Just when you thought your gig calendar was fullโฆ
BANG.
Another week of rock and metal tour announcements lands and suddenly youโre checking annual leave, hotel prices and whether selling a kidney is technically allowed under Ticketmasterโs terms and conditions.
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The latest batch of announcements has brought everything from southern rock legends and alternative favourites to sludge monsters, death metal carnage and stripped-back acoustic shows.
Basically, thereโs something here for every flavour of riff addict.
So grab the diary, message the gig group chat and prepare to hear the most financially dangerous sentence in rock music:
โFancy this one, butt?โ
Here are 10 new rock and metal tours announced this past week.
๐ธ .38 SPECIAL ADD EVEN MORE DATES
Southern rock veterans .38 Special are keeping that road engine roaring by adding another substantial collection of shows to their touring schedule.
For a band with decades behind them, they certainly donโt appear interested in putting their feet up.
And why would they?
With tracks including โHold On Loosely,โ โCaught Up in Youโ and โRockinโ Into the Night,โ .38 Special still possess exactly the sort of enormous hooks designed to sound bloody brilliant with thousands of people singing along.
This is old-school American rock at its finest.
Big guitars.
Big choruses.
Absolutely no interest in subtlety.
Just how we like it. ๐ค
๐ด 311 HIT THE ROAD WITH BEACH WEATHER + TUNNEL VISION
Alternative rock veterans 311 are squeezing another collection of dates into their already busy world, with Beach Weather and Tunnel Vision joining them.
311 remain one of those glorious bands who have never really bothered staying inside one musical box.
Rock?
Yep.
Reggae?
Absolutely.
Rap?
Chuck that in.
Funk?
Go on then.
For decades theyโve mixed the lot together and somehow emerged with a sound that is immediately recognisable.
Throw Beach Weather and Tunnel Vision into the equation and youโve got a properly varied night of alternative noise brewing.
Lovely stuff.
๐ BAYWAY BRING THE HARDCORE VIOLENCE
Right.
Time to remove the sensible shoes.
Bayway are heading back onto the road alongside Cold Steel, Two-Piece and Load Tha Nine, creating the sort of touring bill where the venue floor should probably check its insurance beforehand.
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This one is for the hardcore crew.
The people who hear a breakdown and immediately start calculating how much furniture they need to move out of the way.
Expect:
Massive riffs.
Violent breakdowns.
Bodies flying.
Some poor bloke standing at the back wondering why everyone suddenly started karate kicking invisible enemies.
Beautiful.
๐ฅ BORN OF OSIRIS ARE BRINGING A SERIOUSLY HEAVY PACKAGE
Now this is filthy.
Born of Osiris are heading out for a sizeable run with Miss May I, Downsizing and Convictions.
That support package alone should have metalcore fans reaching for the ticket page.
Born of Osiris have spent years blending crushing heaviness with progressive musicianship, electronics and the sort of breakdowns capable of rearranging your internal organs.
Then add Miss May I into the mix?
Yeah.
Your neck is already doomed.
This isnโt a gig.
Itโs physiotherapy preparation.
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๐ค JAY BUCHANAN STRIPS THINGS BACK
Not every tour announcement this week involves somebody trying to cave your chest in with a breakdown.
Rival Sons frontman Jay Buchanan is heading out for a run of solo acoustic performances.
And this could be something genuinely special.
Anyone whoโs seen Rival Sons live already knows Buchanan possesses one of the strongest voices in modern rock.
Take away the enormous guitars.
Take away the full-band thunder.
Leave the songs, the acoustic guitar and that ridiculous voice.
Suddenly youโve got a completely different kind of intensity.
Expect goosebumps rather than circle pits.
Possibly tears.
Almost certainly somebody whispering โbloody hellโ after a particularly massive vocal.
๐ธโค๏ธ
๐ CREEDMAS IS COMING
Yes.
You read that correctly.
CREEDMAS.
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Creed are continuing their remarkable resurgence with a short December run featuring Tim Montana.
And considering how huge Creedโs comeback has become, youโd probably be wise not to underestimate how quickly these shows could attract attention.
There was once a period when admitting you liked Creed apparently required filling out several forms and apologising to the cool kids.
Not anymore.
The nostalgia train has well and truly arrived.
And thousands of fans are very happily climbing aboard.
If an arena full of people doesnโt scream โWITH ARMS WIDE OPENโ during these shows, weโll eat a festive hat.
๐ฉธ EXHUMED ARE BRINGING DEATH METAL TO THE HOLIDAY SEASON
From Creedmasโฆ
โฆto death metal.
