Ghost have announced the "Rats! on the Road Tour," a North American trek slated to begin this spring. The headlining run kicks off May 5th in Riverside, California, with dates scheduled through early June. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 3rd, via Ghost's website. Scroll down for the full itinerary.
Ghost's tour announcement arrives amid preparations for their highly anticipated, fourth album, which has yet to get a title or release date. (The trek's name nods to the LP's opening dirge, "Rats," which Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge teased in a recent listening session with Revolver.) Many fans have speculated that the vampiric figure prominently featured in the accompanying admat is actually the latest incarnation of the band's papal mascot, Papa Emeritus, whose silhouette can be seen in the background; see for yourself below.
"It's a themed album around medieval times, but it's definitely clinging onto a lot of very current things," Forge said of the record in an interview with Revolver earlier this month. "The Black Death [plague] is a great example of a turning point for a whole civilization. Complete villages were annihilated. Most people knew very little, so all of it was God or the Devil — and about their faith being questioned: Why are we being stricken down by this great scourge? It must be because of our not fearing God enough and all this superstitious bullshit," he suggested.
Ghost tour dates:
May 05 — Riverside, CA — RMA
May 06 — Tucson, AZ — Tucson Music Hall
May 08 — Houston, TX — Revention
May 10 — Chattanooga, TN — Tivoli
May 11 — Cincinnati, OH — The Taft Theatre
May 12 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore
May 13 — Columbus, OH — Express Live
May 15 — Port Chester, NY — The Capitol Theatre
May 16 — Syracuse, NY — Crouse Hinds Theater
May 18 — Pittsburgh, PA — Benedum Center
May 19 — Philadelphia, PA — WMMR BBQ
May 20 — Washington, DC — Warner Theatre
May 22 — Asheville, NC — Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
May 23 — Nashville, TN — Tennessee PAC
May 25 — St. Louis, MO — Peabody Opera House
May 26 — Pryor, OK — Rocklahoma
May 27 — Memphis, TN — Cannon Center
May 29 — Ft. Wayne, IN — The Clyde Theater
May 31 — Milwaukee, WI — Riverside Theater
Jun. 01 — St. Paul, MN — The Palace Theater
