NINE INCH NAILS will embark on a 2022 U.S. tour this spring. The trek will include three shows in April and May, followed by more than half a dozen dates in September. One of the shows, on September 24 at the Blossom Music Center in Cleveland, will include support from MINISTRY and NITZER EBB. The tour includes appearances at the Shaky Knees festival in Atlanta and the inaugural Primavera Sound in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale on Friday, February 11 at 10 a.m. local time.

NINE INCH NAILS 2022 U.S. tour dates:

Apr. 28 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
Apr. 30 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
May 01 – Franklin, TN @ First Bank Amphitheater
Sep. 02 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sep. 03 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sep. 07 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
Sep. 09 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Sep. 11 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley
Sep. 15 – Las Vegas, NV @ Zappos Theater
Sep. 16-18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Primavera Sound
Sep. 24 – Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center (with MINISTRY and NITZER EBB)

Last August, NINE INCH NAILS scrapped all of its previously announced shows for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In March 2020, NINE INCH NAILS surprise-released two new albums: “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts”. Consisting of 23 new instrumental tracks, they were described on NIN’s web site as “two different records for two different mindsets.”

Prior to “Ghosts V: Together” and “Ghosts VI: Locusts”, Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross last shared new NINE INCH NAILS music in a series of records released over three years: “Not The Actual Events” in 2016, “Add Violence” in 2017 and “Bad Witch” in 2018, with the latter followed by a tour.

The pair have spent much of the past few years composing scores for TV and film projects like “Bird Box”, “Waves” and “Watchmen”. They also worked with Halsey on “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” and were honored with an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for “Best Original Score” for their work on “Soul”.

Nine Inch Nails will be playing a limited number of shows in the US this spring and fall. Tickets on sale to the public Friday, February 11 at 10am local time. https://t.co/aNSoYAcLBh
Special guests to be announced for shows aside from Cleveland at a later date.#NINONTOUR pic.twitter.com/YjK24kQ7Ds

— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) February 7, 2022

Cleveland 2022
September 24th | Blossom Music Center
With special guests @WeAreMinistry & @Nitzer_Ebb
Exclusive, One Night Only Event
Tickets on sale to the public Friday, February 11 at 10am local time. https://t.co/RJzQvxgbNE pic.twitter.com/DZaS4a8iV4

— nine inch nails (@nineinchnails) February 7, 2022

Grammy Award winners MASTODON will return to the road for the second leg of their acclaimed co-headline tour with OPETH this spring. The North American jaunt resumes on April 21 at Place Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, stops in major markets coast-to-coast, and comes to a close on May 11 at Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Tuesday, February 8 at 10:00 a.m. local time and end on Wednesday, February 9 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “HUSHED2022” to access tickets before the general public. General on-sale will be Friday, February 11 at 10 a.m. local time.

Of the first leg, Consequence Of Sound wrote: “The crowd swayed and sang the new tunes as loud as they could, as the band shook all 12,000 square feet of the ballroom with their tremendous sound, which was accompanied by psychedelic visuals being displayed on a huge LED wall, plus gnarly lasers shooting high above past the balcony.”

MASTODON and OPETH tour dates:

Apr 21 – Montreal, QC – Place Bell
Apr 22 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Apr 23 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora
Apr 24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Apr 26 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met
Apr 28 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
Apr 29 – Detroit, MI – The Masonic
Apr 30 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club
May 01 – St. Paul, MN – The Myth
May 03 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place
May 04 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Events Centre
May 05 – Edmonton, AB – EDM Expo Center
May 07 – Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre Theatre Bowl
May 08 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
May 09 – Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium
May 11 – Riverside, CA – Municipal Auditorium

Last November, MASTODON was announced as one of the “Best Metal Performance” nominees at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on April 3, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The progressive metallers were nominated for their song “Pushing The Tides”, the first single from their latest album, “Hushed And Grim”, which came out in October.

The follow-up to 2017’s “Emperor Of Sand”, “Hushed And Grim”was recorded at West End Sound, which is located inside of Ember City, the rehearsal facility that members of MASTODON manage in Atlanta. Helming the effort was Grammy-winning producer/mixer/engineer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with MUSE, DREAM THEATER and TOOL, among many others.

The “Hushed And Grim” artwork was created by longtime MASTODON collaborator Paul Romano, who also designed the sleeves for “Crack The Skye”, “Blood Mountain”, “Leviathan” and more.

“Emperor Of Sand” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. That LP was nominated for the 2018 Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album,” and its opening track, “Sultan’s Curse”, won the Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance.”

OPETH played its first show with drummer Sami Karppinen (THERION) last November 16 at ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, North Carolina at the opening date of the band’s tour with MASTODON and ZEAL & ARDOR.

Karppinen stepped in to play with OPETH after the Swedish progressive metallers parted ways with their longtime drummer Martin “Axe” Axenrot due to what they called “a conflict of interests.”

Axenrot officially joined OPETH a decade and a half ago as the replacement for Martin Lopez, who left the band in May 2006 after being plagued by illness and anxiety attacks, which forced him to miss several of OPETH’s tours.

