The concert industry is as busy as ever, and fans will have plenty of metal and hard rock tours to choose from in 2024 — with many more to be announced in the coming weeks and months.
No matter your taste in heavy music, there’s something for you in terms of upcoming shows. Classic metal fans can go out and see Metallica, Judas Priest, or Pantera, while those who listened to mainstream rock radio in the late ’90s and early 2000s can catch Godsmack, Disturbed, Limp Bizkit, or a reunited Creed.
If punk rock is your thing, you’re covered with Green Day’s stadium tour or the likes of Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Dropkick Murphys, and Flogging Molly. And industrial devotees can catch Ministry with support from Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly.
None of those acts extreme enough for you? Don’t worry, as Amon Amarth are heading out with Cannibal Corpse and Obituary, while Cattle Decapitation and Carnifex are teaming up for a co-headlining tour.
And if your definition of “heavy” casts a wide net, then there’s acts like Chelsea Wolfe, Sleep Token, and ††† (Crosses) to satisfy your eclectic taste in music.
Meanwhile, if you wanna end up leaving a show looking like you’ve been through a bloody battle, you can always check out a GWAR concert.
So, without further ado, below are 30 of the most anticipated metal & hard rock tours of 2024.
-Spencer Kaufman
Managing Editor, Heavy Consequence
A Perfect Circle, Primus, and Puscifer
Maynard James Keenan (photo by Amy Harris) and Les Claypool (photo by Johnny Perilla)
One of the year’s more stacked packages includes a triumvirate of alternative-rock luminaries A Perfect Circle, Primus, and Puscifer. Dubbed the “Sessanta” (which means “sixty” in Italian), the unprecedented tour is a celebration of Maynard James Keenan’s 60th birthday and will see all three bands playing their own sets as well as sharing the stage. Initially, the itinerary only consisted of a handful of dates in mid-to-late April. When those concerts sold out fast, additional shows in April and May were added to meet demand. – Jon Hadusek
Get A Perfect Circle Tickets Here
Amon Amarth w/ Cannibal Corpse and Obituary
Cannibal Corpse (via Metal Blade), Amon Amarth (photo by Tomas Gidén), and Obituary (photo by Rodrigo Fredes)
The vikings Amon Amarth will be flanked by two of the greatest death metal bands of all-time — Cannibal Corpse and Obituary — on this spring campaign. For many headbangers, this would be a destination show if any one of these bands were headlining. To get all three in the same night is revelatory. Some kind of extreme metal holiday should be declared in each town this tour hits. – J.H.
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold, photo by Amy Harris
Avenged Sevenfold returned in 2023 with their first new album in nearly seven years. The LP, titled Life Is But a Dream …, features singer M. Shadows and company veering into experimental, Mr. Bungle-esque territory, proving that the band is ever-evolving. That said, fans can still expect to hear older favorites like “Bat Country” and “Hail to the King” when A7X hit the road for a North American run in March with support from Poppy and Sullivan King. – Spencer Kaufman
Get Avenged Sevenfold Tickets Here
Bad Religion and Social Distortion
Bad Religion and Social Distortion, photos by Raymond Ahner
Two stalwarts of California punk are teaming up when Bad Religion and Social Distortion hit the road together for a co-headlining spring tour. The great news is that Social D frontman Mike Ness is recovering well from a battle with tonsil cancer that forced his band to postpone a summer 2023 run. In addition to the spring dates, Social D are set to make up that 2023 tour with their own headlining trek in the fall. And as a bonus, Social D will be playing their 1983 debut album Mommy’s Little Monster in full on the outing with Bad Religion. – S.K.
Get Bad Religion and Social Distortion Tickets Here
Better Lovers
Better Lovers, photo by Gabe Becerra
Fresh off earning the top spot on our 30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2023 list with their killer single “30 Under 13,” the supergroup Better Lovers (featuring former members of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die) are set to embark on a spring North American tour, featuring support from SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Foreign Hands, and Greyhaven. Singer Greg Puciato always brings an element of danger to the stage, as evidenced by his Dillinger days, so expect a raucous show when Better Lovers hit your town. – S.K.
