Opeth Announces Fall 2021 Co-headline Tour With Mastodon

TOUR CONTACTS:
Opeth: Austin Griswold at Secret Service Publicity austin@secretservicepr.com 
Mastodon: Rick Gershon at Warner Records / Reprise Records rick.gershon@warnerrecords.com

Sweden’s iconic rock/metal titans OPETH will return to North America this fall for a tour with fellow masters of prog-metal MASTODON. Announced today, the bands will embark with special opening guests ZEAL & ARDOR on a two-week tour kicking off in Asheville, NC on November 16th and wrapping in Denver, CO on December 5th. 

Tickets go onsale Friday September 17 at 10am local time. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below, including a handful of festival dates. Visit www.opeth.com/tour-dates for ticket and tour information.  

Commenting on the impending tour, vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt states: 

”Well, we’re about to start up the ole machine again after our longest (involuntary) break ever. We’ve kept rather silent during all this time. We haven’t done much press or public appearances. No streaming shows and of course, no ”real” shows. We’ve kept to ourselves, biding our time. Coming back to North America will be a treat, even if there are conflicting emotions. We’ve become used to being out of sight. But playing live is such an integral part of being in this band. We need to get back out there to see if we still have it in us. Stepping out on a stage after all this time will surely be a nerve-wrecking experience, but we count on you to help us out. We’ll be traveling with familiar faces however. Together with our friends in Mastodon. But also with new acquaintances, Zeal & Ardor. Going on tour during these times means serious restrictions of course. It will be strange in so many ways. But once we’re up there we trust the power of music will take over and make us feel secure. We collectively look forward to this (with a slight touch of pure fear).

To wrap this up:  Won’t see you in the pub (unfortunately), but we sincerely hope to see you through the limelight. For us, this coming tour is already memorable. Odd!”

Following the release of their latest, critically acclaimed record “In Cauda Venenum,” OPETH’s touring was unfortunately cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two years later, the band will make their long awaited return to North American stages in support of the record and the upcoming release of “In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition),” which features a remastered version of the album transferred to magnetic tape and cut directly to vinyl with three unreleased bonus tracks. 
 

“In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)” is available as a separate 2LP (180g) version in Swedish and English that includes a 16-page booklet illustrated by internationally renowned Travis Smith. In addition, you can get a limited premium boxset featuring both versions, a 60x60cm poster, as well as an exclusive EP with three previously unreleased Opeth songs in two languages: “Pöbeln” / “The Mob”, “Cirkelns Riktning” / “Width of a Circle” as well as “Frihet & Tyranni” / “Freedom & Tyranny.”
 

OPETH’s “In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)” will be available on November 19th in these formats:
2LP (black, 180g) – Swedish version in gatefold with 16p booklet
2LP (black, 180g) – English version in gatefold with 16p booklet
Boxset (black or clear vinyl) incl. both versions, poster and exclusive 6-track EP in sleeve

Åkerfeldt adds:

“During the pandemic we’ve put together a vinyl remaster ”connoisseur” edition of our latest album, ‘In Cauda Venenum’ that features 3 (6 really, if you count both versions of each song) previously unreleased tracks from the sessions. These tracks have a high obscurity factor, but I’d like to think they are high quality. Quite different from the rest of the songs on the album, but quality nonetheless. Everything put together in a nice package, for your pleasure.”

OPETH Co-headline w/ MASTODON:
Nov 16 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena       
Nov 18 – Boston, MA – The Wang Theatre
Nov 19 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
Nov 20 – New York City – Hammerstein Ballroom
Nov 21 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Nov 23 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Nov 24 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
Nov 26 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Nov 27 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
Nov 28 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Nov 30 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre
Dec 01 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
Dec 02 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
Dec 04 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union
Dec 05 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom

About Opeth:
Sweden’s pioneers of death and progressive metal, OPETH, formed in 1989 and have been widely recognized as one of the genre’s most innovative and influential bands over the course of 13 landmark albums. Rolling Stone says, “Opeth have been one of the bands who have defined the sound of modern metal. From their 1995 debut, Orchid, a striking amalgam of [Mikael] Åkerfeldt’s growled vocals and lush, progressive song structures, through 2001 extreme-prog masterpiece Blackwater Park – which landed at number 55 on Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Metal Albums list and at 28 on our 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums tally – Opeth have demonstrated a willingness to color outside arbitrary subgenre lines.” The band’s latest record, 2019’s In Cauda Venenum, continued their lauded evolution, delving further into the far reaches of the progosphere and was highly praised on End of Year Lists by the likes of Decibel, Loudwire, Consequence and Rolling Stone. Released in both Swedish and English languages, the record features a number of standout tracks like “Hjärtat Vet Vad Handen Gör” / “Heart In Hand” and “Svekets Prins” / “Dignity” among others.

About Mastodon:
GRAMMY® Award-winning band MASTODON continue to chart their own course through their highly successful music career. Founded in Atlanta, GA during 2000 by Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brent Hinds (guitar/vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitar) and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals), the group have unleashed a series of influential albums. Rolling Stone notably cited 2004’s Leviathan on its coveted The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. Meanwhile, Crack The Skye closed out 2009 on year-end lists by everyone from TIME to SPIN. They delivered three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with The Hunter [2011], Once More ‘Round the Sun [2014], and Emperor of Sand [2017]. “Sultan’s Curse” notably garnered their first GRAMMY® Award in the category of Best Metal Performance. Mastodon have been nominated for GRAMMY’S® five times to date. The group commemorated their late manager Nick John with their 2019 take on “Stairway To Heaven,” affectionately entitled “Stairway To Nick John.” Initially released for Record Store Day, all proceeds benefit the Hirschberg Foundation For Pancreatic Cancer Research. Their evolution continues later this year, with their ninth full-length offering for Reprise Records produced by David Bottrill [Tool, Rush], HUSHED AND GRIM.

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Contacts:
 
Opeth: Austin Griswold at Secret Service Publicity austin@secretservicepr.com 
Mastodon: Rick Gershon at Warner Records / Reprise Records
rick.gershon@warnerrecords.com

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