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Metal News: Down Announces North American Headlining Tour Dates

The Pantera and C.O.C. supergroup are expected to release their first album in nearly 20 years later this year.

Bring on the shows.

NOLA denizens of sludge Down have announced a summer run of headlining dates that will see them hitting the road with iconic alt-metal brutalists Helmet and Housecore rockers Spirit in the Room. The trip was announced by the three bands earlier today (May 27th). While Down will be headlining all dates, this is being called the “Strap It Down” tour as a tributary portmanteau between the sludge supergroup and Helmet’s 1990 debut LP, Strap It On. The tour begins August 15th at the Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia, and wraps September 2nd at the Ramova Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The tour route also includes Down’s appearances at Zakk Wylde’s two Berzerkus Festival dates, while Down splinter off to support Slayer at a Reign in Blood 40th anniversary show Shakopee, Minnesota’s Mystic Lake Amphitheater on September 4th. Pre-sales begin today at noon ET, while the general onsale is this Friday (May 29th) at 10:00 a.m. local time. Down will likewise be offering limited VIP packages that include a soundcheck experience, a meet greet with the band, a photo opportunity, a signed poster, and an exclusive merch item. You can find out more about ticketing here, while the run of dates is down below. As previously reported, Down revealed in a studio update earlier this year that “the new…record is done,” though they haven’t delivered the details on when we’ll hear the album. Their last full length was 2007’s Down III: Over the Under, though they issued a pair of Down IV EPs in 2012 and 2014. Down tour dates 2026:8/15 Atlanta, GA -The Eastern !8/16 Greensboro, NC -Piedmont Hall !8/19 Cleveland, OH -House Of Blues !8/20 Pittsburgh, PA -Stage AE !8/22 Royal Oak, MI -Royal Oak Music Theatre !8/23 Toronto, ON -HISTORY !8/25 Montreal, QC -MTELUS !8/26 Worcester, MA -The Palladium !8/28 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA -Montage Mountain Amp (Berzerkus) $8/29 New York, NY -Jones Beach Amp (Berzerkus) $8/30 Silver Spring, MD -The Fillmore !9/1 Cincinnati, OH -Bogarts !9/2 Chicago, IL -Ramova Theatre !9/4 Shakopee, MN -Mystic Lake Amphitheater %! with Helmet, Spirit in the Room$ festival% with Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatebreed View this post on Instagram

DOWN, the long-running heavy metal supergroup featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Pat Bruders, will return to North American stages this summer for a two-week headlining tour with support provided by HELMET and SPIRIT IN...

After more than four decades of bringing heavy music to the world's biggest stages, Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA have announced the final show of their career. The historic performance will take place on November 7, 2026 at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu in São Paulo, Brazil, marking the...

No word yet on Helmet strapping it on for the tour though.

(This is our friend Gonzo’s review of the first new album in 11 years from Pro-Pain, out now on Napalm Records.) Eleven long years have passed since we last heard from New York’s Pro-Pain. And not unlike other groove-laden crossover heroes from the early ’90s — Helmet, Merauder, and Prong come to mind first — [...]

New York's Helmet have been kicking up a racket since 1989. We assess, rate and rank their catalogue to identify which noise-rock album is their defining work

The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. NYC. Call it what you will, but it’s hard to argue this: The U.S.’ biggest city has produced a ton of incredible bands over the years. And this, of course, includes all things heavy. New York City has been home to countless musical revolutions, from Broadway revues and the Greenwich Village folk scene, to the first eclectic wave of punk that hit CBGB and Max’s Kansas City in the Seventies, to the hip-hop innovators and NYHC matinees of the Eighties, to the garage-rock revival of the early Aughts and beyond. But out of those, what is the greatest single heavy band to come out of the five boroughs? The one that made it there before conquering everywhere else? We asked our readers this very question, and they ranked their favorite New Yorkers accordingly. Life of Agony A flood of votes came in for the classic River Runs Red-makers, whose method of groove comes across as a moody blend of NYHC aggression, downcast alternative melodies, and metal heft — all of which supporting the familiar boom-crooned pensiveness of vocalist Keith Caputo. Since emerging out of Brooklyn at the tail end of the Eighties, their soul-searching sound has connected with countless heavy music fans, including the many fans who voted for them here. Sick of It All You want the truth? Sick of It All are one of New York’s most cherished heavy institutions, and the votes this week only serve to confirm this. Formed by brothers Lou and Pete Koller, the band were integral in defining the chunk-forward metallic groove of NYHC, though gang-sung classics like “Step Down” also suggested that SOIA had a knack for anthemic songcraft. Scratch beyond the surface and you’ll find street-smart toughness, mosh-bounced killers, and heavy hooks that are built to last. Helmet Though Helmet leader Page Hamilton was born in Oregon, his iconic alt-metal band cut their teeth in the NYC scene with drop-tuned, game-changing guitar brutalism. Hamilton had studied jazz guitar at the Manhattan School of Music, which informed how he incorporated gorgeously sophisticated chord phrasings and cerebral shred into his band’s otherwise concrete-crushing rhythmic slam. Records like Meantime and Betty still resonate with their heavy, yet harmonically-rich aesthetic. Hardly “unsung,” Helmet remain favorites among our readers Anthrax Formed in the belly of a borough, Anthrax strike a unique note as the Big Apple contingent of thrash’s otherwise California-based Big 4. The Queens-made kings of East Coast thrash have maintained a hell of a presence since forming in the early Eighties, delivering metal-codifying anthems across an incredible career. Throughout, Anthrax have crafted a songbook that balances aggressively rhythmic, pit-inducing intensity (see “Caught in a Mosh,” most obviously) with moments of prankster levity, rap-metal crossover and undeniable shred. It’s all put them on a global stage for five decades running — Anthrax’s “madhouse” extends well beyond the borders of NYC. Type O Negative Let’s just say our readers have a Type. By leaps and bounds, the Drab Four came out on top this week — Black No. 1 with a bullet, if you will. That glory all comes down to the way the Brooklynites managed to transcend their crossover heritage — as Carnivore — and blossom into a rosewater-and-rust-scented goth-metal juggernaut. The romance. The brooding. The legendarily horny and hypnotizing baritone of one Peter Steele. They may have hated everyone, but metal fans from NYC and beyond will always blow bloody kisses Type O’s way. Indeed, they still love them to death.