It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Not Christmas of course but that period between October to December where if you had the means and the time to do so, you could literally go to a gig almost every night for the best part of three months. We’ve picked out just ten tours that we’re particularly looking forward to, so here’s our best of what is a very large bunch:
Megadeth / Lamb of God / Children Of Bodom / Sylosis
Come on now. Really. Everyone thought this most metal of treks was absolutely ridiculous when it was announced back in the Summer, but now the time is almost upon us it seems even more crazy that we’re about to watch Lamb of God followed by Megadeth – with Chris Adler drumming for both bands! With Megadeth back on form with the new line up, Lamb of God’s amazing album VII: Sturm Und Drang and the tastiest warm up possible in the shape of Children Of Bodom & Sylosis, this is THE tour not to miss between now and the end of 2015. Some shows are sold out but there may be a few tickets left (plus there’s always the murky water of the secondary market).
See Megadeth, Lamb of God, Children Of Bodom & Sylosis:
9th November – Dublin – 3Arena
11th November – Glasgow – Braehead Arena
12th November – Manchester – O2 Apollo
14th November – London – SSE Wembley Arena
15th November – Birmingham – O2 Academy
https://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/megadeth-tickets
Judas Priest (w/ Michael Schenkers’ Temple Of Rock)
The metal gods that are Judas Priest showed everyone at Download that they’ve still got what it takes and then some by outdoing everyone on their day of the festival, including Slipknot. Rob Halford and co doing another full UK tour looked unlikely a few years ago but reinvigorated by the axe wizardry and (comparative) youthfulness of guitarist Richie Faulkner, The Priest are back and as good as they’ve been anytime this century. The fact this tour allows them to be seen in some small venues such as Portsmouth Guildhall makes it all the more special. Everyone get ready for some Judas Priest Heavy Metal!
Catch Judas Priest at:
Nov 23: Bradford St Georges
Nov 24: Glasgow Barrowlands
Nov 26: Wolverhampton Civic
Nov 28: Manchester Apollo
Nov 30: Portsmouth Guildhall
Dec 01: London O2 Brixton Academy
https://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/judas-priest-tickets
Bring Me The Horizon (and many friends)
Their new album That’s The Spirit has made them more divisive than ever before but Oli Sykes and co are set for a huge tour later this month. Songs like Drown and Throne are semi permanent fixtures on TV and radio these days everywhere from Hollyoaks to the WWE, so even if you don’t like Bring Me The Horizon, they’re impossible to ignore. A wide array of support acts at different shows on the tour including Neck Deep, Pvris and Mallory Knox will make this even more appealing to many.
See BMTH and friends on the following dates:
Nov 24 – Glasgow O2 Academy (Mallory Knox)
Nov 25 – Edinburgh Corn Exchange (Neck Deep, Pvris)
Nov 26 – Doncaster Dome (Neck Deep, Pvris)
Nov 27 – Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (Neck Deep, Pvris)
Nov 28 – London Alexandra Palace (Neck Deep, Pvris)
Nov 29 – Birmingham Academy (matinee) (Neck Deep)
Nov 29 – Birmingham Academy (Neck Deep)
Nov 30 – Bristol Academy (Neck Deep)
https://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/bring-me-the-horizon-tickets
Five Finger Death Punch & Papa Roach
Not a tour as such as it’s only one show but it’s going to be one hell of a show! Five Finger Death Punch and Papa Roach have proved excellent touring buddies in the US and their show will hit the UK’s Wembley Arena at the end of November. FFDP can seemingly do no wrong on either side of the Atlantic at the moment, so so long as they can keep their ego’s in check with each other then it could be one of the gigs of the year. Papa Roach for their part are guaranteed to bring the anthems, so it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top! With Devil You Know (Howard Jones of ex Killswitch Engage fame’s new band) and As Lions (3/5th’s of Rise To Remain) opening, it’ll be quite the evening:
Find FFDP and Papa Roach at Wembley Arena on the 28th of November.
Clutch (w/ Planet of Zeus or Bombus)
Perhaps the best groove rockers on the planet, Clutch are riding higher in terms of their UK standing than they ever have before. As a result their upcoming UK tour should be quite the party! With new album Psychic Warfare regarded as another classic to add to their extensive back catalogue, a mix of new and old favourites should be guaranteed! Planet of Zeus support in November while Bombus do opening duties in December.
