Alt-metal rockers Shinedown [ tickets ] are getting ready to kick off an international tour that winds its way through the US in February and March.

The Florida-based band will roll out a three-week European trek next week and return to the states in time for the Feb. 23 launch of its month-long US outing, which starts in Lafayette, LA, and hits nearly 20 cities from the Midwest to the East Coast through late March. Stateside shows are detailed below and those overseas are posted at Shinedown's website.

Members of the group's fan club currently have access to presale tickets, and a limited number will score meet-and-greet passes. Details are available at Shinedown's website.

The band is continuing the push behind its third studio album, "The Sound of Madness," which debuted at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 last July, and remains on the chart after 28 weeks. The set, produced by Grammy winner Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock), has spawned mainstream-rock chart toppers "Devour" and "Second Chance," both of which are streaming at Shinedown's MySpace page.

"The Sound of Madness" follows 2003's platinum-selling "Leave a Whisper" and 2005's Gold-certified "Us and Them," which together yielded seven consecutive Top 5 rock and alternative radio hits, including "Fly From the Inside," "45," "Save Me" and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man." Shinedown's latest effort differs from its predecessors in that it captures a band that has grown and developed a clear vision of how to impact an audience, according to the rockers' bio.

"Lyrically, these songs are the most blunt that I've ever written," said frontman Brent Smith, who formed Shinedown with drummer Barry Kerch in 2001. "I feel that on this record, I wrote what a lot of people want to say, but they just don't know how to say it--not that I should tell anyone how to live their lives, but I've had these experiences and these thoughts that are in my head. And I can't believe I'm the only one who feels the way I do. So I just tried to express that in the most artistic and the most honest way I possibly could."

Shinedown, which recently welcomed touring guitarist Zach Myers as a permanent member, plans to stay on the road for quite sometime as it builds its international fanbase, according to the band's bio.