Des Moines, Iowa-based metal giants SLIPKNOT have offered the first glimpse (sort of) at the new series of masks which the band will don on the upcoming Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival, set to kick off July 9 at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle.

Check out the new "shadowy" photo below. When asked if the oversized, Easter Island–looking masks were in fact an April Fools' Day joke, an unnamed executive at the band's record label, Roadrunner Records, assured BLABBERMOUTH.NET that it is "100% real."

Here is the complete list of dates for this year's Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival:

Jul. 09. 2008. - Seattle, Wa White River Amphitheatre
Jul. 11. 2008. - Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Jul. 12. 2008. - San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre at Montain View
Jul. 13. 2008. - San Bernandino, CA Glen Helen Pavilion
Jul. 15. 2008. - Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Jul. 16. 2008. - San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Jul. 18. 2008. - Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
Jul. 19. 2008. - Alburquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
Jul. 20. 2008. - Denver, CO Coors Amphitheatre at Fiddler's Green
Jul. 22. 2008. - Kansas City, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jul. 23. 2008. - St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
Jul. 25. 2008. - Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
Jul. 26. 2008. - San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul. 27. 2008. - Houstion, TX Sam Houston Race Park
Jul. 29. 2008. - Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheater
Jul. 20. 2008. - West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheater
Aug. 01. 2008. - Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
Aug. 02. 2008. - Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Aug. 03. 2008. - Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Aug. 05. 2008. - Boston, MA Tweeter Center for Performing Arts
Aug. 06. 2008. - Scranton, PA, Toyota Pavilion
Aug. 08. 2008. - Toronto, ON Downsview Park
Aug. 09. 2008. - Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 10. 2008. - Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
Aug. 12. 2008. - Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheater
Aug. 13. 2008. - Indianapolis, IN Verzion Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
Aug. 15. 2008. - Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug. 16. 2008. - Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center
Aug. 17. 2008. - Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
Aug. 19. 2008. - Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

METALLICA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SERJ TANKIAN and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE have been confirmed for this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals, which will happen, as usual, in England over the August Bank holiday weekend — from Friday, August 22 to Sunday, August 24. Three-day weekend tickets, including camping and parking, are priced at £155 each plus booking fee. Day tickets, which do not allow camping, are £65.

All tickets are on sale now and are expected to go quickly. Call See Tickets on 0871 2310821 or go online at www.festivalrepublic.com, www.readingfestival.com, www.seetickets.com. More acts performing across the six stages will be announced in the coming weeks.

Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival has announced that hard-hitting metalcore band UNDEROATH will headline the Hot Topic Stage at this summer’s highly anticipated tour, set to kick off July 9 at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle. The much-buzzed-about tour will hit 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada between early July and late August. A full itinerary will be announced on April 1 with the festival's pre-sale commencing on April 4 and the national on sale to commence on April 19.

UNDEROATH joins an all-star lineup that includes main stage closer SLIPKNOT, DISTURBED, DRAGONFORCE and MASTODON and a plethora of hard music’s most influential artists and exciting young voices. The tour will have two second stages: UNDEROATH will headline the Hot Topic Stage and MACHINE HEAD will headline the Jagermeister stage. The second stages will also feature BLACK TIDE, SUICIDE SILENCE, AIRBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, 36 CRAZYFISTS, THE RED CHORD, WALLS OF JERICHO and the Jagermeister Battle of The Bands Winner.

In other news, SLIPKNOT is holed up in a Des Moines studio laying tracks down for their forthcoming album. Says the band: "No phones, no interference...just rock."

SlipKnoT guitarist, James Root, has uploaded some new studio photos onto his Myspace page! Check them out here:

A brand new WALLS OF JERICHO track, entitled "Addicted", has been posted online at this location. The song comes off the Detroit band's forthcoming EP, "Redemption", which will be released on April 29 via Trustkill Records. Produced by Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) at his Iowa home studio, the CD features "acoustic instruments, fleshed out arrangements, and Taylor's voice on several songs," including the aforementioned "Addicted".

"Redemption" track listing:

01. Ember Drive (feat. Corey Taylor)
02. My Last Stand (feat. Corey Taylor)
03. No Saving Me
04. House Of The Rising Sun
05. Addicted (feat. Corey Taylor)

David Priest and Christine Herb of OnTrackMagazine.com conducted interviews with NEVERMORE's Jeff Loomis, KING's X's Doug Pinnick, WHITE LION's Troy Pattrick Farrell, SLIPKNOT's Mick Thomson, OPIATE FOR THE MASSES' Ron Underwood and LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler during this year's NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants), which took place January 17-20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Watch the 29-minute report below.

Headbanger's Blog has posted video footage of 3 INCHES OF BLOOD guitarist Shane Clark and SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison (who produced 3 INCHES OF BLOOD's last album) talking about the making of 3IOB's video for the song "Trial of Champions". Watch the clip below.