Rockstar Energy Drinks has announced that, for the fourth year in a row, it will present the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, a touring metal festival that will make its way around the country this summer.

A post on the festival’s Facebook wall announced the headliners for the show’s main stage at each event will be Slipknot and Slayer. Additionally, the announcement lists “Special main stage guests to be announced March 5^th.” Ultimate-Guitar.com reports that the special guest is rumored to be metal legends Motorhead.

Additional performances on the main stage each day will come from As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada and Asking Alexandria, who will rotate sets to fill the fourth spot. The second stage of the festival has been upgraded this year, according to the post, and is now known as the Jagermeister Stage, and will be headlined by Anthrax. Support for Anthrax will also come from a rotation of As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada and Asking Alexandria, as well as from Whitechapel and High on Fire. The post notes that “bands may vary per market.”

This year’s tour will begin June 30 in San Bernardino, Calif. and will continue through August 5 in Hartford, Conn. In between, the tour will hit 24 cities, including Mountain View, Calif.; Boise, Idaho; Phoenix, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Dallas; Tampa; Atlanta; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Cincinnati; Camden, N.J. and Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The Rockstay Energy Mayhem Festival was created in 2008 by Kevin Lyman, who also created the Vans Warped Tour. In addition to the two stages, the festival typically features autograph booths, as well as video game booths and other vendors. The initial release offered no details on exactly what kind of vendors can be expected at the 2012 version of the tour.

A temporary member has been recruited by Slipknot to play bass for their upcoming live shows.

One of the founding members, Donnie Steele, who left the band in 1996, will be playing the summer tour. He is being brought in in order to fill the void left after Paul Gray died last May.

In a statement, the masked metallers stated: Donnie was with us from the very beginning. Instead of getting someone from the outside, we thought a fitting tribute for Paul would be playing with someone inside the family.

Donnie and Paul were great friends. There isn’t a better way of celebrating his memory than bringing back someone who was with us from the very beginning. All eight of us really are looking forward at being onstage again to honor Paul’s legacy.

More information can be found at Slipknot1.com.

Slipknot has one 2011 date scheduled for the UK. They will be headlining at Sonisphere Festival in July at Knebworth Park. The first show of the band’s with Steele will take place on June 17 in Athens.

Slipknot turns 10 this year and to celebrate they are extending their expansive 2009 tour into the fall. The masked metal marauders will be on tour for three weeks beginning with Seattle, Washington on October 10. The fun will wrap on Halloween as they play the Pearl in Las Vegas.

Released in August, Slipknot’s most recent album “All Hope is Gone” was its first since the release of 2004’s “Vol 3: (The Subliminal Verses)”. On September 8, the band celebrated its 10-year anniversary by releasing a two-disc set highlighting Slipknot’s eponymous debut, 10 additional tracks as well as a live concert and documentary.

Frontman Corey Taylor will be going to work on a solo album at the conclusion of the Slipknot tour. He told Billboard that there were a lot of songs that he wanted to record that don’t match the vibe of either Slipknot or his side band Stone Sour. He described the material as “kind of a cross between the Foo Fighters and Social D, with some Johnny Cash mixed in.” He even implied that country would be part of the mix, drawing from his Iowa roots.

2009 Slipknot Tour Dates
October 2009
10 – Seattle, WA – White River Amphitheater
11 – Kennewick, WA – Toyota Center
13 – Portland, OR – Memorial Coliseum
15 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Pacific Coliseum
16 – Victoria, British Columbia – Save On Foods Centre
18 – Edmonton, Alberta – Shaw Conference Centre
20 – Calgary, Alberta – Calgary Corral
21 – Spokane, WA – Star Theatre at Spokane Arena
23 – San Jose, CA – Event Center at San Jose
24 – San Bernardino, CA – San Miguel Amphitheatre
29 – Los Angeles, CA – The Palladium
31 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl