Metallica announced this week that they will be putting together an impromptu tour this summer that should include appearances at the Download Festivals in Donnington Park, England and Dublin, Ireland. Originally planning to spend 2006 writing and recording new music, Metallica has decided to hit the European Festival circuit as part of their "Escape From The Studio 06." Appearances in Germany and Holland were also announced.

In addition to the five dates already confirmed, the band implies that more shows will be added. "We're making this up as we go along," they confess. "We wanna keep you as in the loop as possible, but this shit is literally happening as we are typing."

The mini-tour comes on the heels of Metallica's Sundance Film Festival performance at a private party celebrating the screening of the new Winona Ryder film, The Darwin Awards. The movie features an appearance by the band, having played "Sad But True" three times at a 2004 Salt Lake City performance so that the film crew could have enough footage.