BULLDOZER Explains THRASH ASSAULT 4 Cancellation

According to TrueMetal.it, reunited Italian thrash metal legends BULLDOZER have issued a statement explaining their decision to cancel their appearance at the Thrash Assault 4 festival, set to take place November 14, 2009 at Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany.

Thrash Assault 4 organizers, Heiko Krumpholz (Up From The Ground) and Oliver Weinsheimer (Keep It True),issued a press release earlier in the week claiming that BULLDOZER pulled out of the event because they felt that "[the organizers'] announcement was not good enough for the status of a band like BULLDOZER and would have been 'cheap' for the return of BULLDOZER after 20 years. Additionally, they did not want to be announced in the same news as a band like BAPHOMET'S BLOOD. For them, the announcement seemed to let them look like the openers of the festival. The band thinks that they got a big damage to their image. We, as promoters, can only say that this is another case of megalomania and 'rockstardom' and we think that in the end this cancellation saved us from a lot of troubles. This is not very METAL at all. For BULLDOZER this would have been a great chance to return to their old fans after so many years, but it seems that Thrash Assault is not 'professional' enough for them."

What follows is the English-language translation of BULLDOZER's statement which was originally posted on the TrueMetal.it web site:

"The German promoters, proclaming themselves great fans and estimators of BULLDOZER, contacted us to join their festival, claiming Tom Angelripper's [of Thrash Assault 4 headliners SODOM] personal interest in sharing the stage with us. Since we had to decline a similar offer for the 2008 edition, we agreed, posing these simple conditions: a measly 750 euros (less than $900) cash (to cover travel expenses to Germany) and a performing slot between ROOT and LEGION OF THE DAMNED with the agreement that we would have performed a special 'history' setlist.

"Now, we don't consider these requests to have been 'unreasonable' or 'rock star'-ish.

"When the news came out that BULLDOZER had been denied the requested slot, we decided to pull out, simple as that, and we wanted that to be immediately known, out of respect to our fans. The festival's management, however, took that occasion to fling cheap shots at us, trying to badmouth us and present unrealistic motivations for our decision.

"We have nothing against BAPHOMET'S BLOOD and we never expressed any negative judgment about them.

"BULLDOZER are an autonomous and independent bunch, we play for the sake of playing and to entertain our fans. Eventually, we can also renounce to expense coverage (which we try to mantain on a shoestring budget, anyway) but we can't accept to be associated to unscrupulous promoters who try to slander and badmouth bands who won't accept their treatment.

"Our true and dedicated fans can relax. To them, we will only reserve our best, and the new CD, 'Unexpected Fate' (which will be out soon),is going to prove just that."

BULLDOZER last year inked a deal with Scarlet Records. The group's new album, "Unexpected Fate", is scheduled for release in April. The follow-up to 1988's "Neurodeliri" sees bassist/vocalist Alberto Contini and guitarist Andy Panigada (guitar) joining forces with new drummer Manu (ex-DEATH MECHANISM).

Alberto Contini previously stated about the new CD, "The new album will be 100% BULLDOZER, 100% performed sound. It will be real!"