Muse Plot First Four Dates of U.S. ‘Drones’ Tour

Muse will kick off the U.S. leg of their Drones tour December 13th in Portland, Oregon. The band has also announced three California dates: Oakland on December 15th, San Diego on the 16th and Los Angeles on the 18th. Phantogram will open all four shows, and tickets will go on sale September 25th. 

The Drones World Tour will find the band performing “in the round” from the middle of arenas, offering fans a 360-degree experience. Additional dates and announcements will be posted at the band’s official website. 

The rock trio released Drones, their politically charged seventh LP, in June. The album, co-produced by AC/DC and Def Leppard veteran Robert John “Mutt” Lange, focuses on the dehumanizing elements of drone technology. Frontman Matt Bellamy was inspired to write the record after reading Dartmouth professor Brian Glyn Williams’ book Predators: The CIA’s Drone War on al Qaeda.

“I was shocked,” he told Rolling Stone. “I didn’t know how prolific drone usage has been. I always perceived Obama as an all-around likable guy. But from reading the book, you find out that most mornings he wakes up, has a breakfast and then goes down to the war room and makes what they call ‘kill decisions.’ He makes that decision based on a long chain of intelligence people who, as we all know, can be very unreliable.”