Update: Tickets to the Aug. 28 Slipknot/Anthrax/Black Dahlia Murder show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 26, at the Qwest Arena box office and all Select-a-Seat outlets or phone 331-8497 or 426-1494. Buy online at idahotickets.com and qwestarenaidaho.com. Tickets are $35 general admission (on the floor or in the stands).

________

X-Fest, the Aug. 18 shindig at the Idaho Center Amphitheater sponsored by KQXR-FM, is a solid concert for metalheads. But it isn't exactly a mind-blowing lineup. Headliner Mudvayne will excite certain headbangers, but Black Label Society just played at the Knitting Factory last month. The rest of the bands? More club acts. (Although I admit a soft spot for Static-X.)

Now that Slipknot and Anthrax have been booked to play Qwest Arena in late August, X-Fest has a serious contender. Slipknot blew up first and gave Mudvayne many of its initial big breaks, so fans love arguing about which is better.

Slipknot has the superior reputation as a live act. And old-school opener Anthrax? If you don't like their classic thrash, they can always beat you senseless with their canes. Incidentally, the Black Dahlia Murder also is on that Slipknot/Anthrax bill.

I feel sorry for the hotel guests during Slipknot's show. The sound man definitely has his work cut out for him in Qwest.