour, North American Khaos 2011, to hand out flyers and accept fans' signatures in support of the cause.

Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow states: "We have invited Amnesty International to join us on the North American Khaos tour to help raise awareness for defending human rights, freedom of speech and saving lives. We are living in very extreme and turbulent times and it is important to take a stand. We hope one day everybody is allowed to freely say what they think, that no government has the right to punish and kill those who do not conform and that those who are oppressing the masses will be brought to justice. It will be a long and hard struggle, but it's a goal worth fighting for. The metal scene is non-conformist, alternative and revolutionary – We know how to practice what others preach. So let's go out there and support the cause! Go to http://www.amnesty.org for more info or check out their booth at some of our shows!"

The supporting bands on the tour have also joined in on the fight. CHTHONIC added, "Freedom to create is the fundamental to artist's dignity as freedom of speech is the fundamental to human rights for all human beings. We should fight for those who are denied these privileges in other parts of the world so that they will be entitled to these rights one day."

Arch Enemy's North American Khaos 2011 tour dates:

September

8 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head
9 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
10 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
12 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
13 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
14 – Toronto, ON - Phoenix
17 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick Center
19 – Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall
20 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
23 – Seattle, WA - Showbox
24 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
26 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Center
27 – Los Angeles, CA – Nokia Theatre
29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
30 – Albuquerque, NM - The Sunshine

October

1 – Denver, CO – The Gothic
3 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
4 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues

Arch Enemy has premiered a live video of the track 'Bloodstained Cross', taken from the recently released Khoas Legions album.

"We've had a blast playing ‘Bloodstained Cross’ off the new Khaos Legions album at the summer festivals in Europe,” said guitarist, Michael Amott. “Luckily, our crew has been capturing some of the action and our front-of-house engineer edited this cool clip for us. Enjoy!”

Arch Enemy will soon tour through Europe to present their new album, Khaos Legions, live on stage. Main support is coming from label mates WARBRINGER, CHTHONIC and ENGEL (Swedish dates only). And they would like to have YOU as a local support to bring the Khaos to the European clubs! Please note that this contest only applies for the tour dates in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.

Angela Gossow comments: “We are going out with a really cool package in Europe this December and would like to give an unsigned band the chance to get on the bill for one of the German or Swiss shows. The underground is alive and kicking, so show us what you got and send in your tunes! We are excited to get to know some new, hidden gems and talents!”

How does it work?

Qualifying – Submission period extended until August 31st:

Head here to to submit your band. You can only apply for one city only.

Round Two – Public voting period from September 9th – September 19th:

We’ll select for each tour date four (4) local support bands, which will get the chance to open for Arch Enemy if they win the public voting. The winning bands will be announced on September 12th and will receive detailed info from Century Media and the band’s crew about the exact procedures on the show date. In case the winning band can’t play the show (for whatever reason) the second band will be informed…. and so on.

Thanks to partners in crime, Dean Guitars & Rotor Sound, we will give away a Michael Amott signature Dean Guitar, plus a set of guitar strings to the band which has gathered the most votes in the public voting.

Please note the following main rules for any of the winning bands:

- all band members need to be over 18 years old
- you will be the opening band and your stage time is minimum 20 minutes
- you have to bring your own instruments and backline
- you will not receive any fee and neither Arch Enemy or Century Media will pay for your travel expenses
- you will get one case of beer and basic catering at the venue
- you have to do what the tour manager is telling you because he’s the king of the road

Here are the tour dates where you can apply with your band for a local support slot:

November

9 - Stockholm, Sweden - Tyrol
10 - Lund, Sweden - Mejeriet
11 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Trädgårn

December

11 - Osnabrück, Germany - Rosenhof
13 - Köln, Germany - Essigfabrik
20 - München, Germany - Backstage Werk
21 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
22 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z 7

Arch Enemy's complete live itinerary can be found at this location.