SPEAKING OF FIREWIND…

…when I interviewed Gus G. a couple of weeks ago, he told me that the band was working on putting together a North American headlining tour for the fall. Well, the good news is, that tour is now booked; the bad news is, it’s only four dates. I’m completely speculating, but I imagine this has to do more with Gus’ ongoing commitments to Ozzy than it does anything else. Hopefully he’ll get another reality show or something soon and Firewind can tour more.

But if you’re in a position to go one of these gigs, you should. The band hasn’t played here since they toured with Arch Enemy (I think it was Arch Enemy… feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) in 2008, and these sets will obviously be way longer than those ones were, seeing as the band is headlining.

And – BONUS! The Absence and Powerglove will be doing support. I don’t think it’s any secret that we love The Absence — in fact, we’re streaming their new album right here! — and I like that there’s some real diversity on this bill. I think these shows are gonna be a lot of gun.

Here are the four dates, via Firewind’s MySpace page:

November 4th –  Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
November 5th –  Jaxx – West Springfield, VA
November 6th – The Gramercy – New York, NY
November 7th –  Les Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, Que

Firewind’s latest, Days of Defiance, comes out October 26 on Century.

-AR