IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson will relaunch his late-night BBC 6 Music Saturday rock show on September 9 with maximum rock on the display and American metal titans SLAYER as his first guests.

The network rock show will offer three hours of the best contemporary hard rock, alternative and metal between 9:00 p.m. and midnight every Saturday, produced by the Manchester- and Cambridge-based independent production company Smooth Operations.

SLAYER is the first of a series of high-profile guests from the world of rock and metal planned for the re-launched show.

Producer Ian Callaghan, who worked with Bruce on his BBC Radio 2 series "Masters of Rock", said: "We're building this show around Bruce's unique position as an articulate presenter with a real knowledge of and passion for rock music, particularly new music. Listeners will also have the chance to hear more about what Bruce has done, and is doing, as the frontman of one of rock's greatest names. There'll also be much more interactivity with our new show, so we'll be listening and responding to what the audience tell us they want to hear. We'll be launching a lot of exciting new ideas over the coming weeks."

Joining Bruce on the second show (September 16) will be Florida ska-punk legends LESS THAN JAKE, fresh from a critically acclaimed new album ("In With The Out Crowd"), a triumphant appearance at Reading/Leeds and their tour with BON JOVI.

Bruce Dickinson's radio show can be heard live on BBC 6 Music on digital radio and also online at www.bbc.co.uk/6music.