Lately, there has been a larger-than-usual influx of metal acts, past and present, announcing gigs, tours and even festivals during the next couple of months. You can almost smell the leather and denim, so to guide you to the very best in loudness, we've compiled some of the key festivals and gigs coming up.

All prices are exclusive of booking fees. For ticket availability, click on the images, below.

Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2011

Synonymous with the metal-genre is the magazine Kerrang! and it was inevitable that their brand would grace the live stage sooner or later. This 2011 tour takes place from 6th to 18th February and features US-rockers Good Charlotte, fresh from just streaming their new album online for zilch, with Four Year Strong and Framing Hanley offering very able support. Tickets are still available for most of the nights, starting from £16 - the Roundhouse on the final night has sold out, bar a few resales.

Hammerfest 2011 is another music-gathering set to make full use of a Pontin's holiday-camp, this time on the idyllic Denbigh coastline at Prestatyn. You can book a bed or an entire chalet for the two-day fest on 18th-19th March, prices range from £282 - £982 (that last one is for a VIP 7-person package). So far, Accept, Biohazard, My Ruin, Onslaught and an exclusive UK appearance from Satyricon, plus loads more, have been added to the Metal-Hammer sponsored bill. Don't forget that Hard Rock Hell IV also takes place here early next month, starring UFO and Skid Row amongst others.

Metal Hammer Razor Tour 2011 is the other full-on ear-splitter on offer from the Hammer crew, this time a proper UK tour which includes Berkshire thrashers, Sylosis alongside death-metallers Bleed From Within (previously played Download and GhostFest) and Sheffield's ironically-christened While She Sleeps. The jaunt starts in Southampton on 15th February and continues to London's Underworld on the 25th. Tickets are on sale now, mostly costing less than a tenner - That's about the cost of a pint per band (that's a London pint, by the way - still great value though).

Rockstar Taste Of Chaos 2010

Coming up next month, from the 7th to 13th December, is another energy-drink coated metal-tour and it's a beauty. Premier metal bands Disturbed and Papa Roach head up this six-date event taking place in Birmingham, London, Plymouth, Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham, with tickets starting to fly out. Prices are £25-£27.50, for which you also get Buckcherry and Halestorm on the bill. You're not going to get these four together for six or seven quid each again - so get clicking!

Bonecrusher Fest 2011

Back to next year now and the rather more intense thrash-fest known as Bonecrusher. It hasn't got a subtle name for sure, nor a subtle line-up - Dying Fetus and Keep Of Kalessin are not known for crooning about fluffy teddy-bears, nor are Carniflex, Annotations Of An Autopsy and Fleshgod Apocalypse. Add in the explosive Angelus Apatrida and you have six bands for, wait for it, £15 (plus fees) - six into fifteen? You go and work it out. The two nights take place on 8th March in Islington and 9th March in Birmingham.

Sylosis and While She Sleeps were mentioned earlier and here they are again in double-harmony on 21st December for the Leeds Ghostfest Xmas Bash. Since the aforementioned Razor Tour isn't coming to Leeds, you might fancy this. Tickets are £8 plus fees.

Children of Bodom

The incredibly loud Finns are back in the UK to meltdown your eardrums - from £19.50 -£22 you can witness what could be best be described as 'heavy theatrical madness' from Norwich to London. Their tour starts on 1st April and ends on the 9th. This tour will support the release of their next album entitled "Ugly" and due out early next year.

Devil Sold His Soul

Metalcore time with the hard-working London-based Devil Sold His Soul and a new tour set to run from 28th Jan (Bristol) right up to 19th Feb (Southampton). Their recent album "Blessed and Cursed", released in the summer, is sure to get an airing although 9 months down the line there could be new songs as well. Tickets are £7.50-£8.50.

My Ruin

This US metal act have been active for over a decade now and, aside from appearing at Hammerfest 2011 next year, the band are also heading out on tour in March with stops in Bristol, London etc until Nottingham on the 17th. With several albums under their belt, including this year's "Ghosts and Good Stories", you're sure to get a varied and dirty bag. Tickets are £11-£12.

Paradise Lost

It's been an aeon since Paradise Lost unleashed merry Hell from a stage, but April Fool's Day next year looks like a date to remember. The gothic-metal quintet will descend on the HMV Forum for a special evening of "Draconian Times", the legendary 1995 set that earmarked a shift in sound with tracks such as "Enchantment" and "Hallowed Land". Tickets to see them perform this in its entirety (and more) cost £22.50.

Saxon

For something a little more traditional we have a few other dates to have a think about. Landing their '747' in Glasgow should be a doddle for Saxon - they are set to play Glasgow's ABC1/2 on 14th April straight after playing Oz. This could signify a new tour around the same time, but for now this single Scottish night goes on sale this Friday at 9am.

Europe

Other names from the past include glam-rockers Tigertailz (London Scala on 16th December - £15), Wolfsbane (London Borderline on 9th April - £12.50), Saint Vitus (London Underworld on 7th December - £15) and Europe with their full UK tour in February (tickets are still available).

For even more heavy rock gigs and tours coming soon, simply click on the 'Metal' box, below!