Pearl Jam left an enigmatic Tweet on their official Twitter page on July 1 saying only "the count is on," with no reference at all to what this countdown was in aid of. On Monday (July 8), exactly one week and two tweets later, we finally found out what this mysterious countdown was in reference to; the band's return to the road with a 24-date tour of North America (check out the full list at the bottom of the page).

Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder and co. might have a new album on the way too

The band took to their Twitter page once again to announce the news that they are hitting the road, uploading the details to the tour as well as a YouTube video that shows the band performing live over a soundtrack of ominous music, with the list of dates following the footage. The tour will begin on October 11 at the Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA, and run through until December 6 when the band play a homecoming show at the Key Arena, Seattle, WA.

Whilst the announcement has been met with anticipation from fans, it has also been seen as a very underwhelming surprise given the furore surrounding the cryptic Tweets the band posted and the promising countdown clock that was ticking on their website. Those peeved fans needed worry too much though, as the clock on PearlJam.com was reset today (July 8) along with the news of the tour, with the new timer due to go off on July 11. With a tour already announced, things are looking very promising that we might actually have a new Pearl Jam album coming out after all!

Before they go on their tour, the band have two shows to play before hand; at the Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 19 and another on July 16 at London, Ontario's Budweiser Gardens. Tickets for the fall tour will go on sale (not through Ticketmaster) on July 27 at 10 a.m. local time.

Full list of dates:

10/11 – Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA

10/12 – First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY

10/15 – DCU Center, Worcester, MA

10/18 + 19 – Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

10/21 + 22 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

10/25 – XL Center, Hartford, CT

10/27 – 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD

10/29 – John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA

10/30 – Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC

11/01 - 03 – Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, New Orleans, LA

11/15 – American Airlines Arena, Dallas, TX

11/16 – Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

11/19 – Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix, AZ

11/21 – Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA

11/23 + 24 – Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA

11/26 – Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

11/29 – Rose Garden Arena, Portland, OR

11/30 – Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA

12/02 – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB

12/04 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC

12/06 – Key Arena, Seattle, WA

Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam are back!