Nearly two years removed from the "warm and natural" Pale Communion, Swedish progressive outfit Opeth have announced their signing to German metal label Nuclear Blast for a new record expected to be released this fall. On top of that, the celebrated band will also be hitting our shores on an upcoming North American tour.
UPDATE (7/18, 11 a.m. EDT): The album will arrive on September 30.
"We're happy to confirm that we have indeed signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment and will be putting out our 12th studio album Sorceress via our own imprint, Moderbolaget Records," frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt revealed in a statement. "The decision was made in [Nuclear Blast founder] Markus Staiger's ridiculously potent Porsche going at 150 mph somewhere in the south of Germany. We're happy to be part of the NB team and look forward to a fruitful relationship."
Staiger added, "Mikael Åkerfeldt and his fellow bandmates have demonstrated time and time again that Opeth are a band that never release an album that sounds the same. You never know what their new music will sound like! It is not often that we get to work with musicians of their calibre and I'm thrilled to have such a unique genre-leader on the label."
Opeth are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on Sorceress with English producer Tom Dalgety. The band have a number of festival dates lined up for the summer, with a newly revealed string of shows to take place this fall in North America, including three dates in Canada alongside the Sword.
Pale Communion arrived through Roadrunner Records in 2014. Scroll past the band's tour itinerary to revisit "Eternal Rains Will Come" in the player below.
Tour dates:
06/16 Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadium#
07/02 Barcelona, Spain - Be Prog! My Friend
07/07 Helsinki, Finland - Monsters of Rock Festival
07/09 Neskaupstadur, Iceland - Eistnaflug Festival
07/30 Oulu, Finland - Qstock Festival
08/05 Corroios, Portugal - Vagos Open Air Festival
08/19 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
09/24 San Bernardino, CA - Ozzfest
10/01 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10/04 Montreal, QC - Metropolis*
10/05 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall*
10/26 Vancouver, BC - Orpheum*
11/05 Stockholm, Sweden - Annexet
11/06 Oslo, Norway - Konserthus
11/07 Copenhagen, Denmark - DR Koncerthuset, Koncertsalen
11/08 Hamburg, Germany - Docks
11/10 Vienna, Austria - Arena
11/11 Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
11/12 Munich, Germany - Thaterfabrik
11/13 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus
11/14 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
11/16 Cologne, Denmark - E-Werk
11/18 Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
11/19 London, UK - SSE Arena Wembley
11/21 Paris, France - Le Trianon
11/23 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
11/24 Berlin, Germany - Astra Kulturhaus
# with Iron Maiden
* with the Sword
UPDATE (7/18, 11 a.m. EDT): The album will arrive on September 30.
"We're happy to confirm that we have indeed signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Entertainment and will be putting out our 12th studio album Sorceress via our own imprint, Moderbolaget Records," frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt revealed in a statement. "The decision was made in [Nuclear Blast founder] Markus Staiger's ridiculously potent Porsche going at 150 mph somewhere in the south of Germany. We're happy to be part of the NB team and look forward to a fruitful relationship."
Staiger added, "Mikael Åkerfeldt and his fellow bandmates have demonstrated time and time again that Opeth are a band that never release an album that sounds the same. You never know what their new music will sound like! It is not often that we get to work with musicians of their calibre and I'm thrilled to have such a unique genre-leader on the label."
Opeth are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on Sorceress with English producer Tom Dalgety. The band have a number of festival dates lined up for the summer, with a newly revealed string of shows to take place this fall in North America, including three dates in Canada alongside the Sword.
Pale Communion arrived through Roadrunner Records in 2014. Scroll past the band's tour itinerary to revisit "Eternal Rains Will Come" in the player below.
Tour dates:
06/16 Gothenburg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadium#
07/02 Barcelona, Spain - Be Prog! My Friend
07/07 Helsinki, Finland - Monsters of Rock Festival
07/09 Neskaupstadur, Iceland - Eistnaflug Festival
07/30 Oulu, Finland - Qstock Festival
08/05 Corroios, Portugal - Vagos Open Air Festival
08/19 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
09/24 San Bernardino, CA - Ozzfest
10/01 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10/04 Montreal, QC - Metropolis*
10/05 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall*
10/26 Vancouver, BC - Orpheum*
11/05 Stockholm, Sweden - Annexet
11/06 Oslo, Norway - Konserthus
11/07 Copenhagen, Denmark - DR Koncerthuset, Koncertsalen
11/08 Hamburg, Germany - Docks
11/10 Vienna, Austria - Arena
11/11 Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
11/12 Munich, Germany - Thaterfabrik
11/13 Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus
11/14 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
11/16 Cologne, Denmark - E-Werk
11/18 Tilburg, Netherlands - 013
11/19 London, UK - SSE Arena Wembley
11/21 Paris, France - Le Trianon
11/23 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
11/24 Berlin, Germany - Astra Kulturhaus
# with Iron Maiden
* with the Sword
