Longstanding Tampa, Florida power-metallers Iced Earth are going to be hitting the road this fall for a North American tour with Canadian progressive-metallers Into Eternity and Oakland's Saviours. The trek will kick off on September 21 in Detroit, Michigan and wind down over a month later on 10/24 in Los Angeles, California. Along the way, Iced Earth will make a headlining performance at ProgPower USA IX in Atlanta, Georgia.

Opeth are at once consistent and unpredictable. Their sound generally changes quite a bit from album to album, and even from song to song, but is unflaggingly interesting. Watershed is an Opeth album from beginning to end. It takes listeners on a twisted journey from one sonic extreme to another, often leaving one thinking, "How did I get here from there!?" At once crushingly heavy and powerfully melodic, it is a testament to the use of contrast in music.

UNIVERSAL CITY, California - Death metal is devoid of sensitivity. Or, at least, it was. Don't believe it? Look no further than Opeth's forthcoming album, Watershed, which is - brace yourself - a death-metal album all about love and relationships.

The effort - which is the Swedish band's ninth and drops June 3 - is a towering moment of personal catharsis for frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, he revealed to Metal Monarchy before playing as part of the Progressive Nation tour on Friday.