Find Clutch at the following dates:
Fri 20th Nov – Dublin – Olympia
Sat 21st Nov – Belfast – Limelight
Mon 23rd Nov – Glasgow – O2 Academy
Tue 24th Nov – Nottingham – Rock City
Wed 25th Nov – Bristol – O2 Academy
Thu 10th Dec – Manchester – Ritz
Fri 11th Dec – Wolverhampton – Wulfrun Hall
Sat 12th Dec – London – Shepherds Bush Empire
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Clutch-tickets/artist/766902
Altered Sky (and friends)
Scotland’s finest Altered Sky are just about to drop their eagerly awaited debut album Without Wonderland (20th of November to be exact) and will then head out on their biggest UK headline tour to date straight afterwards. With the UK’s best new female vocalist Ana Nowosielska at the helm, Altered Sky will show you why this album has been wanted for so long by their die hard fans. Hooks all over the place and catchy songs aplenty will be the reward for buying tickets for this one, plus an impressive supporting cast of Everybody Looks Famous, Fake The Attack and Elessar.
Catch Altered Sky throughout November at the following:
22nd – Leeds – Key Club
23rd – Factory, Manchester
24th – Think Tank, Newcastle
25th – The Garage, London
26th – Sanctuary, Basingstoke
27th – The 2 Pigs, Cheltenham
28th – Undertone, Cardiff
29th – The Rainbow, Birmingham
30th – G2, Glasgow
https://alteredsky.bigcartel.com/
Fear Factory
Demanufacture is one of the truly great metal albums of the last 20 years, and regarded by many (including by Fear Factory main man Dino Cazares) as being ahead of it’s time. So the fact that next month will see Fear Factory hit the UK to play the album it’s in entirety (as well as other hits and some new stuff from their newest album Genexis) is rather good news in our book. They can be a little hit and miss live these days but when they get it right they’re still a tremendous force, and hearing the likes of Self-Bias Resistor, Pisschrist, New Breed and the title track all together will be a fantastic evening.
See Fear Factory’s Demanufacture anniversary tour at:
December 7th – Bristol – Motion
December 9th – Manchester – Ritz
December 10th – Dublin – Academy
December 11th – Belfast – Limelight
December 12th – Glasgow – The Garage
December 13th – London – The Forum
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Fear-Factory-tickets/artist/905044
Tremonti
Alter Bridge shred master Mark Tremonti has fared quite well since branching out on his own for his Tremonti solo project. Their performance at Download was very well received (including by us, see review here) and so, by popular request, Tremonti are coming back to the UK for their first full headline tour in December. Mark remains one of the all time great guitarists and it turns out he’s not a bad singer either.
Catch Tremonti and an impressive supporting cast including Wearing Scars at the following:
Dec 11: Birmingham Institute
Dec 12: Edinburgh Liquid Room
Dec 13: Manchester Ritz
Dec 15: Bristol O2 Academy
Dec 16: London Forum
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Tremonti-tickets/artist/1766048
Nothing More
One of 2014’s break out stories in the US rock world with their incredible self titled debut album, and having impressed as part of Halestorm’s huge UK tour back in the Spring, Nothing More are finally hitting the UK for their first headline run in December. With the chance to see them at some intimate venues like The Boston Music Rooms in London, this could well be the last time you have the chance to see them in venues this small (and for tickets so cheap). We recommend not missing out!
Catch Nothing More (supported by Shvpes) at these locations:
5th December – Birmingham – The Institute
6th December – Glasgow – King Tut’s
7th December – Manchester – Academy 3
8th December – London – Boston Music Rooms
https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Nothing-More-tickets/artist/1713649
The Red Paintings
Last but not least (and the only one of these ten tours to have actually started already), art rockers The Red Paintings are like no other bands on this list (and possibly like no other band full stop) in terms of their live sets. Costumes, custom designed sets, artist creating live works of art and models who have volunteered to be painted as human art canvases are just some of the things you will find at a live show by The Red Paintings. One of those bands that everyone should see at least once.
Experience The Red Paintings live show at:
Nov-06 Manchester – Sound Control (with Them & Us)
Nov-07 Glasgow – Audio(with Them & Us)
Nov-08 Sheffield – Corporation (with Them & Us)
Nov-09 Birmingham – Rainbow (with Them & Us and Stereo Juggernaut)
Nov-11 Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms (with Them & Us and Stereo Juggernaut)
Nov-12 London – The Borderline (with Them & Us and Stereo Juggernaut)
Nov-13 Barnstaple – The Factory (with Them & Us and The Dead Betas)
Nov-14 Bristol – The Exchange (with Them & Us and The Dead Betas)
Nov-15 Southampton – Joiners (with Them & Us)
https://theredpaintings.com/trinc/tour
Of course, these are just ten of the dozens of excellent tours hitting British shores between now and the end of the year. We all know money can be tight with Christmas coming up, but where you can, get out and see your favourite bands in the flesh so they can afford to keep doing what they do best – playing for all of us!
