Metal icons Metallica [ tickets ] are poised to make good on their promise of 70-plus North American shows this year.

The group, which launches the first leg of the North American run in Phoenix on March 2, continues to add dates to the tour's second leg, and has begun penciling in stops for a late-summer third leg.

The tour's second leg begins in Uniondale, NY, on April 20; the band has moved a subsequent April 21 stop in Roanoke, VA, to April 24. Tickets for the April 21 show will be valid on the new date; ticketholders who can't attend should seek a refund at the point of purchase, according to Metallica's website.

New additions to the tour's second leg include an April 23 stop in Charlotte, NC; and Oklahoma City, OK. The third leg currently comprises only two dates, but the shows--on Aug. 20 in Milwaukee, and Sept. 24 in Columbus, OH--hint at more than a month's-worth of shows yet to come.

Tickets for most of the currently confirmed dates are on sale now.

Metallica is backing its latest album, last June's "St. Anger." Earlier this month, the album's title track won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Opening for Metallica on the upcoming outing is Boston-based rock quartet Godsmack, which released its latest album, "Faceless," last April. Next month, the group will deliver "The Other Side," an acoustic set featuring new cuts and acoustic renditions of some of the group's previously released hits.

"We've always wanted to make a record like this," frontman Sully Erna said in a statement. "It gives us a chance to spread our wings a little bit and offer the fans something different. I think they'll be pleasantly surprised by it."

Erna produced the album, which is due out March 18, and "Faceless" producer David Bottrill mixed the set.