'''The End Times Tour''' was a double bill North American concert tour, co-headlined by [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] and [[Marilyn Manson]], with [[W:Cage (rapper)|Cage]] opening. It was launched as a supporting 'tour within a tour' for Marilyn Manson's [[W:The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour|The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour]]. ''The End Times'' tour supported The Smashing Pumpkins' tenth studio release, ''[[Monuments to an Elegy]]'' (2014) and Manson's ninth studio album ''[[W:The Pale Emperor|The Pale Emperor]]'' (2015).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/travel/lasvegas/lasvegasnow/la-tr-lvn-las-vegas-shows-smashing-pumpkins-marilyn-manson-20150405-story.html |title=It's the end times for The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson in Las Vegas |first=Susan |last=Stapleton |work=[[w:Los Angeles Times|Los Angeles Times]] |publisher=[[w:Austin Beutner|Austin Beutner]] |date=April 6, 2015 |accessdate=April 7, 2015}}</ref>
'''The End Times Tour''' was a double bill North American concert tour, co-headlined by [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] and [[Marilyn Manson]], with [[W:Cage (rapper)|Cage]] opening. It was launched as a supporting 'tour within a tour' for Marilyn Manson's [[W:The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour|The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour]]. ''The End Times'' tour supported The Smashing Pumpkins' tenth studio release, ''[[Monuments to an Elegy]]'' (2014) and Manson's ninth studio album ''[[W:The Pale Emperor|The Pale Emperor]]'' (2015).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/travel/lasvegas/lasvegasnow/la-tr-lvn-las-vegas-shows-smashing-pumpkins-marilyn-manson-20150405-story.html |title=It's the end times for The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson in Las Vegas |first=Susan |last=Stapleton |work=[[w:Los Angeles Times|Los Angeles Times]] |publisher=[[w:Austin Beutner|Austin Beutner]] |date=April 6, 2015 |accessdate=April 7, 2015}}</ref>
The tour began on July 7 in Concord, California and concluded in Cincinnati on August 8. It spanned 23 dates and visited arenas in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/smashing-pumpkins-marilyn-manson-plot-end-times-tour-20150331 |title=Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson Plot End Times Tour |first=Jon |last=Blistein |work=[[w:Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] |date=March 31, 2015 |accessdate=April 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6517036/marilyn-manson-smashing-pumpkins-north-american-tour |title=Marilyn Manson & Smashing Pumpkins Announce Co-Headlining North American Tour |first=Chelsi |last=Asulin |work=[[w:Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=March 31, 2015 |accessdate=April 7, 2015}}</ref> American hip hop recording artist Cage served as the opening act for the entirety of the tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Cagewm/status/583063851635085312 |title=Hi. I'm the opener for The End Times Tour. Thanks |author=[[w:Cage (rapper)|Cage]] |work=[[w:Twitter|Twitter]] |date=2015-03-31 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> The tour's name was conceived as an amalgamation of the title of a song by each artist, the Pumpkins' "[[The End Is the Beginning Is the End]]" and Manson's "[[W:Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes|Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes]]".
The tour began on July 7 in Concord, California and concluded in Cincinnati on August 8. It spanned 24 dates and visited arenas in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/smashing-pumpkins-marilyn-manson-plot-end-times-tour-20150331 |title=Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson Plot End Times Tour |first=Jon |last=Blistein |work=[[w:Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]] |date=March 31, 2015 |accessdate=April 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6517036/marilyn-manson-smashing-pumpkins-north-american-tour |title=Marilyn Manson & Smashing Pumpkins Announce Co-Headlining North American Tour |first=Chelsi |last=Asulin |work=[[w:Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=March 31, 2015 |accessdate=April 7, 2015}}</ref> American hip hop recording artist Cage served as the opening act for the entirety of the tour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Cagewm/status/583063851635085312 |title=Hi. I'm the opener for The End Times Tour. Thanks |author=[[w:Cage (rapper)|Cage]] |work=[[w:Twitter|Twitter]] |date=2015-03-31 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> The tour's name was conceived as an amalgamation of the title of a song by each artist, the Pumpkins' "[[The End Is the Beginning Is the End]]" and Manson's "[[W:Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes|Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes]]".
The tour began on July 7 in Concord, California and concluded in Cincinnati on August 8. It spanned 24 dates and visited arenas in the United States and Canada.[2][3] American hip hop recording artist Cage served as the opening act for the entirety of the tour.[4] The tour's name was conceived as an amalgamation of the title of a song by each artist, the Pumpkins' "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" and Manson's "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes".
Billy Corgan and Manson's friendship dates back to the late 1990s, with Corgan serving as an unofficial consultant for the band during the early development stages of Manson's 1998 album Mechanical Animals. After playing a few of the early songs for him, Corgan advised the band that "This is definitely the right direction" but to "go all the way with it. Don't just hint at it,"[5] referring to the album's glam rock production style.[6] The album, produced by Manson, Sean Beavan and Michael Beinhorn, was released on September 15, 1998, and went on to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 223,000.[7]
Following the release of Mechanical Animals, the pair's personal and professional relationship soured.[8] A fifteen-year-long feud allegedly stemmed from Corgan writing a "strongly worded" letter to Manson, in which he claimed that actress Rose McGowan – who Manson was engaged to at the time – would "ruin my life and my career if I stayed with her."[9] Manson responded by telling Corgan that "it would be a good marketing idea [to sell] Charlie Brown T-shirts and bald caps at [his] concerts", due to their similarity in appearance.[10]