RAISE HELL: North American Tour Cancelled

Swedish death/thrashers RAISE HELL have cancelled their previously announced North American tour. The group's official statement on the matter reads as follows:

"We are very sad to have to inform you that we unfortunately have to cancel our tour in the last minute. We have done all in our power to make this tour possible and we regret any inconvenience this may cause you.

"The reason for the cancellation is that one of our band members didn't get his visa approved, so the whole band wasn't allowed into the U.S. Our contact at the American embassy led us to believe that there would not be a problem to get the visa approval as long as we had the proper papers at hand. When we finally managed to get all the papers we needed and had an appointment at the embassy, they turned it down to our great disappointment.

"We all discussed what options we now had, even considering the possibility of getting a session musician, or putting the show on as a four-piece and perhaps still being able to pull it off. However, after many hours of deliberation and pulling out our hair, we realized that we didn't have the sufficient amount of time to make the required changes. Finding a session member with one week's notice wouldn't be possible, and performing our show as a four-piece on our first North American tour ever wasn't realistic. All this lead us to the conclusion that there was no other option but to cancel.

"We ask you to please understand our unfortunate situation. We wanted to pull this tour off above all else, and if it weren't for this incident we would soon be on our way to the States/Canada. This is, of course, bad news for us as a band as this was a great chance for RAISE HELL to make our name heard on the American market.

"By providing more thorough documentation and allowing more time for all necessary beurocratic processes at the embassy, it should be possible to obtain the proper visa. This means that our U.S. tour is definitely still possible, and we will work hard to plan one in the near future. We hope to be able to collaborate with you at this point and will get back to you then.

"Thank you for all your time and interest in our band!"

RAISE HELL's fourth album, "City of the Damned", was released in May 2006 via Black Lodge Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Wicked Is My Game" was recorded at Sheepvalley Productions in Stockholm and was made available in both standard jewel case and digipack formats.