SKINLESS On Death Metal Scene: 'The Posers Are Few, The Followers Are Devout'

New York-based death metallers SKINLESS have posted the following message on their web site:

"We fulfilled our own prophecies by calling this the 'Nation Retardation' tour because that is exactly what it became... while it was by not an overwhelmingly negative tour we were met with new challenges every day.

"If there is one thing that I want our fans to know it's that many decisions are made that are totally out of our hands. With the poor economy and the music business literally on its knees, promoters are more likely than ever to flake on their end of the deal. A majority of promoters care about the bands and realize that a shows success is directly attributable to the band's performance. There are a handful out there that are just out for the quick buck and will cut every corner. Quite frequently we are shorted on food and basic rider requirements, something that the promoters are contractually obligated to provide but many times they pocket the money that should have been designated to feed the bands. This really sucks for 6 guys who have been riding hours upon hours in a van without anything real to eat and when people get hungry tensions run high.

"For a band like SKINLESS there is much more than taking the stage the for 40 min every night, many times we travel 300-600 miles to each show. We are responsible for getting ourselves where we have to go safely, loading all our own equipment, setting up, performing, tearing down and loading out and driving to the next city, it's hard WORK. Every day just like everyone else has to go to work, we do to but we don't get to come home to our own beds every night. This makes it that more frustrating when a promoter doses not fulfill their end of the bargain. It's impossible for the human body to function properly with out at least one good meal a day.

"The bottom line is fighting with promoters over a couple bucks for food makes a negative impact on the nights performance for any band. Hunger aside, the absolute worst is playing a show for very appreciative fans who paid hard earned money for the show and having a promoter tell you at the end that you will not be getting paid. The guys who do this are not part of the scene they don't even come to the shows, they sit at home and wait for the money they STOLE from the bands. These types of promoters are the worst because they never have the balls to tell you to your face that they are going to rip you off.

"One last thing about shitty promoters and I'll move on to the positives. Promoters will often get cold feet at the last minute when they book a show due to poor pre-sales, metal has always been mostly a 'walk up' business meaning people buy their tickets at the door and not in advance to avoid Ticketmaster surcharges etc.. A couple shows on this tour were cancelled BY THE PROMOTERS. Frequently they will try and blame it on the bands but it's never the case. We're ready to play any show we're booked on. If we are physically able to play the show we are there. If we're not available to play we simply are not booked on the show, many times promoters will use the bands name knowing they were never booked or knowing the band has cancelled weeks in advance. Trust that we are here for the fans and know that there are greedy bastards out there that have no place in the scene that try to turn us on each other.

"With that negativity behind us, the real reason we are on the road is for you, the fan. It's certainly not for the money cause we're all back to the pizza shops and our normal jobs now that the tour is over.

"I swear the pizza business keeps Death Metal alive! We exist for the excitement of the fans and to deliver the music that makes us feel alive in a different venue and different city every night. I've come to realize that this music chooses you, it's in your blood. It's not something you can escape or separate yourself from, metal comes from within. What I love about this scene is the trueness of the fans, either you live for this music or you don't. The posers are few, the followers are devout."