DARK FUNERAL Issue Official Statement About Cancelled Australian Tour

Sweden's DARK FUNERAL have issued an official statement in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding about the band's alleged canceled tour of Australia and the derogatory statements and comments the Australian promoter has been distributing to the press about the group and the way they conduct their business. It reads as follows:

"When DARK FUNERAL was booking their Far Eastern tour they started to look into the possibility of traveling to Australia and New Zealand for a couple shows if an economically feasible offer could be obtained. Contact was made with an Australian promoter. A few initial talks were conducted where a few ideas and offers were tossed back and forth. There was in no way at this time any kind of official deal struck. [Guitarist] Lord Ahriman told the promoter he would think over the offer and get back to him."

"Upon thinking it over, DARK FUNERAL decided to decline the offer for this tour at this time. Their concerns were these: The dates were spread over a two-week period, which would cause financial hardship for the band. The monetary compensation offered was well below what it would cost the band to travel to Australia and New Zealand and sustain a two-week tour. The band would have had to use all the income generated from the Asian tour to keep themselves on the road in Australia. In all actuality the band would take a substantial loss that they just could not afford to do. Another concern of the band was over the availability of their releases in the Australian territories. They felt that it wasn't as good as it could be, and as their record label was in the process of negotiating a better distribution deal for those territories the band felt it would be better for the promotion of a tour by them to wait until a later time when DARK FUNERAL releases could be obtained more readily and easily by the record buying public.

"Lord Ahriman: 'When I eventually found out what the specifics of deal included (or should I say what it didn't include),and taking into account all other concerns we had, I realized it was not even financially possible for us to do it. Too many of the costs would fall directly on the band. I never got answers to many of the questions I asked about how we would travel, sleep etc... during the tour. The flights weren't even checked out properly. So who knows, even if we would had confirmed the tour, we might not even had a flight to get there. It should be quite easy to anyone to understand that we can't just go on tour in a country on the other side of the world without proper information and arrangements for us. I told this promoter we were sorry but we had to decline his offer.'

"DARK FUNERAL hoped that at a future time they could arrange a proper tour of Australia, they just could not accept this offer and do an Australian tour as part of the Asian leg of their tour. Additionally, upon first communication with this promoter, the band was asked if they could just come over to play a festival that this said promoter was arranging, The Satan Fest. After the band realized they could not do a full tour they asked the promoter if they could still come just to play the festival. The answer was 'We already have a headliner.' DARK FUNERAL told him they didn't need to headline, could they just make an appearance there? The answer still was no, unless they did the whole tour they could not play the festival. After communicating all of their concerns with the Australian promoter, they declined his offer. The promoter's answer to them was, 'You'll play, don't worry.' Lord Ahriman thought this was an odd answer and realized that the promoter just didn't understand their position, and also that maybe he did not understand that they had said NO to his offer. Before he could answer further, a small disaster struck. Lord Ahriman's computer crashed.

"At this time the promoter decided that he would start to promote a tour that had not been agreed upon by the band, assuming that the band would take whatever was offered to them, no matter how financially disastrous it could be for them. No contract was ever drawn up, nor was anything agreed to or signed off on by the band.

"Here is where the most of the misunderstanding comes in. There was no contact between the band and the promoter for three weeks as Lord Ahriman had to buy another computer and wait for it to be delivered. During this time the promoter continued to book and promote a tour he had not had the band agree to in the first place, at the same time he has no communication with said artists he is purposively working for. In the beginning of the conversations between said promoter and the band, the promoter had informed the band he was 'really busy' and would see what he could do for them. For him to say he spent two months working to arrange this tour is a complete contradiction to the way he had handled his communication with the band prior to Lord Ahriman's mishap with the computer. The vibe coming from this promoter was that arranging a tour for DARK FUNERAL just was not a priority for him. During the time that Lord Ahriman was without his computer, DARK FUNERAL knew nothing of this promoters actions and did not think he was continuing to book this tour after they told him NO.

"Lord Ahriman and the band are deeply disappointed with what has developed between themselves and this promoter, and his attack of their credibility. Ahriman had this to say, 'Trust me, it has been really frustrating to me to not be able to communicate through email for three weeks. The professional business people who have worked with us in the past know that we are a 110% professional band and that we are ALWAYS very honest and loyal as long as we are treated with mutual respect. So to call us unprofessional, without even knowing what's going on, is not only stupid but also totally unprofessional I'd say.'

"DARK FUNERAL would like to apologize to their fans Down Under for this confusion, and look forward to a day when they can bring their live show down there. DARK FUNERAL also hope that in the future they can move past this misunderstanding and work with an honest, professional agency for a tour of Australia and New Zealand which they will be properly compensated for.

"Concerning departing guitarist Dominion: A great opportunity to continue his education presented itself to him and he wanted to take advantage of it. On October 28th Dominion will enter the University to continue his studies. Dominion felt that while studying he could not give 100% to the band and felt it better to resign his position. He had recently felt his lack of motivation to dedicate himself to a full-time touring band was not fair to the band, and also wanted to explore other musical options. DARK FUNERAL completely understands this and has no hard feelings. Dominion is their friend, comrade and brother, and they wish him all the best for the future. Dominion will, however, do the Asian tour with DARK FUNERAL and will officially resign upon its completion."

DARK FUNERAL will shortly begin auditioning guitarists. All interested parties can inquire by e-mailing [email protected]