It was recently reported that Opeth, Mastodon and Ghost intended to join forces for one of the most anticipated North American tours of 2012. After a few weeks of suspense and a ton of buzz throughout the metal populace, the official tour dates have been announced.

The ‘Heritage Hunter’ tour will feature Opeth and Mastodon co-headlining throughout the cycle, with Ghost serving as distinguished openers for the dates. Iconic Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt said of the trek, “We’re touring North America together with Mastodon soon. Nice! One of the very few metal bands of today that I genuinely like. Good people too! Ghost are coming with us as well, and they are one of the hottest new bands to come out of Sweden in recent years, and I dig them too. I sound like an old fart, don’t I? Well, I am.”

Åkerfeldt continued, “Yet, am I right in thinking that this tour, this line up, is pretty decent? Would you all agree? Not complete s—, is it? Hope to see y’all out there! What are we playing? Not sure yet, but considering the company, maybe we’ll have to pull out the big guns from time to time. In order to keep up, I mean.”

In their own collective statement, Mastodon added, “We’re excited to co-headline this tour with Opeth for whom we have great respect and admiration. Having Ghost along, as well, will make this tour a special event.”

The ‘Heritage Hunter’ tour is set to begin on April 4 in Portland, Maine, with Opeth and Mastodon taking turns closing the shows throughout the dates. See the itinerary below for tour dates and to find out which band will perform last at each gig.

Opeth, Mastodon and Ghost 2012 North American Tour Dates:
04/04                Portland, ME                  State Theater (M)
04/05                Boston, MA                    Orpheum Theater (O)
04/06                Montreal, QC                 Metropolis (O)
04/07                Toronto, ON                   Sony Centre (O)
04/09                Philadelphia, PA             Electric Factory (M)
04/10                Wallingford, CT              The Dome (M)
04/11                New York, NY                 Roseland Ballroom (M)
04/13                Chicago, IL                      Riviera Theatre (M)
04/14                Grand Rapids, MI            The Intersection (M)
04/15                Pittsburgh, PA                Stage AE (M)
04/16                Knoxville, TN                  TN Theater (O)
04/18                Oklahoma City, OK         Diamond Ballroom (M)
04/19                Dallas, TX                       Palladium Ballroom (O)
04/20                San Antonio, TX             Back Stage Live (O)
04/21                Corpus Christi, TX          Concrete Street (O)
04/23                Denver, CO                    Fillmore Auditorium (O)
04/25                Las Vegas, NV                House of Blues (M)
04/26                Los Angeles, CA            Gibson Amphitheatre (O)
04/27                Oakland, CA                  Fox Theatre (O)
04/28                Reno, NV                       Grand Sierra Resort (M)
04/30                Seattle, WA                   The Paramount (O)
05/01                Vancouver, BC               Orpheum Theatre (O)
05/03                Edmonton, AB               Edmonton Events Center (O)
05/04                Calgary, AB                   MacEwan Hall (M)
05/05                Saskatoon, SK               The Odeon (O)
05/06                Winnipeg, MB                Burton Cummings Theatre (O)
05/09                Washington, DC            The Fillmore (O)
05/10                Charlotte, NC                The Fillmore (M)
05/11                Myrtle Beach, SC           House of Blues (M)
05/12                Atlanta, GA                   Masquerade Music Park (M)

 

(M) – Mastodon closes show

(O) – Opeth closes show

More From Rock 108