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Taste of Chaos Tour rocks '08

The Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour will return next year with hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold , Atreyu , Bullet For My Valentine, and Blessthefall on the main stage.

The fourth annual outing is scheduled to hit 43 cities in the US and Canada between late February and late April. US dates, which launch Feb. 29 in Denver, are listed below. Canadian shows will be announced next month.

Internet presales begin Jan. 5 at the tour's website and the national onsale is set to launch Jan. 12.

In addition to the mainstage acts, the 2008 festival will include the JRock Explosion, with Japanese rock bands MUCC and D'Espairspray. Tour co-producer Kevin Lyman said he thinks North American fans will appreciate the chance to see these groups.

"The energy of the bands and the fan involvement is amazing and is rarely captured at shows in America these days, and this is going to be an amazing opportunity for all in attendance," Lyman said in a statement.

Seattle group Idiot Pilot will also be on hand to play two sets every night in each venue's concourse, which will be the site of activities including video games, acoustic performances, autograph signings and interactive fan activities, according to a press release. The Ernie Ball company will provide musical instruments for fans to play and will pick opening acts through its Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands contest.

So-Cal hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold, the only band to headline the Warped Tour and Ozzfest, will close each show on the 2008 Taste of Chaos Tour. The group is supporting its self-produced, self-titled October release, which debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 and topped rock charts.

Metal-punk outfit Atreyu is backing its August release, "Lead Sails Paper Anchor," which is the band's highest-charting album of its career. The set entered The Billboard 200 at No. 8 on the strength of lead single "Becoming the Bull."

UK metal-core rockers Bullet For My Valentine are prepping for the Jan. 29 release of their sophomore album, "Scream Aim Fire," the title track from which is already making waves at hard-rock radio. The festival tour will be the band members' first North American dates since early this year, when they sold out their first headlining jaunt on this side of the Pond, according to their publicist.

Taste of Chaos tapped Arizona's Blessthefall based on its breakout success during the summer's Vans Warped Tour.

Over the past three years, the Rockstar Energy Drink-sponsored Taste of Chaos Tour has logged more than 200 dates in more than 20 countries, according to a press release.