OPETH will return to the stage this Spring on the second leg of their North American co-headlining tour with @mastodonmusic
Blabbermouth and https://t.co/F9iP1ejiJQ ticket presales will be available Feb 8th at 10:00am EST. General on sale date is Feb 11th at 10:00am local time. pic.twitter.com/LLsQCvl2ws

— Opeth (@OfficialOpeth) February 7, 2022

Rhetorical question coming up: has there even been a more underrated band than AMORPHIS? Despite being insanely consistent and unwaveringly singular for over 30 years, the Finns have never really fit neatly into any ongoing or newly revived category, and the result is that far too little attention is paid to the overwhelming quality of this band’s music. Whether that will change when “Halo” reaches people’s ears is debatable, but this is yet another tour de force. The album is yet another collection of intricate but emotionally supercharged metal songs, all steeped in the imagery and atmospheres of Finland’s sacred Kalevala, but as punchy, timely and pertinent as anything else going on in modern metal.

Part of the magic that lurks on just about every AMORPHIS record is the way they have always written succinct, crafted songs that almost explode with ideas. Masters of the stirring, instantly memorable chorus, they have been on an extraordinary roll in recent times, arguably first inspired by the recruitment of frontman Tomi Joutsen for 2006’s self-titled rebirth (“Eclipse”). “Halo” is simply the next in a long line of remarkable records, which from 2007’s glorious “Silent Waters” to 2018’s equally stunning “Queen of Time” have amounted to a sustained object lesson in consistency, attention to detail and great songwriting. Far from running out of ideas as they embrace veteran status, AMORPHIS sound as wide-eyed and vital as ever on what is their 14th full-length studio record. As always, Tomi Joutsen — also criminally underrated, incidentally — puts in a heroically versatile vocal performance, nailing every epic, clean refrain and out-growling all-comers. But it’s the exquisitely eccentric flow and faultless dynamics of these songs that close the deal, and opener “Northwards” may be the most sublime showcase for this band’s unique sound yet. There is a sublime, folk-tinged, earworm hook, a thunderous, darkly metallic verse, a life-affirming, fervently melodic chorus and a sumptuous, old-school prog mid-section. From ghostly intro to final, ribcage-rattling chorus, it’s a five-and-a-half masterclass in heavy metal songwriting.

But then, as has been on the case on most of their albums over the years, so is just about everything else on “Halo”. Too inventive to be beholden to a formula, but deeply entrenched in an aesthetic that has served them well for decades, AMORPHIS sound imperious throughout, and picking highlights is a game best left to label staff and algorithms. The truth is that every song here has the potential to stir the spirit, and every one of them contains a dash of esoteric ingenuity. Initial listens point to the strident melodies and raga-rock detours of “On The Dark Waters” and the seven-beat grooves and joyous chorus payoffs of “The Moon” as the album’s most immediate moments. But this is an album of nuance and substance, and each song has tantalizing musical depths to explore. And that’s before you get into the nitty-gritty of ancient Finnish folklore.

One inarguable pearl that gleams brightly on “Halo” is “Seven Roads Come Together”. Aside from being epic, bombastic, subtly intricate and almost overburdened with great tunes, it’s such a straightforwardly uplifting thing that, as with the rest of this fantastic record, you may just find yourself bursting into applause. Or tears. Either way, this is more than a bit special.

Polish guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED), who joined MACHINE HEAD’s touring lineup prior to the launch of the band’s “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour in late 2019, spoke to Metal 101 about his experience playing with the Robb Flynn-fronted outfit so far. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Since more than two years right now, I’ve become a member of the MACHINE HEAD. It was just great to join the band and it feels amazing to be part of that. I did two tours with them — a European tour and touring the United States — and it was amazing; it was a great experience.

“MACHINE HEAD have a new album ready, which makes me also really happy about feeling that I’m a part of the album,” he continued. “I did a few riffs for two songs and I did a few solo parts.

“I have to say the album is amazing, and Robb and Jared [MacEachern, bass] did an amazing job. It’s gonna be a really strong album and a really amazing comeback with the new songs and production. The production is amazing.”

MACHINE HEAD’s new full-length album is tentatively due this summer. The follow-up to 2018’s “Catharsis” will include the three songs that were featured on last summer’s “Arrows In Words From The Sky” single: “Become The Firestorm”, “Rotten” and “Arrows In Words From The Sky”.

Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with producer Zack Ohren.

Earlier this month, MacEachern described the upcoming MACHINE HEAD album to Primordial Radio as a “pretty big-, epic-sounding” affair. “It’s a ride — a really great, heavy, beautiful, melodic, raging, thrashing ride,” he said.

Back in November 2019, Flynn told France’s HEAVY1 that Vogg’s MACHINE HEAD audition “just fucking blew my mind — it was so fucking tight and fucking accurate. He sent over [a recording of] ‘Imperium’ as his first song just as a test. We always had all the dudes do a sound test, just to make sure the levels are good and stuff. I was, like, ‘Oh my God! This dude is playing ‘Imperium’ better than I can right now.’ [Laughs] It was crazy. And we ended up talking. Super-nice guy.”

