In his latest livestream, Megadeth's Kiko Loureiro breaks down seven technique exercises for playing guitar. He runs through the following:

- alternate picking
- sweep picking
- downstrokes and upstrokes
- legato articulation
- controlling the fingers
- melodic patterns 
- add string skipping

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. Watch a new video trailer below.

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

Tickets and VIP packages for all artists at MetalTourOfTheYear.com.

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