On April 20th, Internal Bleeding drummer and FDNY firefighter William (Bill) Tolley passed away. He responded to a call in Queens, NY that led to him tragically falling off a five-story roof while on duty. At that time we assumed the band would drop out of The Strike of the Empire tour with Vader and supporting acts Sacrificial Slaughter, Voices of Ruin and Micawber. One day after his death, the band premiered a tribute video for Tolley, declaring the tour was still on.
We now received an official statement:
“…we think it’s only appropriate that we do this tour, continue with the band, and continue to release music in Bill’s memory, and in the memory for all those metalhead men and women who have fallen.”
Internal Bleeding shared the following on their Facebook to clear any confusion:
“A lot of people have been writing in about the tour with Vader. Here is our answer:
THE TOUR GOES ON.
Bill was having trouble getting all the vacation time needed to complete the tour, so we had a backup drummer in place and ready to go. So he will be filling in.
Bill would want it no other way. When we were discussing the problems with his vacation, he told Chris something along the lines of, “You’ve gotta do it bro, fuck it, no matter what happens, IB needs to go on. You gotta do it asshole.” So, we think it’s only appropriate that we do this tour, continue with the band and continue to release music. In Bill’s memory, and in the memory for all those metalhead men and women who have fallen.
There is no other way. Metal is our life. Our love. Our passion.
And to our fans, you are family — WE DON”T LEAVE FAMILY HANGING. We got your back, because you always had ours.
Our backup drummer will be announced soon. Out of respect to Bill, please don’t ask.
Love and Metal always:
Chris/Shaun/Chris/Joe
Internal Bleeding”
The tour kicks off on May 27th and concludes on June 16th in New York City.
5/27 Ground Zero @ Spartanburg, SC
5/28 Brass Mug @ Tampa, FL
5/29 Masquerade @ Atlanta, GA
5/30 Siberia @ New Orleans, LA
5/31 Acadia @ Houston, TX
6/01 Curtain Club @ Dallas, TX
6/03 Blu Phoenix @ Albuquerque, NM
6/04 Club Red @ Phoenix, AZ
6/05 Malones @ Santa Ana, CA
6/06 Oakland Metro @ Oakland, CA
6/07 Brick By Brick @ San Diego, CA
6/08 Las Vegas Death Fest @ Las Vegas, NV
6/09 Metro @ Salt Lake City, UT
6/10 Bluebird Theatre @ Denver, CO
6/11 Riot Room @ Kansas City, MO
6/13 High Noon Saloon @ Madison, WI
6/14 Reggies @ Chicago, IL
6/16 Webster Music Hall @ New York City, NY
