Ex-BLIND GUARDIAN Drummer Forced To Sit Out SAVAGE CIRCUS Tour Dates

July 4, 2006

Former BLIND GUARDIAN drummer Thomen Stauch will be unable to perform any shows this year with his new band, SAVAGE CIRCUS, due to an unspecified medical/psychological condition. The following is Stauch's official statement on the matter:

"Due to ongoing serious private problems in the past months my psychological and physical constitution is completely broken and makes me unable to play the upcoming shows planned for this year! I know you all have been waiting a long time already to see SAVAGE CIRCUS live for the first time and I have been really curious to meet you all again as well, but there is just nothing I can do to change this situation

"The doctors are convinced, that a long-term rest along with several psychological and physical treatments for the next months is the only way to make me feel better. After fighting this reality for a longer time I am ready now to take this road. It is the only way to get back on my feet. My entire body is totally power-drained and I am almost unable to concentrate on anything. Furthermore I am suffering from a chronic tonsillitis for almost 10 weeks by now which even with antibiotics is not getting better. According to the docs it seems that all is based on my stressed body and mind, which do not get a recovery if I go on like this. So I will take this advice and will give my body and soul a break to regain my powers and charge up my battery for the upcoming SAVAGE CIRCUS production in 2007.

"Please understand that I cannot give you any information about the nature of my private problems since they should stay private. I am not exaggerating in saying, having still some power left in me is already a miracle under this circumstances. I hope you all do understand this serious situation. It breaks my heart to post this message, but I see no alternative.

"But there also is some good news: all shows will happen as planned! For good luck Piet could manage to hire Thomas Nack once more for the upcoming gigs, so the shows will happen for sure and with a more than worthy stand-in for me! So don't be sad, friends! Kick ass, as Piet, Thomas, Jens, Emil will do as well! Make every show a big party for me and have fun! This will give me the strength to go through all this. Right now I am not in the position of giving. This time I need you and your support. I know that none of you will let me down and this makes me feel better already.

"I truly hope to see you all again soon!"

In a separate statement, the other members of SAVAGE CIRCUS — Jens Carlsson (lead vocals),Emil Norberg (guitar),and Piet Sielck (guitars, backing vocals) had the following to say regarding the matter:

"As you can imagine we are quite shocked by this truly bad news, though it does not take us by surprise completely. We have been aware, that Thomen was having a real hard time in the past but it seemed as if he would be strong enough to deal with all his strokes of fate. Unfortunately, we overestimated his powers… just as he did himself, too. Please understand, that we also cannot talk about the nature of his problems, but we can say for sure that they are massive.

"Of course, Thomen gets all the support we can give. The band is behind him AS ONE! Therefore, besides our personal feelings about the live shows, it is our duty to play all 2006 shows for Thomen. There is no good in cancelling the gigs since SAVAGE CIRCUS is the only way to give Thomen what he needs most in those times: Support. Support by us, by our friends and partners and by you, the fans! He needs you! For decades it has been Thomen who was giving his heart and his music to you. 2006 it is your chance to pay him back. Come to the shows to party and kick ass with us so we can tell Thomen, what all our great fans are doing for him. This will be the ultimate medicine!

"As Thomen already said, we know that you will not let us down. We will start rehearsing with Thomas Nack right away to guarantee for killer SAVAGE CIRCUS shows in 2006!"

SAVAGE CIRCUS's debut album, "Dreamland Manor", was released in North America in March via Century Media Records.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).