DZ Deathrays have announced a national tour for June and July 2024, where they will be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their second studio album Black Rat. The band will be performing the album from start to finish at each headlining show, as well as a selection of other tracks from across their career, in addition to reissuing Black Rat on limited edition white vinyl.
In a video package promoting the tour, vocalist and guitarist Shane Parsons points to Black Rat as “the album that got people into the band.” “We’ve been a band for 15 years, and we’re still playing those songs,” he says. “People still like to hear them.” He also notes that the tour will mark the live debut of album cut ‘Nightwalking’, which was never performed by the band on the initial tour in support of Black Rat. “It’ll be interesting to see how that goes,” he adds.
DZ Deathrays – ‘Gina Works At Hearts’
DZ Deathrays originally released Black Rat in May of 2014. Produced by former Gerling member Burke Reid, the album sported three singles: ‘Northern Lights’, ‘Gina Works at Hearts’ and ‘Reflective Skull’. ‘Gina’ has gone on to be recognised as the band’s signature song, coming in at number 88 in that year’s Hottest 100. The album peaked at number 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and won the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album later that year.
The original Black Rat tour also marked the first time the band had toured as a unit bigger than the core duo of Parsons and drummer Simon Ridley. They were joined on that tour by additional guitarist Mitchell Gregory in order to replicate the layered sound of the album, who was later replaced in turn by Lachlan Ewbank – an official member of the band since 2018. Since 2023, former Violent Soho bassist Luke Henery has toured with the band, making them a four-piece at live shows.
The 10th anniversary vinyl of Black Rat will be released on Friday May 3rd via I Oh You. The vinyl can be preordered here. The Black Rat tour, meanwhile, is on sale now. A full run of dates and ticketing information can be accessed below.
DZ Deathrays Black Rat 10-Year Anniversary Tour
- Friday June 14th – Manning Bar, Sydney NSW
- Saturday June 22nd – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
- Friday June 28th – Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
- Friday July 5th – Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA
- Friday July 12th – Altar, Hobart TAS
- Saturday July 13th – The Gov, Adelaide SA
Tickets available now via DZDeathrays.com.
Further Reading
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