Slipknot tour regains ‘Hope’ with extensive U.S. headlining run

Heavy metal band Slipknot will bring their worldwide trek to the States in 2009 for an extensive headlining run. The All Hope Is Gone Tour kicks off its North American leg on January 23 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN, and wraps March 11 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, CA.

The seven-week, 34-city jaunt includes a January 28 performance at Wells Fargo Arena in the band’s hometown of Des Moines, IA, a February 5 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, and a February 22 gig at Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX. Label mates Coheed and Cambria and Trivium round out the lineup.

The jaunt is Slipknot’s first headlining tour to support their August 26 release, “All Hope Is Gone,” which debuted in the top slot on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 1 on nearly 10 other charts around the world. The disc is the band’s fourth studio release and a folow-up to 2004’s “Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

According to a statement on the band’s Web site, fans who purchased “All Hope Is Gone” during its digital presale will have first dibs on concert tickets during a special iTunes presale on December 3. Regular presales open on December 5, with general on-sales following on December 6.

“2009 is the 10 year anniversary of the world’s first taste of this band,” frontman Corey Taylor explained in the statement. “To celebrate we are coming back out with a killer tour, a couple great bands and the same ferocity with which we attack life.”

Taylor continued, “We want all of our maggots to come and celebrate with us, because if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have been here for 10 years. Get ready for chaos!”

Over the summer, Slipknot headlined the inaugural Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. The band followed the festival run by kicking off their headlining world tour, which continues through December with dates in Europe and the UK.

Slipknot itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)