Now that the Spring is heading our way, the tour announcements will be coming in fast and furious and I’ll be doing my best to bring you as many as possible to keep you in the awareness zone. Korn is the latest one and this tour will very likely please some while annoying some others based on the roster. Dig in.

The Press Release:
Roadrunner recording legends KORN have announced plans for a truly diverse and epic summer tour, set to get underway June 16th at the USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City, UT and then continue through early August. Presented by Live Nation, “The Serenity of Summer” tour will feature special guests and fellow Roadrunner recording group Stone Sour on all dates. The powerfully eclectic tour is rounded out by support from Japan’s female fronted Baby Metal, southern rapper Yelawolf and Islander (6/16 – 6/25), followed by a second leg (7/19 – 8/2) which will see KORN joined by Skillet, Yelawolf and DED, creating a versatile bill reminiscent of KORN’s famed “Family Values” tours in the past (see itinerary below).

Fan club and VIP ticket packages for the upcoming tour will go on sale beginning March 7th at 10:00 AM local time at www.korn.com; Citi(r) Cardmembers presale begins that same day at noon local time. For complete Citi pre-sale details visit: www.citiprivatepass.com Live Nation presale starts on March 8th at 10:00 AM local, followed by a Spotify presale beginning March 9th at 10:00 AM local and a Blabbermouth presale starting March 9th at 10:00 AM local. All presales end March 9th at 10:00 PM local timing. Remaining tickets for all dates will go on sale to the general public on March 10th at 10:00 AM local time at livenation.com. For complete details, please visit the link at the close of this post.

KORN kicked off their wide-ranging world tour with a sold-out performance last night at the Grand Opening of the brand new House of Blues in Anaheim, CA. They return again tonight, Monday March 6th, for another sold-out show and from there the two-time GRAMMY(r) Award-winning band will embark on a marathon global run that sees them visiting Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. KORN then return to North America for a series of top-billed festival performances, including Concord, NC’s Carolina Rebellion (May 6th), Columbus, OH’s Rock on the Range (May 20th), Oshkosh, WI’s Rock USA (July 13th), and Chicago, IL’s Chicago Open Air (July 15th). For tickets and additional tour information, please visit www.korn.com/tour.

KORN’s new studio album, THE SERENITY OF SUFFERING, arrived last October and instantly ascended to #4 on the SoundScan/Billboard 200. The album – which also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Hard Rock Albums” chart – established KORN as one of an elite number of rock legends to achieve multiple top 10 placements on the chart. With 10 total top 10 albums thus far, KORN’s count is now equal to Led Zeppelin. Produced by GRAMMY(r) Award-winner Nick Raskulinecz, THE SERENITY OF SUFFERING includes the GRAMMY(r) Award-nominated, Top 5 rock radio smash, “Rotting In Vain,” as well as the new hit single, “Take Me.” Currently Top 5 at Active Rock outlets nationwide, “Take Me” is joined by a powerful companion video, streaming now on KORN’s official YouTube channel.

With career album sales in excess of 40 million, two GRAMMY(r) Awards, nearly 20 million social media followers, and over two decades of non-stop world tours, KORN stands tall as one of the most iconic and influential bands in the annals of hard rock and beyond. Vocalist Jonathan Davis, guitarists James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch, and bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu came together in 1993 and immediately started a metal revolution with their classic 1994 self-titled debut, its 1996 follow-up, the 2x RIAA platinum certified “LIFE IS PEACHY,” and 1998’s 5x platinum certified, #1 blockbuster “FOLLOW THE LEADER.”

The years that followed saw KORN battling an array of personal demons but emerging triumphant to even greater popular success and artistic achievement. THE SERENITY OF SUFFERING builds upon the band’s remarkable history with a return to the dual-guitar dynamic that first fueled their music, powered in no small part by drummer Ray Luzier, and some of Davis’ strongest and most reflective songwriting to date.

In addition to its extraordinary popular success, THE SERENITY OF SUFFERING has earned ecstatic critical applause around the world. “Possibly their heaviest album ever,” declared Rolling Stone. “(THE SERENITY OF SUFFERING) really shines on some truly weird, inventive bridges and codas that switch moods like a DJ flipping the crossfader.” “Monstrously heavy from the opening riff onwards,” raved The Guardian, “this is classic KORN: the grooves are lumbering hulks of viscous sludge, frontman Jonathan Davis’ red-eyed angst fizzes with worldly rage and nearly every song boasts a chorus that will wreak havoc when played to diehard crowds…”

KORN – “THE SERENITY OF SUMMER” 2017 U.S. TOUR
6/16 – 6/25 WITH STONE SOUR, BABY METAL, YELAWOLF & ISLANDER
7/19 – 8/2 WITH STONE SOUR, SKILLET, YELAWOLF & DED

The Tour Dates:
6/16: Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
6/18: Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
6/20: Chula Vista, CA @ Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
6/21: Inglewood, CA @ The Forum
6/22: Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
6/25: Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center
6/26: Pocatello, ID @ Portneuf Wellness Complex Amphitheatre*
7/19: Syracuse, NY @ Lakeview Amphitheater
7/20: Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
7/23: Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
7/25: Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
7/26: Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
7/27: Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/29: Noblesville, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
7/30: Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/1: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
8/2: Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center

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PiercingMetal Thoughts: Speaking personally, I’ve always been more of a casual Korn fan as I began listening to them later than their diehards did. At the time of their launch I was into much different kinds of Metal and I didn’t shine right away to this “Nu-Metal” stuff. That said I still ended up enjoying a number of tracks and seeing them in concert a few times for reports posted right here on the website and had to say that they clearly deliver. I’m sure with the response that their new album has garnered will find the band pulling out all the stops. I’m glad to see that Stone Sour is on this tour since I enjoy their stuff quite a bit and yes believe it or not I am a supporter of the Babymetal efforts as well. Sadly they will not be a part of the tour when it comes around my region. I’ve seen Skillet and Islander before and found them sonically satisfying and suggest fans arrive early enough to witness their presentation. I’ve never before seen Yelawolf nor Ded so their sets would be an instructional session should I manage to catch them. I’ll close up now with the oft asked question of what do you readers think about this tour. Is it something you will catch or will you take a pass on this one. Let me know down in the comments below.

Official Websites:
Korn: http://www.korn.com
Stone Sour: http://www.stonesour.com
Babymetal: http://www.babymetal.jp
Skillet: http://www.skillet.com
Yelawolf: http://www.yelawolf.com
Islander: http://www.islanderofficial.com
Ded: https://www.facebook.com/dedofficial/