MACHINE HEAD Guitarist PHIL DEMMEL Collapses On Stage In Finland

July 25, 2009

MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel is fine after dramatically collapsing on stage earlier today (Saturday, July 25) during the finale to the band's blistering set at the Sonisphere festival in Pori, Finland. Although he had to be helped off stage, he exclusively told Team Sonisphere that he is now feeling okay.

"Basically I want to apologize to all the fans for cheating them of their last song," he said.

After breaking the news on Twitter, Team Sonisphere was inundated with messages from worried fans.

"I feel I short-changed the fans and really want to make it up for them," Phil said backstage afterwards. "Thanks for all the concern."

This is not the first time Phil — who suffers from a rare condition called cardiogenic syncope (which means that the heart sometimes fails to pump enough blood to the brain, resulting in the sufferer blacking out) — has collapsed on stage. MACHINE HEAD was forced to cancel the last two shows of its European tour with SLIPKNOT last December after Demmel blacked out during the second-to-last song of the band's set in Sheffield, England. (See fan-filmed video footage of the incident below.)

In a February 2009 interview with HeadbangersBlog.com, MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn stated about Demmel's previous collapses, "It had been happening a bit on this last tour, most dramatically in Paris where, for no apparent reason, at one in the afternoon, he collapsed face first into a wooden table and broke two glass ashtrays on his chest and had to go to the hospital. For the most part, none were public or onstage, so they weren't publicized, but we're very concerned, worried, and a little scared about what's going on. It's confusing. And because it's so random, frankly, it seems dangerous. The doctors he's been seeing, in my opinion, haven't been doing enough, and the advice they've given him is ridiculous. But he seems to be feeling good, and it hasn't happened since then, which is a great sign. He's working to change his habits and to be a little healthier (eating, exercise, stretching) but other than the first few days out, his habits haven't really changed much."

Photo credit: Dirt Junior

Demmel collapsing on stage in Sheffield, England (December 2008):

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