Last May, Vogg told Finland’s Kaaos TV that his addition to MACHINE HEAD’s touring lineup was “a big surprise” for him, because he “didn’t plan” to play with the band. “It kind of accidentally happened,” he said.

“In 2019, when we started the summer festivals with DECAPITATED, I sent an e-mail to Robb Flynn about congratulations, because I heard about the upcoming ‘Burn My Eyes’ tour,” he explained. “Because I’m still a huge fan of the first album, I just wanted to share my happiness about that with Robb. So I sent a message to him. And he replied, saying, ‘Thanks, man.’ And, ‘Maybe you can play with us one song as a guest in Warsaw,’ because they planned a Warsaw show. So we started to talk. And then it became a serious talking about the guitar player they were looking for, and I was sending my proposition that maybe I can help with that. So I did an audition. They sent me song requests for the audition, so I did it. And in a few days, I became a new guitar player of MACHINE HEAD. It was really fast. Because I didn’t hear about that they were looking for a guitar player. I heard about Phil Demmel, the issues with Phil and the rest of the guys; they quit the band before. But I thought that the ‘Burn My Eyes’ anniversary tour was only the ‘Burn My Eyes’ lineup, and then I found out that it’s also a second lineup to play [the other] songs. So, it was cool. It was [such] a positive shock for me.”

Vogg went on to say that he was “so happy” to have been part of the “Burn My Eyes” anniversary tour “because I’m a huge fan of MACHINE HEAD since I was a kid. And to have the opportunity to go with them as a guitar player on tour which celebrates my favorite [MACHINE HEAD] album, which is probably one of my [favorite] ten albums ever, it was unbelievable,” he said. “And it was such a great experience for me seeing a really big band on tour and seeing the pre-production process and traveling with all this huge crew and a few buses and trucks and all this equipment. It was really something new for me. Even [though] I’m an experienced musician, I had a big lesson from those guys and from the crew. It was such a great experience. It was such a great feeling being on stage in front of thousands of people every night. And then, after I finished my set, which includes the best songs from MACHINE HEAD — it takes two hours — then I go to change my clothes and come back to the side of the stage to see ‘Burn My Eyes’, the whole album, played by the original lineup. It was amazing. I have to say it was one of the best life experiences I had.”

Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE will release their seventh studio album, “Explosions”, on May 6 via RCA Records. The official lyric video for the LP’s first single, “So Called Life”, can be seen below. The song is the first new original music from THREE DAYS GRACE since the Juno Award-nominated “Outsider” album came out in 2018.

When “So Called Life” was first released last November, it was accompanied by a Jon Vulpine-directed music video. At the time, THREE DAYS GRACE singer Matt Walst stated about the track: “In these crazy and divided times, everyone needs something to take the edge off.”

Vulpine added: “I wanted to make this video really raw and stripped down. Something high energy with extreme angles and fast movements. A bunch of old analog gear in this ’70s apartment that looked like some hoarder died in it 20 years ago and the guys just came in and recorded. I didn’t want to go for a clean and super polished look, so Justin Jones, my DP, suggested these rehoused 1960s Japanese lenses for a grittier more contrasty feel. That, along with different lens distortions and attachments, just added to the diversity of shots.”

THREE DAYS GRACE bassist Brad Walst told Jave Patterson of Two Doods Reviews about “So Called Life”: “It’s a little different. It’s a pretty heavy song and definitely full of emotions and frustrations of everyday life. It was actually the first song we wrote on this record, going back almost pre-pandemic. We started jamming, actually, beside Neil’s [Sanderson, drums] pool and it turned out really angry. [Laughs] I think it’s a great tune. I think the fans are gonna relate to it. And it’s gonna be a fun one live, I know that.”

Asked how much of THREE DAYS GRACE’s upcoming album was inspired by the pandemic, Brad said: “We didn’t really direct the songs towards there, but we’re a pretty honest band and we like to write about our true emotions and what we’re going through. So, naturally, being stuck at home and stuck on Zoom with each other, some pretty emotional songs came out of it. We wrote the first half of the record remotely. We recorded it remotely, which we’d never done. And then we just got back together a couple of months ago and did the rest. But it was interesting, man, and definitely a different vibe. And I think some great songs came out of it.”

THREE DAYS GRACE has announced more than a dozen U.S. dates for April and May, including a number of headlining concerts and radio shows as the support act for GODSMACK.

Prior to the arrival of “So Called Life”, THREE DAYS GRACE’s most recent release was a cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”, which came out in July 2020. The official music video for THREE DAYS GRACE’s version of the track was directed by Mike Filsinger.

In 2019, THREE DAYS GRACE extended its record for the most No. 1s in the 38-year history of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart, with “Right Left Wrong” its 15th No. 1 single on the tally.

“Right Left Wrong” is featured on “Outsider”, THREE DAYS GRACE’s sixth full-length album and fifth consecutive Top 40-charting LP on the Billboard Top 200.

THREE DAYS GRACE’s other No. 1 singles include “Misery Loves My Company”, “Chalk Outline”, “World So Cold”, “Never Too Late”, “Just Like You”, “Animal”, “Pain”, “Home” and “Infra-Red”.