The Press Release:
This summer, Anthrax and Black Label Society will bring some of the finest thrash and heavy metal to 24 North American cities when they kick off a five-week tour on Tuesday, July 26 at Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ, wrapping in Philadelphia at the Fillmore on Sunday, August 28. Both bands will play headline sets. Hatebreed, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Perseverance album, will Special Guest. Black Label Society and Anthrax have shared festival stages and one-off shows numerous times, but this marks the very first time these two bands will tour together. Ticket pre-sale details are below.* The public ticket on-sale starts this Friday at 10:00 AM local time. Log onto https://www.anthrax.com/tour or http://blacklabelsociety.com for all ticket purchasing information.
Citi is the official card of the Anthrax and Black Label Society Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Monday, April 18, at 12:00 PM ET until Thursday, April 21 at 10:00 PM local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details, visit www.citientertainment.com
“Zakk has been a friend and an inspiration to me as a guitar player, songwriter, and beard grower since we met in 1988,” said Anthrax’s Scott Ian. “We’ve had the privilege to share festival stages with Zakk and BLS around the world, and it’s always been a head-banging mutual admiration society between the two bands. Now we get to share the stage every night on what is easily going to be the heaviest tour of 2022 – the ultimate pounding one-two combination of bands. Oh, and did I mention we’ve got fucking Hatebreed with us as our special guests? Holy crap, it’s going to be the night of 1000 crushing riffs. I can’t wait to see you all on the road.”
Anthrax, L-R: Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Jonathan Donais
Photo credit: Ignacio Galvez
The multi Gold and Platinum, six-time GRAMMY-nominated Anthrax spent a good portion of 2021 celebrating the band’s landmark 40th birthday. The card-carrying Big Four members’ anniversary was the subject of an 11-week series of video testimonials from artists like Chuck D., Dave Grohl, Dave Mustaine, Kerry King, Norman Reedus, Rob Zombie, Robert Trujillo, Slash, and others. Anthrax teamed up with Z-2 Comics for the “Among The Living” graphic novel that was inspired by their landmark 1987 album and released their high-end bourbon whiskey, “Anthrax XL.” But, due to COVID, the one thing Anthrax couldn’t do, was tour, tour, tour, so the band fully intends to extend the celebration with this North American trek. Fans can expect Anthrax – Joey Belladonna/vocals, Scott Ian/rhythm guitar, Frank Bello/bass, Charlie Benante/drums, and Jon Donais/guitar – to draw from all four decades – fan favorites and deep cuts – for their nightly setlist.
Said Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde, “ANTHRAX is one of The BESTEST LEGENDARY METAL/THRASH BANDS of ALL TIME – I have been buds with SCOTTY, CHARLIE, FRANKIE & JOEY for over 3O years & they are some of the BESTEST people you will meet. JON is The BESTEST new addition ANTHRAX could ask for – HATEBREED are The BESTEST HARDCORE/EXTREME METAL band & BESTEST friends w/ANTHRAX & BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. The ANTHRAX + BLACK LABEL SOCIETY & HATEBREED TOUR is going to be one of the BESTEST TOURS EVER!!”
Black Label Society, L-R: John DeServio, Jeff Fabb, Zakk Wylde, Dario Lorina
Photo credit: Justin Reich
Everything about Black Label Society begins with the riff from their debut studio album, Sonic Brew (1999), to their critically-acclaimed eleventh studio album, Doom Crew Inc. (2021). A dedicated disciple of Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Deep Purple, frontman Zakk Wylde looks to the massive guitar hooks in classics as guiding lights. Their latest album,Doom Crew Inc., finds larger-than-life guitarist Zakk trading solos and twin-guitar parts with guitarist Dario Lorina, backed by the rumble of longtime bassist John “J.D.” DeServio and powerhouse drummer Jeff Fabb. The GRAMMY-winning frontman has been featured on the cover of Guitar World more than a dozen times in recognition of his work on multi-platinum albums with the iconic Ozzy Osbourne and two decades with Black Label Society, and their chart- topping albums and singles. The stomping, heavy bluesy, recklessly unhinged hard-rock-metal quartet are part invading horde and part traveling carnival, summoning caffeine-fueled cacophony on records and the stage.
Hatebreed: L-R: Frank Novinec, Matt Byrne, Jamey Jasta, Frank Novine, Chris Beattie, Wayne Lozinak
Photo Credit: Jeremy Saffer
Hatebreed remain one of the most relevant and impactful acts in the hard rock and metal scenes. The Connecticut band is celebrating over 25 years of ruthless breakdowns, pit-stirring anthems, and poignant lyrics across eight albums and consistently sold-out shows. The band, which has gone from playing basements and backyards to being a featured worldwide attraction on countless festivals and high-profile tours from OzzFest to Warped Tour to Download, recently released Weight of the False Self, via Nuclear Blast. Weight of the False Self and Hatebreed were described by Forbes as “more relevant than ever in the metal and hardcore communities.” It was also praised as a “return to their hardcore roots” by Brooklyn Vegan. The album was deemed “one of their most aggressive to date” by Consequence and “pummeling” by Revolver, while Psychology Today called it “a blazing combination of extreme metal and hardcore punk.” Hatebreed, nearing a quarter of a billion catalog streams, continue to be one of the most vital bands in the hard rock scene.
“Listen up! It’s gonna be a hot summer!” added Jamey Jasta. “Anthrax, BLS & Hatebreed will be on your case, in your face & ready to kick you and your father back in place! See you in the pit.”
Dates for the tour are as follows:
July 26 – The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
July 28 – Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
July 29 – The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
July 30 – Heart Health Park, Sacramento, CA
August 1 – Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
August 2 – Midland Theater, Kansas City, MO
August 4 – Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana, Gary, IN
August 5 – Oshkosh Arena, Oshkosh, WI
August 6 – The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
August 8 – Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX**
August 9 – Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater, Austin, TX
August 11 – The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
August 12 – House of Blues, Orlando, FL
August 13 – The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
August 15 – The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
August 16 – Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
August 18 – The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
August 19 – Main Street Armory, Rochester, NY
August 20 – The Fillmore, Detroit, MI**
August 22 StageAE Outside, Pittsburgh, PA
August 23 History, Toronto, ON CANADA
August 24 – Amphitheatre Cogeco, Trois Riviere/Montreal, QC
August 26 – Coney Island Amphitheater, Brooklyn, NY
August 28 – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA**
** Hatebreed will not appear on these dates.
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PiercingMetal Thoughts: Now it’s without question that this is just the kind of tour that the Metal Legions need after all the precautions and cancellations and the like. Having seen Anthrax many times over the years I can safely admit that they remain one of the most exciting Thrash Metal acts going. BLS is always solid as a rock thanks to Zakk and the skills of his talented group and then there is Hatebreed who are the perfect guest band to start things off. I last caught them as one of the Megadeth support acts and all the fans who arrived early got a proper education in how they do things. So wrapping this one up I’ll poll the readership and ask what they think about this news. Are you psyched or will you be passing on this one? Chime in down below in the comments section and please keep on being safe out there. See you next time.
Official: http://www.anthrax.com
Official: http://www.blacklabelsociety.net
Official: http://www.hatebreed.com