Gelap Pekat

The deluxe editions of SHINEDOWN's first two albums — "Leave a Whisper" (2003) and "Us and Them" (2005) — are now available on iTunes.

Commented the band: "We noticed people talking passionately about favorite songs that either had never been released or were released in limited ways. We thought it would be cool to make these songs available in their various stages of development. We want to give the hardcore fans something more to sink their teeth into since it's been a year since the release of [the latest SHINEDOWN album] 'The Sound of Madness'."

STAIND singer Aaron Lewis may be pushing his own political agenda on the Stimulate This tour, which started on July 1 in Peoria, Illinois, but frontman Brent Smith from SHINEDOWN said in a conference call why he signed up for the trek. "All of the bands that are on this tour, I'm a huge fan of them," he said. "I've been a big fan of Aaron's for a long, long time, and all the guys in STAIND. I'm a huge CHEVELLE fan, and, you know, I've been touring with HALESTORM and Lizzy (Hale, vocalist) for, you know, quite a number of years. I mean, for my band, we're just honored to be on the bill."

The bill also features CHEVELLE and HALESTORM in addition to STAIND and SHINEDOWN.

Tickets for the 30-date trek top out at around $40 before fees, with lawn seats priced around $10. Tour organizers have arranged for various promotions at the individual venues, including food discounts both at the venues and at participating restaurants, as well as special deals with area retailers.