THE CULT Announces '8424' 40th-Anniversary European Tour

THE CULT has announced the "8424" European tour celebrating the band's 40th anniversary. The trek will see the Ian Astbury-fronted outfit perform songs spanning its 11-album discography.

THE CULT guitarist Billy Duffy said: "Following up from the great energy of DEATH CULT '8323' shows, I'm looking forward to bringing that sense of celebration of the band's music, and the communion with our fans, to CULT '8424'. Let the ceremony commence!"

THE CULT holds a significant place in musical history due to its pioneering use of post-punk, hard rock, and experimentalism, pushing boundaries and influencing countless bands across multiple genres. With their musical prowess, uncompromising attitude and captivating stage presence, they forged a distinct identity while charting new territory for bands to explore. From Duffy's formative, and influential, years in the Manchester underground, to Astbury's groundbreaking "Gathering Of The Tribes", the duo has left an indelible mark on modern music, shaping its trajectory in profound ways.

The "8424" tour dates:

July 11 - Seville, ES Icónica
July 12 - Madrid, ES Noches del Botánico
July 14 - Valencia, ES Jardines de Viveros
July 16 - Porto, PT Coliseu Porto Ageas
July 17 - Lisbon, PT Coliseu dos Recreios
July 20 - Co Laois, IE Forestfest Festival
July 23 - Prague, CZ Archa Theatre
July 24 - Vienna, AT Gasometer
July 25 - Opatija, HU Opatija Summer Stage
July 27 - Milan, IT Carroponte
July 28 - Pratteln, CH Z7 Summer Nights
July 30 - Warsaw, PL Letnia Scena Progresji
July 31 - Berlin, DE Huxleys Neue Welt
August 2 - Rejmyre, SE Skogsröjet
August 4 - Cologne, DE Carlswerk Victoria
August 5 - Tilburg, NL 013 Poppodium
August 6 - Amsterdam, NL Paradiso
August 8 - Hamburg, DE Große Freiheit 36
August 9 - Skanderborg, DK Smukfest
October 21 - Leicester, UK De Montfort Hall
October 22 - Swansea, UK Swansea Arena
October 24 - Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall
October 25 - Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
October 27 - Bristol, UK Bristol Beacon
October 29 - York, UK Barbican
October 30 - Newcastle, UK O2 City Hall
November 1 - Portsmouth, UK Guildhall
November 2 - Wolverhampton, UK Wolverhampton Civic Hall
November 4 - London, UK Royal Albert Hall

In a 2023 interview with Germany's Rock Antenne, Astbury was full of praise for THE CULT's latest album, "Under The Midnight Sun", calling it "essential." He clarified: "If you're a fan of rock music, our new record's essential… I don't think there's any recent releases of rock music that come close to 'Under The Midnight Sun'. And to say that, it may sound like an arrogant statement, but I'm tired of this bullshit. Stop it. Stop phoning it in. Stop exploiting your fans. Stop patronizing your fans. And stop calling them fans. They're your benefactors. Our audience are our benefactors."

Astbury continued: "I have such incredible gratitude and respect to people who would actually pay their hard-earned money to walk through a door, buy a record, come to a show, buy a t-shirt. Are you kidding? I was one; I am one. I appreciate that. I appreciate them. And that's why we made this record, because we wanted it to be the best of the best of the best. It's a gift. Yeah, you've gotta pay for it. But I'm sorry, that's… it's society."

"Under The Midnight Sun" arrived in October 2022 via Black Hill Records. The LP was produced by Tom Dalgety (PIXIES, GHOST, ROYAL BLOOD). Dalgety is the first British producer THE CULT has worked with since its second album, "Love" (1985).

Astbury previously spoke highly of "Under The Midnight Sun" in July 2022 in an interview with Dayton Daily News. At the time, he said: "It is a different animal. It destroys 'Hidden City' and anything else we've done in quite a while. We dug deep and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this record.

"It's a brave new world out there and we want to be a part of it, but you don't get to be a part of it unless you're doing your best work," he added. "There are no free passes for anyone. You're only as good as what's happening today."

In a separate interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, Astbury stated about "Under The Midnight Sun": "This new album is a really honest, authentic depiction of where we are today. It's a very focused record and it's layered, it's dense, it's celebratory and it gets dark. There's a lot in this record. It's an amalgamation of THE CULT's major influences, the DNA of the band all culminating in a very special moment."

Born out of the ashes of the U.K. post-punk scene, THE CULT evolved to become one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the late 20th century, selling millions of albums, headlining arenas and stadiums around the world, infusing innovative possibilities into the worlds of music and art, and quickly ascending through the ranks of the indie music world to achieve global status. THE CULT, whose music transformed from punk rock to post-punk, psychedelia, heavy dance music and transcendental hard rock, became one of the handful of important bands in the U.S. post-modern and hard rock communities, and was embraced by a generation that was waking up to the influence of 1960s and 1970s rock icons like LED ZEPPELIN, THE NEW YORK DOLLS and David Bowie.

The constant core of THE CULT is the "head and heart" of the band, Astbury and Duffy. Attitude incarnate, the chemistry between these two vastly different artists — equal parts genuine affection and palpable tension — remains the source of their long-standing partnership. Duffy grounds Astbury's esoteric side with a hard rock perspective, and there is no doubt that at all times, these two have each other's back. THE CULT's current lineup also includes former WHITE ZOMBIE, EXODUS and TESTAMENT drummer John Tempesta.