St. Patrick’s Day one loaded with revelry, band lineup dramas and tour announcements and since I had to focus my time on the lineup dramatic stuff I waited until today to get the posting about the tour announcements to you. For those who might have missed what I am talking about, it seems as though Angela Gossow has stepped down from Arch Enemy and now the band will have Alissa White-Gluz from The Agonist in her place. Alissa’s former band mates also announced her replacement and as far as one of the tours being announced, we learned that KISS and Def Leppard would hit the road for a kick ass Summer tour. Now onto the other big tour announcement as Industrial Metal legends Nine Inch Nails will pair up for a co-headlining tour with Soundgarden. I’ve copied much of the press release for you to get the best and most correct information but I will share some thoughts and more at the close. Here’s the poster.

The Press Release:
Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden are teaming up for a North American tour that will kick off on Saturday, July 19, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, NV. The co-headline run, presented by Live Nation, is their first outing together and will include shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO (July 21), the Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, NY (August 1) and the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, CA (August 25). Both bands will play full sets nightly. Special guest Death Grips will open on most dates. Tickets for the tour will go on sale to the public Friday, March 21, through the Live Nation mobile app and at www.livenation.com. See below for itinerary. The fan pre-sale begins today at noon local time at www.nin.com and www.soundgardenworld.com, with additional pre-sales going live on Tuesday, March 18.

More from the Official Press Copy for the Uninformed:
Nine Inch Nails is considered a pioneer in the industrial music movement and has been highly influential in the evolution of electronic music. Its recordings – which include the multi-Platinum Pretty Hate Machine (1989), Broken (1992) and The Downward Spiral (1994) – have revolutionized detailed digital production. The band has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, released a remarkable series of singles, including the No. 1 Modern Rock radio hits “The Hand That Feeds,” “Only,” “Every Day Is Exactly the Same” and “Survivalism,” and received two GRAMMY® awards. 2013’s Hesitation Marks (Columbia Records) debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts last fall and was named one of the best albums of the year by Rolling Stone, SPIN, Alternative Press, ABC News and The New York Times’ Jon Pareles. SPIN said, “this is the most important artistic statement from NIN leader Trent Reznor since the late ’90s, when SPIN dubbed him ‘the Most Vital Artist in Music Today.’” Rolling Stone hailed Hesitation Marks as “one of his best” and named the single “Everything” as one of the best songs of 2013. Nine Inch Nails will follow its current arena tour of Australia and New Zealand with headline dates in Latin America and throughout Europe. The band will make its Austin City Limits (ACL) debut this spring. The special episode, which features a full-hour performance, will premiere on April 5 as a preview of ACL’s 40th Anniversary Season.

Soundgarden are internationally recognized as one of the world’s most influential rock bands. With an exemplary career and GRAMMY®-winning catalog, the Seattle band started a transformation in rock music that inspired a generation. The band take to the road on this special co-headlining tour in support of their upcoming re-release of Superunknown. The reissue package is available June 3, 2014 via A&M Records/UME and available for pre-order now. A gargantuan #1 hit upon its release on March 8, 1994, the album earned the band two GRAMMY® awards for singles “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman.” Rolling Stone’s David Fricke expounds: “The best albums define their time, then transcend it. Superunknown is an honest monument to its era and birthplace. Superunknown is also a heavy masterpiece of vision and backbone, a classic of American, progressive hard rock made by a band that, from the start, always aimed higher and farther than its scene, peers and competition.” Selling over 9 million copies worldwide, the album was certified five times platinum by the RIAA in the United States, making it the band’s most commercially successful album- undeniably helping to redefine alternative and hard rock, leaving an indelible mark on the course of music history. Soundgarden will also be performing songs from their acclaimed catalogue, including songs from their additional six albums – Screaming Life (1987), Ultramega OK (1988), Louder Than Love (1989), Badmotorfinger (1991), Down On The Upside (1996) and their most recent release King Animal (2012). King Animal was met with widespread critical acclaim, debuting as the No. 1 Rock Album in the U.S. The first two singles “Been Away Too Long” and “By Crooked Steps” reached No. 1 on both rock radio formats. Soundgarden, which recently headlined the first-ever US iTunes festival at SXSW and performed at an exclusive taping of Guitar Center Sessions presented by DIRECTV, will headline the Sasquatch Festival over July 4th weekend outside of Seattle.

Tour Dates
7.19.2014 – Las Vegas, NV Planet Hollywood
7.21.2014 – Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
7.24.2014 – Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
7.26.2014 – Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
7.27.2014 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
7.29.2014 Mansfield, MA XFINITY Center
7.30.2014 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
8.01.2014 Wantagh, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
8.02.2014 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
8.04.2014 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
8.05.2014 Virginia Beach, VA Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
8.07.2014 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
8.08.2014 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood
8.10.2014 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
8.11.2014 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
8.14.2014 Austin, TX Austin360 Amphitheater
8.16.2014 Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8.17.2014 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
8.19.2014 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater
8.21.2014 Chula Vista, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
8.22.2014 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8.24.2014 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheater
8.25.2014 Hollywood, CA Hollywood Bowl

My Thoughts On It All: I am pretty stoked for this tour because I have never, ever before seen NIN in action on the stage. I have wanted to for many years but it was just never possible for me to secure a ticket in the past. I’ve enjoyed much of what they have delivered since the nineties and laugh when I remember how my introduction to the bands “Head Like A Hole” came courtesy of a lovely girl dancing to it at The Tropicana in Hollywood, California. Soundgarden is another band that I have enjoyed for years and probably even longer than NIN but I have only seen them perform once before and that was for a special “Live On Letterman” event. My plan is to hit at least one of their two regional appearances. I highlighted those particular shows for our area fans. So are you excited for this tour? Will you go or shall you pass?

Official Websites:
Nine Inch Nails: www.nin.com
Soundgarden: http://soundgardenworld.com/
Death Grips: http://thirdworlds.net/

Here are a few albums that are worth owning from each of the headliners back catalog. If you still need them do please order via the means below since its gotten harder and harder to find physical music at the stores nowadays.