The Maryland Deathfest always outdoes themselves in booking both the best in underground metal and also exclusive appearances from bands that fly in from around the world to play one-off shows. Now they can cross one of those bands off for their 12th year, as Ulver has been forced to pull out of the festival. The Norwegian band have actually cancelled all of their planned shows due to a health issue with one of its members. Here’s what the band had to say via their label’s website.
We regret to inform you that for the second time in our live-career we are obliged to cancel our most imminent shows. This includes the announced concert in Moscow (with orchestra) in April as well as the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore in May. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and/or disappointment this may be for some, but the time is simply not right for us.
We just got home from a shorter tour of Europe and have been advised by the doctors to take it easy, for the time being, due to unexpected health concerns. We feel that it would be irresponsible to proceed with these big shows now that visas and flights etc. are about to go through and high costs are about to be incurred on promoter’s end – as we are simultaneously undergoing medicals, waiting for verdicts etc. – not quite knowing if things will be better or worse by the time these concerts would have taken place.
Instead of a potential last minute pullout we have decided to withdraw now – before any real damage is done – and focus on getting out of the woods. We apologize to both of the promoters and the people who were looking forward to these concerts. Cross our fingers and hope to return at a later stage.
Maryland Deathfest weighed in on the cancellation on their Facebook page.
We regret to inform you that due to an unexpected health concern with one of the members of Ulver, they have cancelled all of their upcoming confirmed shows, including their appearance at MDF XII. A Doctor has advised that this member take it easy, so in the end, health absolutely must come first. More info regarding this situation can be found on their website at the link below. From our end, if health improves and the band is able to perform live again, they will most definitely be invited back to MDF in the future, as we know they were very much looking forward to playing this year.
We will be filling the vacant space created by the cancellation and that will be addressed within the next couple of days. We kindly request that you keep your expectations in line with reality, given that we are dealing with short notice and a limited list of available bands that could be considered a legitimate replacement for Ulver.
It’s good to see them not wasting any time in letting fans know about the cancellation, and also attempts to manage expectations. MDF being MDF, they’ll likely come up with a more than suitable replacement, though.
