Alice in Chains/Deftones/Mastodon

The art of the package tour has been lost in recent years, mainly because so many labels are paying big acts to take out baby bands in the hope that record sales will follow. Thankfully, Alice In Chains didn't fall for that money-grubbing scheme. Instead, it's assembled a tour with Deftones and Mastodon, united under the Blackdiamondskye banner. (The "Black" is from AIC's Black Gives Way to Blue, "Diamond" comes from Deftones' Diamond Eyes, and "Skye" refers to Mastodon's Crack the Skye.) Since AIC is a year deep into promoting its new album, most of the complaining about new lead singer William DuVall has died down, but if there were ever a time he could truly assume Layne Staley's legacy, it's with a bill this stacked. He's gonna need his A-game, too: Nü-metal survivor Deftones is absolutely at the top of its live game right now, even if bassist Chi Cheng remains hospitalized from a 2008 car accident.