Avenged Sevenfold deeply regret that they must cancel their U.S. shows on the band's current fall tour in order for frontman M. Shadows to rest his voice.

Shadows first began to experience problems singing during the band's show on September 6th in Huntington, West Virginia. After being unable to perform the next night at a show in Baltimore, Shadows flew home to see his doctor, who diagnosed vocal fatigue. Fortunately there is nothing on Shadows' vocal chords that requires surgery, but he has been prescribed vocal rest so that he will be able to resume touring without interruption.

Though Avenged Sevenfold feel terrible that they have to disappoint fans who bought tickets for the first leg of the tour, the band are happy to report they will be able to return to the road in October. The tour will resume on October 15th in Osaka, Japan, and the band will back touring the U.S. with Buckcherry, Shinedown and Saving Abel starting on November 4th in Casper, Wyoming.

M. Shadows adds "I feel as if I'm letting so many people down, especially the fans we were supposed to see this month, but after a little rest it'll be back to the usual craziness everyone expects of A7X. All of us are so excited about going out with Buckcherry in November; our fans will love them as well as Shinedown and Saving Abel".

Metallica have announced that tickets for the band’s first proper tour of the United States and Canada in four years will go on sale on September 13th. The first leg of the tour begins on October 21st and will cross North America through fall and early winter before concluding on January 21st. Support bands are Down, The Sword, Lamb of God, and Machine Head.
Metallica’s upcoming North American tour dates are as follows:
With support from Down and The Sword :
October 21 - Glendale, AZ Jobing Arena
October 23 - Albuquerque, NM Tingley Coliseum
October 25 - Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
October 26 - Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
November 1 - Portland, OR Rose Quarter
November 3 - Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena
November 4 - Denver, CO Pepsi Center
November 6 - Omaha, NE Qwest Center
November 8 - Moline, IL iWireless Center
November 9 - Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
November 17 - St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
November 18 - Tulsa, OK BOK Center
November 20 - Houston, TX Toyota Center
November 22 - Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena
November 23 - New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

With support from Lamb of God and The Sword:
December 1 - Seattle, WA Key Arena
December 2 - Vancouver, BC GM Place
December 4 - Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
December 7 - Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
December 12 - Ontario, CA Citizens Bank Arena
December 13 - Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
December 15 - San Diego, CA Cox Arena
December 17 - Los Angeles, CA The Forum
December 20 - Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

With support from Machine Head and The Sword:
January 12 - Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
January 13 - Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
January 15 - Washington, DC Verizon Center
January 17 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
January 18 - Boston, MA TD Banknorth Center
January 26 - Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
January 29 - Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
January 31 - Newark, NJ Prudential Center

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R.E.M. has announced that Peter Buck’s signature Rickenbacker guitar was stolen from the stage immediately following the band’s performance on September 9th at Finnair Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.

The instrument is Buck’s iconic signature Rick, which has been the staple of the guitarist’s arsenal both live and in the studio since the band released its first EP Chronictown in 1982. The guitar means a great deal to Buck and to R.E.M.

It is R.E.M.’s sincere hope that whomever is responsible for the loss, or whomever has information leading to the guitar’s recovery will come forward. The band is offering a generous reward, no questions asked. Anyone with information is being asked to email tips to fanclub@remtour.com or call (001) 706-353-6689. For further details, please visit www.remhq.com.