Following the enormous success of their 2021 co-headline US tour, metal titans Megadeth and Lamb Of God have announced the second US run of their aptly named Metal Tour Of The Year. Joining them will be special guests Trivium and In Flames. 

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God recently spoke to Quentin Singer of Forbes about their upcoming trek together. An excerpt follows:

At what point did you know there was going to be a second leg of this unique tour package?

Mustaine: "I think it became clear when we were part of the way into the first leg. Just from how much the people were enjoying this lineup and the timing of the tour, and enjoying the mentality of how we approached the concertgoers. The overall circumstances with most concerts at that moment was a giant question mark, and we just boldly went out there and did business as usual. I know that there were some people that wished we didn’t go do it with of all the news going around about the pandemic, but the fans needed it and they loved it. When the opportunity came for us to stand on the stage in front of them, it was just like any other day. Everybody was having fun and for a brief moment they were able to forget about how depressing it’s been for the last two years in dealing with all of this."

As indicated by Pollstar this tour was ranked among the most successful tours of 2021. Had you in anyway anticipated the tour to achieve this ranking and be met with such overwhelming success? 

Blythe: "No, not at all. That goes back to the sub-culture that we’re in, that goes back to the fact that metal, hardcore, and punk, it’s not just music that we listen to. I don’t even know who’s in the Top 40 right now, I don’t listen to that s**t, I have no clue who the popular artists are right now. Throw in whoever’s popular right now, I’m sure some of them have that emotional connection with the music, but it’s what comes on their radio or Spotify playlist or whatever is being pushed by the promotion department. 

Metal fans and hardcore-punk fans are different because it’s not just the music they listen to, it’s a lifestyle. It’s part of their life, it shapes the way they think, the clothes they wear, who they hang out with, the relationships they have, and the music is engrained in the lifestyle. I think it didn’t surprise me at all by the numbers because like I said it’s a community, and the feeling of community had been absent when everybody was so isolated. People were stoked to come together in the special way that we do. It’s not just the music, it’s the relationships people have both with the music and with each other that they make through the music."

Can we expect this second leg of the tour to be the first tour in support of the new Megadeth record?

Mustaine: "No. This is wrapping up the remainder of last year, but I know that our actual official record release date had gotten moved back again with all of the distribution stuff, and all of these issues with getting product from one place to the next with record plants making vinyl. We’re not reliant on vinyl so much but just the whole process has been delayed, so it’s just gotten moved back again. We’re going to be doing, I believe at the time I’m not sure, but I believe at the time when the record comes out this summer we’ll be on a tour that we’re going to be announcing, but I can’t really get into that right now because I don’t know for sure the dates."

To read the complete interview, visit this location.

Tickets for the second leg of The Metal Tour Of The Year, produced by Live Nation, are on sale now at MetalTourOfTheYear.com.

The Metal Tour Of The Year was originally announced and planned for 2020 but was halted by the pandemic. Fans waited patiently for touring to return and in the summer of 2021 were granted their wish. The Metal Tour Of The Year was one of the first national amphitheatre tours to hit the road in 2021 and saw co-headliners Megadeth and Lamb Of God hit 29 cities across North America with special guests Trivium and Hatebreed, who stepped in to replace In Flames who couldn’t join the tour due to travel restrictions. The tour was met with enormous acclaim, truly living up to its name and playing to a whopping 172,000 metal fans in the process.

Speaking on the success of the initial leg of the tour and his excitement in hitting the road again in 2022, Megadeth’s leader and frontman, Dave Mustaine says: “The Metal Tour Of The Year is exactly what it sounds like - a night of some of the best heavy metal bands in the world - live and loud. Anyone who came to a show last year knows what I mean, only this one’s going be even better. Do not miss out.”

Randy Blythe, inimitable frontman of Lamb Of God, adds: "It was great to get out on the road for an incredible tour last summer with Megadeth, Trivium and Hatebreed so we figured we'd do it again! We look forward to hitting new cities with Megadeth, Trivium and In Flames, who we're happy to have over for leg 2!"

Trivium’s Matthew Kiichi Heafy adds: “The Metal Tour Of The Year was one of the strongest, most incredible Metal tours in ages – it’s namesake nothing but accurate. How do you follow that up? By doing it again – even bigger, even better, and have it play everywhere it didn’t on the first leg. MTOTYII – let’s do this."

With In Flames singer, Anders Fridén stating: ”We are excited to finally be able to join our dear friends in Megadeth, Lamb Of God, and Trivium on this year’s, Metal Tour Of The Year! We can’t wait to be back on the road in America and to reunite with you all. Don’t miss this tour it’s a juggernaut.”

Produced by Live Nation, the second leg of this epic metal trek will kick off on Saturday, April 9 in Las Vegas, NV and hit a further 21 cities before wrapping in Allentown, PA on Sunday, May 15. Full tour itinerary below.

The tour will be part of Live Nation’s Live Stubs initiative which provides digital, collectible NFT ticket stubs to ticket holders. Reimagining ticket stubs as digital collectible NFTs, Live Nation’s Live Stubs will mirror the unique section, row, and seat of each ticket purchased, allowing fans to collect ticket stubs once again – this time with more capabilities. Live Stubs will automatically be included with tickets on select Live Nation shows in North America. Fans will be able to view, share, gift, trade, and resell their live stubs on Livenation.com. These are collector items and will not replace the digital tickets needed to physically enter the show.

Tour dates:

April
9 - Las Vegas, NV - Michelob Ultra Arena
10 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Arena
12 - Colorado Springs, CO - Broadmoor World Arena
14 - Corpus Christi, TX - American Bank Center
15 - Lafayette, LA - Cajundome
16 - Brandon, MS - Brandon Amphitheater
19 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
21 - Fort Wayne, IN - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
22 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
24 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
26 - Omaha, NE - Baxter Arena
27 - Cedar Rapids, IA - Alliant Energy PowerHouse
29 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
30 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center* No Trivium

May
3 - North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Coliseum
4 - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
6 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
7 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center
9 - Pittsburgh, PA - Petersen Events Center
10 - Rochester, NY - Blue Cross Arena
12 - Portland, ME - Cross Insurance Arena
13 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
15 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center