SATAN's BRIAN ROSS To Undergo 'Major Life-Saving Preventative Surgery'

Vocalist Brian Ross of long-running heavy metal titans SATAN will undergo a "major life-saving preventative surgery" this spring, resulting in the postponement of all of the band's shows for the remainder of the year.

Earlier today, SATAN released the following statement via social media: "Fans and friends, with a heavy heart, we must announce a break from scheduled performances. Our singer, the inimitable Brian Ross, has just learned that he must have a major, life-saving preventative surgery in April/ May 2026. His recovery will take several months. This sadly means that SATAN is forced to postpone all planned concerts for 2026, with the exception of this weeks shows in Spain which will go ahead as planned.

"This is not what we wanted, but we trust that you all want Brian to take care of his health, recover fully and come back stronger and more powerful than ever in 2027.

"Thank you so much for your unwavering love and support!"

SATAN's latest album, "Songs In Crimson", was released in September 2024 via Metal Blade Records. The LP was produced by the band and Dave Curle of First Avenue Studios who also engineered, mixed, and mastered the record.

Originating from Newcastle, England in 1980, SATAN is known as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement. Though generally obscure throughout their career, the band is considered influential for playing a form of proto-thrash metal that was fairly advanced by the standards of the early 1980s, influencing major acts like METALLICA, EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL.

The original "Court In The Act" lineup of SATAN got together for an exclusive "one-off" reunion show at Germany's Keep It True festival in 2011 in what marked their first performance together in 28 years. The band was somewhat overwhelmed with the response — 10 minutes into headliners CRIMSON GLORY's set, the crowd could still be heard chanting, "SATAN! SATAN!" The SATAN bandmembers immediately booked more shows in Germany, Holland, Belgium and London, and have since released five studio albums: "Life Sentence" (2013),"Atom By Atom" (2015),"Cruel Magic" (2018),"Earth Infernal" (2022) and "Songs In Crimson" (2024).

In an interview with Alikivi, Ross stated about the SATAN band moniker: "That name has certain significance and imagery attached to it for some people — upside down crosses and that — but our intention was not to go down that road. We weren't exactly listening to the church bells ringing out on a Sunday, but believe me, it has attracted a certain type of response from some people — shall we say maybe misguided."

SATAN guitarist and co-founder Steve Ramsey told Metal Hammer magazine: "We thought of the band name when we were just 15, and we didn't consider any consequences; it just sounded like a cool metal name. [BLACK] SABBATH weren't writing songs about slitting virgins' throats or shit like that, so it should have been okay. But then black metal and death metal started coming out and we were getting associated with it, and it wasn't what we were about. The very negative press we got in England really knocked us for six, but looking back now it doesn't make any sense."