Motley Crue singer Vince Neil [ tickets ] says that his band's upcoming Maximum Rock tour with Megadeth [ tickets ] and Anthrax [ tickets ] will be a celebration of straight-ahead rock. "When you see the names Motley Crue, Megadeth and Anthrax, you don't think rap. You don't think grunge. You think rock 'n' roll. I think it's a great combination of bands--if I was a rock fan I'd want to see it."

The 48-date tour, which will hit the outdoor amphitheatre circuit, kicks off on June 24 and will cover the continental United States. It also features stops in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, before a closing Sept. 2 date in Pittsburgh, Penn.

The Crue will play a mixture of hits such as ''Kickstart My Heart'' and ''Dr. Feelgood,'' as well as tunes from their new LP, ''New Tattoo.'' Set for release on June 20th, ''New Tattoo'' is Motley Crue's first full-length album since the much-ballyhooed departure of longtime drummer Tommy Lee.

Neil says he's counting the days until he and his bandmates, including new tubthumper Randy Castillo, can get out and play live again.

''I'm just excited to get this record out. We haven't had anything new in, like, three years now. I'm excited to play the new songs live, along with older Motley song. I love touring. It's my favorite part about being in a band.''

That's probably a good thing because, after the U.S. dates the Crue is formulating tour plans for Europe, South America, Australia and Japan for the coming year.

For this summer's outing, Neil said Motley Crue will trot out its usual elaborate stage set up, with the theme being the streets of Hollywood, something Motley Crue knows a fair amount about from its days of prowling the strip during glam-metal's heyday.

''The stage set right now is based on the streets of Hollywood, [but it] is in the Twilight Zone and warped out. There's a strip club, a tattoo parlor and you have a rock club called Dirty Dick's rock room. And we'll have a lot of cool drum effects and a huge lighting rig.''

Neil said he's had no contact with Lee since he left the Crue, and that Castillo is becoming increasingly integrated into the band with the recording of the new album, the band's first without Lee sitting behind the skins.

''Randy's great. He's an unbelievable drummer. It was a little bit of a rough transition for him jumping right into the project, going out on tour with us last summer. He had to try and play like Tommy. Now that we've all written songs together, he can put in his own style of drumming.''

With sixteen songs recorded by former Guns N' Roses producer Mike Clink, Neil said the band will trim that number down before releasing the album. He said that the new material will be the kind of lighter-flicking, fist-pumping stuff that made Motley their millions.

''It sounds like a cross between 'Shout at the Devil' and 'Dr. Feelgood.' It's basic rock 'n' roll with big hooky choruses and guitar riffs. Something you can sing along to.''