HAVOK Replaces POSSESSED On EXODUS's 'Swarm Of Horror' Spring 2025 U.S. Tour

Because of "recent medical issues and limitations", POSSESSED has been forced to pull out of this spring's "Swarm Of Horror" U.S. tour headlined by San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal pioneers EXODUS. They have since been replaced by Colorado thrashers HAVOK. Also appearing on the bill will be MISFIRE.

Beginning directly after EXODUS's "Bonded By Blood" 40th-anniversary shows, the tour will start in Phoenix, Arizona on April 27 and visit several markets across the central U.S., ending in Asheville, North Carolina on May 13.

"Swarm Of Horror" 2025 tour dates:

April 27 - Phoenix, AZ - Nile
April 29 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
April 30 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
May 01 - Little Rock, AR - The Hall
May 02 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
May 04 - Indianapolis, IN - Deluxe @ Old National
May 06 - Flint, MI - Machine Shop
May 08 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Piere’s
May 09 - Columbus, OH - Sonic Temple Festival *
May 11 - Birmingham, AL - Workplay
May 13 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
May 15 - Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome to Rockville *
May 17 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Metal Fest *

* EXODUS only

Earlier this week, DEICIDE pulled out of the EXODUS tour due to "scheduling conflicts" and was replaced by POSSESSED.

Last November, HAVOK released a new EP, "New Eyes". The four-track effort featured two originals and two covers, the band's take on METALLICA's "Eye Of The Beholder" and CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL's "Commotion".

HAVOK singer David Sanchez stated at the time: "'New Eyes' is an exciting step forward as it's HAVOK's first independent release since the early days of the band. 'Death Is An Illusion' introduces the band's first release since 2020 with ferocious speed and aggression that HAVOK has become known for. The EP's intro appeals to fans of metal and punk alike with its D-Beat rhythms and gang vocal choruses. The title track, 'New Eyes', is a dynamic harmony-driven song about one's perspective changing over time and reflection. These new songs were fun to write and I think people may be surprised by the ambiguous and metaphysical nature of the lyrics."

Regarding the covers, Sanchez said: "We decided to cover a classic band that nobody would expect us to... CREDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL. We're all CCR fans and their song 'Commotion' was a perfect candidate for a proper 'metalizing,' since most of the metal was already built-in. We made it a little faster, turned up the distortion, and tweaked some riffs here and there to bend into the HAVOK style."

Furthermore, he said: "We had discussed covering a METALLICA song for years, but didn't want to cover a big hit that had been covered to death, so we opted for the lesser-known 'Eye Of The Beholder'. We chose to cover this song because it's so damned heavy and the lyrics reflect HAVOK's lyrical themes throughout the last decade. We stayed true to the original where it counts, but made sure to spice up the bass guitar and drums to breathe new life into the track."

He added: "All in all, releasing the 'New Eyes' EP will be a major turning point in our musical journey and we hope that we'll reach new fans and resonate with people who have been supporting Havok over the years. We're stoked to play these new songs live and give fans the chance to scream the lyrics with us!"

HAVOK consistently garners over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with over 500,000 streams on Spotify every month, and has toured in over 50 countries around the world, supporting legendary bands like MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, CHILDREN OF BODOM, TESTAMENT, KREATOR, OVERKILL, SEPULTURA and more.