Comparing some Metal bands to candy bars for a second, Mastodon are like Peanut Brittle - full of crunch, packed with nuts and prone to allergy from some purists. I like a bit of Brittle and I like a chunk of Mastodon. If you do as well, you'll already be champing at the bit for tickets to their latest tour, announced this week.

The progressive-metallers will play a swathe of UK gigs next year and you really ought to catch 'em in all their glory. A magnificent seven nights starts in Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall on February 16th and continues on to Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Camden. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 25th November at 10AM, priced at £20 (£21 for London) plus fee.

Vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders and his angry men have recorded some blistering stuff in 8 short years - their debut in 2001 was the intense EP 'Lifesblood', although their real breakthrough, musically and sales-wise, was 'Blood Mountain' with the blistering single, "The Wolf Is Loose". 2009 spewed forth the maniacal 'Crack The Skye', an expansive set of concrete-weight riffs and work-outs, so no doubt this opus will get a good old battering on their tour. These aren't just heavy tunes, they are Mastodon tunes.