CELTIC FROST Issues Statement Regarding U.K. Set Duration

Seminal avant-garde metal pioneers CELTIC FROST have issued the following statement regarding their set duration on the band's current U.K. tour:

"While already on the road on the European leg of the 'Monotheist' tour, we were informed of strict curfews to our co-headlining shows with KREATOR in the U.K. These curfews have been imposed locally and are not a stipulation by either CELTIC FROST or KREATOR. As a matter of fact, we oppose these curfews explicitly, and we have informed both our management and our concert agency accordingly. There is little we can do, however.

"CELTIC FROST and KREATOR and the bands' representatives have spent months trying to assemble an appropriate and exciting touring package of four bands that cover a wide variety of contemporary metal. We loathe the fact that we are now finally back out on the road — in CELTIC FROST's case, for the first time in some 17 years — and have to discover that the local booker and promoters in the U.K. impose curfews so unrealistically strict that it is impossible to put on the regular performances by all four bands on the bill as played everywhere else in Europe. Apparently, some of the U.K. venues book two events during certain nights, i.e., in this case our tour and another event. This will yield twice the profits for them in one night, but it also means that the first event, namely our tour, will have to clear the venue at an unreasonably early hour, as early as 9:30 or 10:00pm.

"There appears to be no proper solution to this situation. Both headliners are categorically unwilling to cancel the performances of either our opening act or special guest, WATAIN and LEGION OF THE DAMNED, in order to play full headlining sets. Just like us, WATAIN and LEGION OF THE DAMNED have travelled thousands of miles and gone through great expenses to play all of Europe. The local booker and promoters in the U.K. are equally unwilling to extend their ludicrous curfews, even for a mere 30 minutes. The alternative, so we are informed, would be a cancelled concert.

"Having all four bands play at least a semblance of a set means that the duration of all sets will be severely restricted. In case of CELTIC FROST and KREATOR, this means sets of 60 minutes, in case of WATAIN and LEGION OF THE DAMNED, sets of 20 minutes. This applies to the following shows: Glasgow, Bradford, Wolverhampton, Cardiff, and Nottingham. All bands involved believe that playing a set is better than cancelling any show. That we all are extremely frustrated, if not to say furious, about this situation is obvious."

CELTIC FROST recently announced the addition of a touring guitarist V. Santura of the German black metal group DARK FORTRESS. The band also revealed that they will play a "limited-duration special guest set of 45 minutes" on their upcoming North American tour with TYPE O NEGATIVE. "In spite of the limited playing time, the band believes that this presents an important opportunity to play for the U.S. audiences again and expand upon the foundation built in the course of last fall's successful 46-date tour of North America," CELTIC FROST wrote in a press release.

Due to the preceding co-headliner tour with KREATOR in Europe which will conclude on April 5, 2007, in Hamburg, CELTIC FROST will not be able to play all dates with TYPE O NEGATIVE. Immediately after the final show of the European tour, however, the group will fly to the United States to join TYPE O NEGATIVE for the first time on April 9, 2007, in Chicago and remain with the tour until its conclusion on May 8, 2007, in Baltimore, MD.

CELTIC FROST's video for "A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh", a song taken from their first album in 13 years, "Monotheist", can be viewed at this location. The fascinatingly gloomy clip was filmed by up-and-coming Swiss director Jessie Fischer (no relation to singer/guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer) in Zürich, Switzerland, in mid-August 2006.