Dropkick Murphys [ tickets ], who earlier this week issued a new album, have added a new round of shows to their in-progress tour in support of the set.

After wrapping up its current leg of tour dates with a sold-out, Sept. 30 show in its native Boston, the group will catch its breath in October, then head to the West Coast to tackle more than a dozen new dates that are scattered throughout the West and Midwest. The itinerary, which is shown below, also includes visits to several Canadian provinces.

On Tuesday (9/18), Dropkick Murphys offered up their sixth studio album, "The Meanest of Times," a self-produced set that is the inaugural release on the band's new Born & Bred Records label. The set features the leadoff single "The State of Massachusetts," and includes guest appearances from Spider Stacey of The Pogues and Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners.

Dropkick Murphys have been enjoying a boost in their visibility thanks to their song "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," which is featured prominently in Martin Scorsese's Boston-based gangster flick "The Departed," and is also the theme song for the Discovery Channel series "Lobster Wars," a reality show that focuses on lobster fisherman who work off the New England coastline.

"The State of Massachusetts" is currently streaming at Dropkick Murphys' website and MySpace page. The group's site also features a link to a Tuesday (9/18) ABC News report that featured the band.

"The Meanest of Times" follows the band's 2005 Hellcat release, "The Warrior's Code," which has shipped more than 200,000 copies, according to a press release.

The Dropkick Murphys formed more than a decade ago in the Irish Catholic working class neighborhoods of South Boston. The seven-member band has gone from playing in a barber-shop basement to selling more than 1.5 million albums in the US.

This month, Cinemax and HBO are running a feature on Dropkick Murphys to coincide with the television premiere of "The Departed.