When Motley Crue [ tickets ] wraps up its career, it's going to go out swinging--lyrically and musically--according to guitarist Mick Mars. That message was so important that the band held up the release of its new album, "Saints of Los Angeles," so they could include the song "Goin' Out Swinging" on the new set.

"We wanted a song on this album, an ending song," Mars said about the album during a recent press conference to announce the album's release date--it hit stores today (6/23)--and details of the group's subsequent festival tour. "I didn't write the lyrics, but from what I hear about them, no matter what we're doing, if the band goes on or if the band is over when I'm 89, we're going to go out swinging anyway.

"It's a song that's embedded in your mind--a kick in the old gonads, I guess."

"Saints of Los Angeles" marks the veteran group's first new studio album since 2000's "New Tattoo," and the first to feature the original lineup--Mars, singer Vince Neil, drummer Tommy Lee and bassist Nikki Sixx--since 1997's "Generation Swine." However, the band members did not record the set together.

"Nikki and I were together a lot," Mars said. "Tommy has prior commitments and Vince did too, so it was like we would write stuff and put it down on ProTools, of course, and cut it up and do stuff. We purposely wrote all the songs thinking about the people in the band. Like, what would fit the band the best.

"We would record and either send a hard drive, or have them come out and sing, or play drums. We did it in pieces. The songs were there but we played to drum loops and then Tommy would come in and replace all the drums. Either James [Michael, producer] or Marty [Frederiksen, songwriter] would sing the vocal to see how it would sound. Then Vince would come in and do his thing with it. It was a little different than what we're used to. That's how we had to do it because of prior commitments."

This summer, the reunited band will headline Crue Fest, also featuring Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx's side project Sixx:A.M. and Trapt. The tour begins July 1 in West Palm Beach, FL, and hits more than 40 cities in July and August. See below for details. Many of the band set for Crue Fest appear on "Saints of Los Angeles." The album's first single, the title track, features backup vocals from Buckcherry's Josh Todd, Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix, Sixx:A.M.'s James Michael and Trapt's Chris Brown.

Mars explained that he and his Crue bandmates went through several acts before deciding on what he called a "stellar" lineup.

"There were a lot of bands that we wanted to play with," he said. "A lot of them were busy. All the bands that we chose are great. It's pretty diverse. Sixx:A.M. is Nikki's other band, and they're more poppy than what Motley is; Papa Roach is more rockin' and Buckcherry, of course, are very good. Trapt is the band I'm mostly looking forward to because I haven't heard much of them. I heard bits and pieces. I really want to see them in action. I think it's definitely an interesting bill and it's going to be very good."