Because balance is important.
Exhumed are heading out with Jarhead Fertilizer, Savage Master and Molder, creating one of the nastier touring packages of the latest announcement pile.
Forget sleigh bells.
Weโre having blast beats.
Forget Christmas carols.
Weโre having riffs that sound like industrial machinery being thrown into a wood chipper.
If your festive playlist normally frightens the neighbours, this oneโs probably for you.
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๐ EYEHATEGOD ARE TAKING THE FILTH BACK ON THE ROAD
There are heavy bands.
There are dirty bands.
And then thereโs Eyehategod.
The New Orleans sludge legends are heading out alongside BLโAST!, Luicidal and Evil Army, meaning venues are about to become considerably grimier.
Eyehategod have spent decades perfecting music that sounds like blues riffs were dragged through a swamp, covered in broken glass and then plugged into an amplifier held together with duct tape.
Thatโs a compliment, by the way.
Their live shows have never been about polished perfection.
Theyโre about attitude.
Noise.
Feedback.
Sweat.
And riffs filthy enough to require industrial-strength cleaning products afterwards.
Absolutely lush. ๐๐ค
๐ฅ HE IS LEGEND ANNOUNCE ANOTHER ROAD RUN
He Is Legend are returning to the road with In Angles and Excide.
And if youโve followed He Is Legend for any length of time, youโll know predicting exactly what youโre going to get from them isnโt always straightforward.
Southern swagger.
Metal.
Alternative rock.
Hardcore.
Strange melodies.
Huge riffs.
And enough twists to keep things interesting.
Theyโre one of those bands that can attract people from several different corners of the heavy music world and throw them all into the same room.
Which usually means one thing.
Chaos.
๐ XASTHUR BRING THE DARKNESS
And finallyโฆ
Time to turn the lights off.
Xasthur are heading out with Temple of the Fuzz Witch, giving fans of darker, atmospheric music something suitably grim to look forward to.
This probably isnโt where youโre going for a cheerful singalong and an inflatable beach ball.
This is music for staring dramatically into the middle distance while contemplating your existence.
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Xasthur have long occupied one of the darker corners of underground music, mixing black-metal roots with haunting atmosphere and experimentation.
Pairing them with Temple of the Fuzz Witch should make for one seriously heavy evening.
Dark.
Slow.
Atmospheric.
Miserable.
Perfect.
๐๏ธ AND THATโS NOT ALLโฆ
Because apparently the rock world looked at ten new tours and decided that wasnโt enough.
There have also been several special live-event announcements floating around, including cruises, anniversary performances and end-of-year shows.
And weโre entering that dangerous part of the calendar where bands begin revealing plans for autumn, winter and the following year.
Which means your social feeds are about to become an endless parade of:
NEW TOUR ANNOUNCED.
TICKETS FRIDAY.
PRESALE TOMORROW.
VIP PACKAGE COSTS APPROXIMATELY THE GDP OF A SMALL COUNTRY.
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๐ธ THE GREAT GIG WALLET MASSACRE CONTINUES
We all do it.
Every January we make promises.
โIโm going to fewer gigs this year.โ
โIโm saving money.โ
โIโll only see the bands Iโve never seen before.โ
Then someone announces a tour.
Your mate sends you the poster.
You reply:
โGo on then.โ
And three days later youโve booked tickets, parking, a hotel and somehow agreed to travel 180 miles on a Tuesday.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the rock โnโ roll lifestyle.
๐ค๐
And this weekโs announcements contain a bit of everything.
Want classic rock?
Youโve got .38 Special.
Alternative?
311.
Metalcore carnage?
Born of Osiris.
Sludge?
Eyehategod.
Death metal?
Exhumed.
Something stripped back and emotional?
Jay Buchanan has you covered.
Whatever your poison, there are plenty more excuses coming to get out of the house, stand in a dark room and shout lyrics with several hundred complete strangers.
And thatโs precisely how it should be.
๐ค WHICH TOUR ARE YOU PICKING?
Right then, buttโฆ
If you could grab tickets for ONE of these tours, which one are you choosing?
Are you heading straight for the brutality?
Going old-school?
Or are you quietly eyeing up that Jay Buchanan acoustic show while pretending youโre not about to get emotional?
Let us know.
And tag the mate who always says:
โIโm skint.โ
โฆapproximately six minutes before buying another gig ticket.
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Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud.
THE RIFF REPORT ๐ค๐ด
