Avenged Sevenfold have cancelled their upcoming US tour after lead singer M. Shadows loses his voice to viral infection.
In a statement posted on the band’s website, M. Shadows – real name Matthew Sanders – wrote about his condition and detailed the bad news about the tour cancellation.
Following the band’s European dates – including a headlining performance at Download – Shadows came down with a “terrible viral infection” which left the singer “voiceless”.
He wrote: “After a week of steroids the swelling went down enough to see the cause of the problem. A blood blister has formed on my vocal folds and is preventing them from vibrating properly. In short, I can’t sing anything at the moment and the more I attempt to the more damage is being done.”
The good news is: “As of now the doctors feel that 3 months of no singing and voice rest should get my chords back on track. Unfortunately, this means we will have to cancel all tour dates at the moment.”
“I want to apologize to the fans who have spent their time and money booking travel arrangements and accommodations. I also want to apologize to our crew and the other bands who were depending on this tour. None of these things are lost on me.”
The full list of cancelled US dates can be found here.
Prophets Of Rage, who were supporting Avenged Sevenfold on their US tour, issued their own statement following the cancellation: “We’re so sorry that our tour with Avenged Sevenfold was cancelled today and we won’t be able to come see you all this summer. We were seriously looking forward to rocking with you all out on the road.”
Speaking about the metal bands of the future that will be soon headlining festivals globally, Shadows said to NME: “I think Bring Me The Horizon can do it. We travel the world and we see how these bands are bigger in some places and smaller than others. I think Bring Me The Horizon does it right in the UK and always pay hard to whatever audience is in front of them”.