Judas Priest

METAL LEGENDS JUDAS PRIEST, HEAVEN AND HELL, MOTORHEAD, AND TESTAMENT UNITE FOR “METAL MASTERS TOUR”

WORLD PREMIERE OF JUDAS PRIEST NOSTRADAMUS COVER ART AND FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD OF TITLE TRACK AT LIVENATION.COM

After weeks of speculation, Live Nation has put together a killer package that is bound to go down as the heavy metal event of 2008 - Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, Motorhead and Testament will be touring together for the first time.

Dubbed “The Metal Masters Tour,” the fifteen-date tour trek kicks off August 6th at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. The tour will hit Toronto on August 13th at The Molson Amphitheatre.

Judas Priest will be supporting their epic concept album, Nostradamus, arriving June 17th via Epic Records, which tells the tale of the renowned 16th century prophet. A few tracks from Nostradamus will make their in-concert debut on “The Metal Masters Tour,” but the majority of Priest’s set list will include some of metal’s all-time classics, as well as fan favourites that span the quintet’s entire career. Without a doubt, this will be one of Priest’s most powerful sets ever.

As a ‘sneak peak treat’ to fans starved for a musical taster, the first cut off the new album will make its world premiere debut as exclusive free MP3 download starting today exclusively at http://www.livenation.com/judaspriest.

Heaven and Hell will be supporting the release of The Rules Of Hell, a five-CD boxed set available July 22nd from Rhino Records, which features re-mastered versions of all four Dio-era Black Sabbath albums (Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Live Evil and Dehumanizer) in a deluxe package with new liner notes.

Perennial road rats Motorhead will be offering a blistering barnstormer of a set spanning more than three decades of molar-rattling biker metal. A new studio album - the 20th of their storied career - is currently being recorded at their old pal Dave Grohl’s studio with an August release date targeted. Frontman Lemmy, named by the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper as “the nation’s greatest living Englishman,” blairs out, "Here it comes everybody, the test of your Metalness in 2008 and the years to come! Come one come all and be abused!"

Rounding out the line-up will be legendary thrash metal titans Testament, whose new album, The Formation of Damnation, (April 29th) displays Testament as the quintessential modern heavy metal band, whose experience and accumulated skill allows them to attack with reserves of anger, energy and finesse that make them more powerful than ever. Lead singer Chuck Billy says, “Uniting these bands is the heavy metal event of generations. We are so proud to be a part of it.”

Although all four bands may represent different subgenres of heavy metal, all four have one thing in common – they have stuck to their stylistic guns through thick and thin, and have remained true to the metal form. And soon, band and fan will be united as one on “The Metal Masters Tour.”

“As ever, we look forward to screaming out loud with our metal maniac fans when we hit the road,” enthuses Priest singer, Rob Halford. “Thank you once again for your devotion and support. The Priest is back!”

Metal maniacs seeking the ultimate concert experience can access unique VIP ticket and fan experience packages that offer premium seats, meet & greets, pre-concert parties and more brought to you by the band's official websites, http://www.judaspriest.com and http://www.heavenandhelllive.com.
VIP packages for the first events will be on sale by 10 a.m eastern time on Friday, April 25th. Also, not all VIP packages are the same, so be sure to pick the right one that suits you best.