Getty Image / Jim Bennett
Pearl Jam‘s back with their first new music since 2020, a new single titled ‘Dark Matter‘ with the same name as the forthcoming album. The band announced they’d drop a new song at midnight on Tuesday morning and the response from Pearl Jam fans seems overwhelmingly positive, albeit maybe not as beloved (yet) as Eddie Vedder’s 2022 solo album ‘Earthling.’
‘Dark Matter’ very much has the sound and je ne sais quoi of a classic ‘Pearl Jam song,’ whatever the qualities of that may be to each of us. And it also sounds a bit like music from a bygone era of Rock, music that contemporary bands haven’t sought to emulate the sound of in decades.
Listen To Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter
A fun easter egg in this track was first noticed by Joe DiVita at Loudwire. The chorus makes mention of Heavy Metal legend King Diamond with the lyrics:
“Denounce the demagogues / King diamond to discard / Deploy the dialogue / Your word against the law”
Slayer, Metallica, and other iconic Metal bands have credited King Diamond as an influence on their music in the past. So it certainly is interesting that the first track released from Pearl Jam’s upcoming 12th album, also named ‘Dark Matter,’ pays homage to the legendary Metal singer.
Does it mean the album will have heavy Metal influences? Perhaps. Is it just a one-off mention of an iconic industry figure? That’s also just as likely.
In addition to the new song and album announcement which they were geeking out about on SiriusXM’s ‘Lithium’ station on Monday before the track was released, the band also announced a massive global tour for 2024. The tour will be named… you guessed it, Dark Matter.
The tour kicks off on May 4 in Vancouver for 2 nights then heads to Oregon, California, Nevada, back to California, and Washington before heading abroad to Ireland and then off through Europe. It winds back to the USA on August 22nd with a concert in Missoula, Montana, a town that rarely if ever gets huge concerts so that one should be a very difficult ticket to get ahold of.
The band has released information on ticketing in their tour announcement. The US is very well serviced in terms of tour dates but they’ll still be amongst the hardest concert tickets to nab this Summer.
Pearl Jam’s ‘Dark Matter’ album is currently available for pre-order and it will be released on April 19th. That doesn’t offer much time for fans to familiarize themselves with the new album before the Dark Matter World Tour but such is life.