It’s been a couple of years since Depeche Mode fans had a chance to see Dave Gahan and the boys do their stadium electro-pop thing on the world stage. Gahan released his second solo record, Hourglass, in the intervening years, and the band picked up the Best Group award at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2006. Now comes news of a new album and tour from Depeche Mode, which are both due in 2009.

The as-yet untitled album has been recorded in New York and will be the 12th album of the band’s career. The tour, titled “Tour of the Universe,” is scheduled to begin in May in Tel Aviv, but doesn’t yet include any North American dates. According to the Depeche Mode Wikipedia page, Tel Aviv was due to be the final date on the band’s last tour in August 2006, but the show was canceled due to the delicate situation in the country at that time. Full “Tour of the Universe” dates listed below.

05.10 Tel Aviv: Ramat Gan Stadium
05.12 Athens: Terra Vibe Park
05.14 Istanbul: Santral Istanbul
05.16 Bucharest: Parc Izvor
05.18 Sofia: Vasil Levski Stadium
05.20 Belgrade: USCE Park, Tuborg Greenfest
05.21 Zagreb: Arena
05.23 Warsaw: Gwardia Stadium
05.25 Riga: Skonto Stadium
05.27 Vilnius: Zalgirio Stadionas
05.30 London: O2 Arena
06.02 Hamburg: HSH Nordbank Arena
06.04Dusseldorf: LTU Arena
06.07 Liepzig: Zentralstadion
06.10 Berlin: Olympiastadion
06.12 Frankfurt: Commerzbank Arena
06.13 Munich: Olympiastadion
06.16 Rome: Stadio Olimpico
06.18 Milan: Stadio San Siro
06.20 Werchter: TW Classic Festival
06.22 Bratislava: Inter Stadium
06.23 Buspest: Puskas Ferenc Stadium
06.25 Prague: Slavia Stadium
06.27 Paris: (venue TBC)
06.30 Copenhagen: Parken Stadium
07.02 Bergen: Koengen
07.03 Arvika Festival
07.11 Porto: Superbock Super Rock Festival