Unsung Melody - Black Sabbath officially confirm North American tour.

Following the overwhelming response to the initial announcement of just four tour dates, Black Sabbath have now confirmed a full 20 city North American trek. Launching July 25th in Houston, TX, the tour will include shows in Philadelphia, Boston, Tinley Park (Chicago), San Francisco and other major markets, along with the previously announced stops in Holmdel, NJ (NY-area), Los Angeles, Seattle and Toronto, ON. Tickets for the newly announced dates will go on sale starting Friday, May 3rd at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com. A full list of cities and on sale dates for the dates is below. Beginning today, fans can click here or visit http://bit.ly/Sabbath_RSVP to RSVP for early access to pre-sale tickets available Thursday, May 2nd. VIP Packages are also available at VIPNation.com.

Black Sabbath launched their world tour on April 20th with two shows in Auckland, NZ. They are now in Australia for performances in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide, before heading to Tokyo for the first ever Ozzfest in Japan on May 12th.

Along the overseas tour, Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler) are previewing music from their forthcoming 13. On the new album, due out June 11th, the band that defined heavy metal picks up immediately where they left off with eight sprawling songs (five of them are over eight minutes) that possess every ounce of the maniacal vitality of the Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees’ trailblazing work in the ’70s. Songs such as End of the Beginning, Loner, Dear Father and Age of Reason reinforce 13’s testament to the enduring relevance of Black Sabbath’s long-running reign. Produced by Rick Rubin (seven-time Grammy winner, two of those as Producer of the Year), 13 will be released on Vertigo (worldwide) and Vertigo/Republic in the U.S.

Here’s some critical feedback from Black Sabbath’s opening night:

New Zealand Herald (4-21-13): Black Sabbath brought together fans young and old…in horn-throwing, fist-pumping fashion…[Ozzy] jumped and stomped about the stage with passion and energy to burn. Could he still cut it? Yes, he could…Black Sabbath’s spark lit up the arena.”

Stuff.co.nz (4-21-13): “Black Sabbath still the kings…on a night when Sabbath proved just why they belong in the unique pantheon of true rock greats…you realize that catching Sabbath at this stage in their long career was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Black Sabbath’s newly announced tour dates are as follows:

07.25 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
07.27 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
07.29 – Tampa, FL @ Live Nation Amphitheatre
07.31 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
08.02 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
08.04 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
08.06 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
08.08 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
08.10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
08.12 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
08.14 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
08.16 – Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
08.18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
08.22 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
08.24 – Seattle, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre
08.26 – San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
08.28 – Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
08.30 – Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
09.01 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
09.03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Los Angeles Sports Arena