FIREWIND, ARSIS, WHITE WIZZARD, NIGHTRAGE: North American Tour Dates Announced

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND who feature in their ranks OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. (real name: Kostas Karamitroudis) have announced their first-ever North American headlining tour, dubbed the "Frets of Fury". The trek kicks off on October 9 and features support from ARSIS, WHITE WIZZARD and NIGHTRAGE.

The dates are as follows:

Oct. 09 - St Petersburg, FL - The State Theater
Oct. 10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Oct. 11 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
Oct. 12 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
Oct. 13 - Manchester, NH - Rocko's
Oct. 14 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
Oct. 15 - Ottawa, ON - Maverick's
Oct. 16 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Oct. 18 - Joliet, IL - Mojoe's
Oct. 19 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
Oct. 20 - Winnipeg, MB - The Osborne Village Inn
Oct. 21 - Edmonton, AB - Pawn Shop
Oct. 22 - Kelowna, BC - Sapphire Nightclub
Oct. 23 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
Oct. 24 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
Oct. 25 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
Oct. 26 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
Oct. 27 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go

FIREWIND has also decided to ensure that their loyal fans are getting the first opportunity to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public. This is a first-come-first-served online ticket ordering system. The maximum order is four tickets. There are three ticketing/VIP package options that includes meet-and-greets with the band with exclusive 3D posters and laminates, as well as a Platinum Package featuring a private 20-minute guitar lesson with Gus G. Head over now to this location to register and get your tickets and VIP access before they are sold out. General-admission tickets go on sale everywhere on June 16.

Commented Gus: "We couldn't be happier to announce our first full North American tour!

"It's been over three years since FIREWIND toured from coast to coast across the U.S. and we're coming back stronger than ever with a killer package.

"We put a lot of thought into who we wanted to go out with us and truly believe that each band on this bill brings something special to the table making this a very diverse lineup. However, shredding guitar driven metal remains the prominent feature across the board. In fact, there's more to it than just that, as this package is somewhat of a musical family tree.

"Not many people know this but ARSIS' guitarist James Malone and I went to Berklee together back in 1998. We had an instrumental band together for awhile, which later became FIREWIND.

"James is a kick-ass shredder and I'm glad our bands are finally touring together.

"Also, most people don't know that I played in NIGHTRAGE for few years. I did two albums with them and their main-man Marios Iliopoulos is a phenomenal guitar player. He also filled in on bass for FIREWIND this year, when Petros was unable to tour.

"NIGHTRAGE is one of my favorite bands and you definitely got to come down early to check them out.

"WHITE WIZZARD are currently making noise worldwide and they're definitely a band to watch out for as well.

"We're proud to have these great bands on board with us, making this such a high-quality package for all metal fans."

FIREWIND's latest album, "Days Of Defiance", sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 53 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Days Of Defiance" was released in North America on October 26, 2010 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. The CD's striking cover artwork was designed by the band's longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes.