It’s proving to be a pretty bad week for injuries befalling musicians. Just a few days after the Sylosis RV accident, words comes that Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie was injured in an accident that requires immediate surgery. As a result, he’ll have to sit out the remainder of Hatebreed’s current tour with Shadows Fall, The Acacia Strain and Battlecross. As a result, Shadows Fall’s Matt Bachand will be filling in for Beattie. The bassist addressed his situation in a press release:
“On Monday a large branch fell off a tree I was cutting and knocked the ladder I was on out from under me. I fell 8 feet off the ladder onto the sidewalk and luckily was able to throw the chainsaw away from me on the way down. I broke my left wrist and right elbow. I will be going “under the knife” this Friday to correct the breaks and start the healing process. Jamey, Wayne, Matt, Frank and our manager Steve have all been very supportive and I look forward to getting back out on the stage as soon as I can. Please go out and support Hatebreed as they leave for a short US tour today. Thanks to Matt from Shadows Fall for filling in for me. See you soon.”
At this point in time, Shadows Fall is almost like a utility band that’s being used for spare parts. Both Jon Donais and Jason Bittner have logged time filling in with Anthrax, with all signs pointing to Donais as the permanent replacement for Rob Caggiano. Frontman Brian Fair is also doing his own side project, Death Ray Vision. The band’s definitely got life left in them, though, as judged by the interest in the (mostly) New England-centric tour. And we’re happy the chainsaw didn’t fall on Beattie. That would’ve been a freak accident for sure. Now it’s only unfortunate as opposed to tragic.
