Hydra Head records will flex its A&R muscles this fall with a three-week package tour that brings along no fewer than three, and in some cases four, bands off the label’s mostly thumbs-up roster. Dubbed Champions of Sound 2008, the tour features instru-metal behemoth Pelican, avant-metal mainstays Kayo Dot and former Cave-In lead-bro Steve Brodsky (performing as Stove Bredsky) on all dates. Cave-In bassist Caleb Scofield’s other project Zozobra joins the tour for four dates in the Northeast. This traveling circus o’ sound works its way through the Midwestern and Eastern regions of this great metal nation before vanishing in a puff of incense and dude sweat.

10.28 Hayloft: Mt. Clemens, MI
10.29 Ravari Room: Columbus, OH
10.30 Tralf Music Hall: Buffalo, NY
11.1 Harper’s Ferry: Allston, MA w/ Zozobra
11.2 Bowery Ballroom: New York, NY w/ Zozobra
11.3 Daniel Street: Milford, CT w/ Zozobra
11.4 North Star Bar: Philadelphia, PA w/ Zozobra
11.5 Black Cat: Washington, DC
11.7 Outback Lodge: Charlotteville, VA
11.8 The Brewery: Raleigh, NC
11.9 The Drunken Unicorn: Atlanta, GA
11.10 Jack Rabbits: Jacksonville, FL
11.11 The Common Grounds: Gainesville, FL
11.13 Orpheum: Tampa, FL
11.14 The Social: Orlando, FL
11.16 Hi Tone Café: Memphis, TN
11.18 Uncle Pleasant’s: Louisville, KY
11.19 Subterranean: Chicago, IL