Byzantine Announces 21st Anniversary U.S. Tour
Last month, President Biden stated his goal to get the U.S. “closer to normal” by July 4. And… that might actually happen. I’m very encouraged by the number of people I know who have already managed to get fully or partially vaccinated.
So while we have no clue what kind of protective restrictions will or will not be in place by Independence Day, Byzantine’s just-announced 21st anniversary tour may very well be the first honest-to-Dio American metal tour of the post-pandemic era (Corey Taylor’s COVID-19-safe tour doesn’t count — it ends in June). To wit: the press release announcing the tour doesn’t even contain the words “pandemic,” “coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “mask,” “social,” or “distancing.” Again, who the heck knows what’ll happen in the next three months, but it certainly feels like Byzantine are at least preparing to play relatively normal shows.
Frontman and founding member Chris “OJ” Ojeda comments:
“Maintaining a band with 4 members for this long has been one of the most difficult, yet rewarding tasks I’ve taken on. We formed the same year as Mastodon, The Ocean and Between the Buried and Me, and to be able to write and record music on a label such as Metal Blade Records at this point in our career is very rewarding. We look forward to performing our longest headlining set to date for our fans.”
Tour dates are below. Fingers crossed we’re all doing permanent damage to our hearing and moshing again by July.
Jul. 16 – Charleston, WV @ Sam’s Uptown
Jul. 29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Crafthouse
Jul. 30 – Harrison, OH @ Blue Note
Jul. 31 – Huntington, WV @ V Club
Aug. 5 – Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligan’s
Aug. 6 – Greenville, SC @ The Radio Room
Aug. 7 – Johnson City, TN @ Capone’s
Aug. 12 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies Music Joint
Aug. 13 – Hamtramck, MI @ The Sanctuary
Aug. 14 – Akron, OH @ Empire Concert Club
Aug 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
Aug. 20 – Providence, RI @ Alchemy
Aug. 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Arrogant Swine
Aug. 22 – Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz
Aug. 26 – Pipestem, WV @ Metal in the Mountains
