GRAVE Explains Its Non-Participation In MASSACRE Tour

Swedish death metal veterans GRAVE have issued the following statement:

"As announced earlier today on Blabbermouth.net, GRAVE will not be a part of the upcoming MASSACRE European tour dubbed 'Army Of Darkness'. We are being 'replaced' by MACABRE which will be a killer addition to the already confirmed lineup of MASSACRE and MASTER.

"A lot of people have contacted us the past weeks regarding this tour, both excited about the package and gigs that were booked and announced in their hometowns and also others asking why we haven't announced any of these dates yet. Well, the answer is very simple: we were approached and asked to participate on this tour and we absolutely wanted and considered doing it. However, the organizer and GRAVE never agreed on or confirmed the terms for the tour, and for some very strange reason, they still started booking shows with us on the bill.

"The only reason that we have not gone public with this earlier is out of respect for Terry, Rick and MASSACRE in order to give them a chance to find and announce a [replacement band] for us instead of leaving them and fans in the dark without a solid bill for the tour.

"We wish them all the luck and success for the tour. GRAVE will return after finishing our 10th album."

GRAVE recently parted ways with guitarist Magnus Martinsson. According to the group, Magnus who has played with GRAVE since 2008 and his now-former bandmates made "this joint decision after going through plans for next year and we needed to address this within the band before we start the new album process. There aren't now, and have never been, any hard feelings between us and we wish him the best in any future endeavors."

GRAVE's next live appearance is scheduled for November 12 at Club Distortion/Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden. The band will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its classic 1991 debut album, "Into The Grave", by performing the LP in its entirety, along with "another handful classic tunes." Support at the show will come from VICIOUS ART and GENERAL SURGERY. The entire concert will be filmed for release in 2012.

Commented GRAVE: "We've recruited Mika Lagreen (FACEBREAKER) for the Stockholm anniversary gig and he should fit right in since he already handled the stage left axe on our latest European tour. He will, of course, also be with us through the new album process and upcoming shows/tours."

GRAVE in September completed a North American headlining tour with support from BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY and GIGAN.

GRAVE recently inked a new deal with Century Media Records and is preparing to enter the studio to begin recording its next album for a late spring 2012 release. The group says, "We will start writing and arranging songs in November and enter the legendary Studio Soulless again in early January. We also have a very cool idea for a special bonus disc, [but] more on this later."

GRAVE's latest album, "Burial Ground", was released on June 14, 2010 via Regain Records. The CD's cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13 Media.