Nine Inch Nails will embark on a 23-date tour this summer that will hit up much smaller venues than normal. NIN is known for their massive stage show, and they wanted to give their fans a more intimate look at them live. The Coachella Festival in Indio, California, is the only stop that has not sold out on the U.S. tour.
Among this summer’s big heavy hitters, System of a Down has confirmed the release of not one album, but two albums back to back. One is titled “Mezmerize” and the other is titled “Hypnotize.” According to System of a Down’s official website, the band wrote some thirty tracks for “Mezmerize/Hypnotize.” The new songs are more complex, more progressive, more unorthodox, and more experimental than ever, while retaining qualities that make System of a Down so distinctive.
“Mezmerize/Hypnotize” will be the follow up to the nearly 6 million selling “Toxicity” album, which was released in September 2001 and debuted in the number one position on the Billboard charts. “Mezmerize” will see release on May 17 and “Hypnotize” is slated for the fall.
System of a Down is scheduled to play this year’s “Souls 2005” festival, which is a benefit concert that works to eradicate genocide across the globe. The event is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 24, at the Universal Amphitheater.
Another big release that is really under the radar is a group named Team Sleep, a band that began as a couple of friends trading cassette recordings of each other and eventually evolved into a full-fledged group. Chino Moreno, the singer from this group is also the front man of the platinum-selling, Grammy-award-winning group the Deftones.
After years of jamming on a four-track recorder, they got serious about Team Sleep. In 2001, Maverick Records, also home to the Deftones, heard the early demo tapes and signed the group. Five years is a long time to wait for an album, but the band has been kept busy with their other projects and other sidetracks that caused the band to postpone a release.
The original release date was slated for 2001, but a rough version of the album was leaked onto the Internet and almost ended the group. Although this set the band back a bit, they stepped up and wrote a completely new debut album. The album will be released on May 10 and a tour is in the works. A San Antonio date is set for May 14 at The White Rabbit.
Other big-name artists who are currently working on upcoming albums but do not have a confirmed release date or album title are Tool, the Deftones, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
This summer’s biggest tours include the Van’s Warped Tour, which showcases punk rock talent, and Ozzfest, which showcases big metal bands. Both will be hitting up the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre this summer. The Warped Tour is scheduled for June 26, and Ozzfest is scheduled for August 28.
A new tour emerging this summer is Sounds of the Underground tour, which will showcase more than 20 metal bands for 30 bucks. That’s almost three times cheaper than Ozzfest’s pit tickets. Although there is no San Antonio date confirmed, there is a July 16 date in Corpus Christi.
With a lot of rock choices this summer and some big tours coming to San Antonio, ears are going to be ringing until the start of the Fall semester.
For information on upcoming tour dates, visit www.pollstar.com |
