Danish thrash masters ARTILLERY have announced they will be heading to the US for the first time ever.

Artillery will play gigs in May in New York, NY and at the Maryland Death Fest in Baltimore, MD. Along with the band EXUMER they will then move to South America to play in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. At the end of the year the band will return to US to play on the Barge To Hell cruise ship from Miami, FL to the Bahamas.

Year 2012 marks the 30th anniversary of Artillery. A celebration party will be held on May, 4th at Kings And Lions in Copenhagen, Denmark with some special guests and prizes. The gig at Lions And Barrels will also be the last Danish gig with the founder member Carsten Nielsen who has decided to leave the band for personal reasons.

Carsten Nielsen commented: "For personal reasons I have chosen to leave the Danish Thrash Metal Band Artillery. It's something I've thought about for a long time and I have already informed the guys in the band and I can announce that the last shows I'm playing with Artillery will be in South America.

And to all the nice people I have met during my time in Artillery, I will just say a huge thank you to; I will never forget the good reception and response I have received.

After the last show I will take a little break and then I'll probably go back to my roots and try to find some guys in the Copenhagen Area who want to play some good old fashioned punk rock together with me..."

Artillery tour dates are as follows:

April

28 - Barroselas, Portugal - SWR Barroselas Metalfest

May

3 - Agger, Denmark - Heavy Agger
4 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Lions And Barrels
5 - Wuustweeze, Belgium - Puntpop 2012
25 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Death Fest X
26 - New York, NY - Saint Vitus Bar
30 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Astbury club
31 - Santiago, Chile - Teatro Teleton

June

1 - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Music Hall
2 - S?o Paulo, Brazil - Hangar 110
3 - Recife, Brazil - Teatro Mauricio de Nassau
4 - Porto Alegre, Brazil - Beco

July

26 - Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany - Headbangers Open Air

August

24 - N?rrebro, Denmark - Lygten
25 - Lugones -Asturias, Spain - Vaques Fest 2012

September

21 - Kolding, Denmark - Pitstop
22 - ?rhus, Denmark -Studenterhuset

December

3 - 7 - Miami, FL, Nassau, Bahamas - Barge To Hell

(Photo: john-son)