Visa Issues Force Hour of Penance Off Fleshgod Apocalypse / Septicflesh Tour
Ah, visa issues, thwarting the best laid of tour plans as far back as we can remember. Post-9/11, I guess? I don’t remember this crap happening back in the day. But I also didn’t pay as close attention back then.
And so it is for Hour of Penance, who were supposed to be touring the U.S. and Canada with Fleshgod Apocalypse, Septicflesh and Necronomicon later this June and July but have been forced to drop off because some jabroni in the State Department has a thing against metal bands. The band posted the following on Facebook on Friday:
As some already noticed on the Conquerors of the world tour poster our name has been removed. Unfortunately we had some problems with the Visas and due to that we had to leave the tour ..of course this was not a easy decision to make. But don’t worry we’re already working on a new U.S tour and we’ll bring REGICIDE live very soon!
It’s worth noting that Fleshgod Apocalypse are also from Italy and, as far as we know, haven’t had any visa problems. Maybe Fleshgod got a head start on the paperwork because it’s their tour? Perhaps someone in Hour of Penance got into legal trouble? Perhaps it’s something else entirely (family/work issues?) and they’re just using visa issues as a scapegoat? Unfortunately Hour of Penance haven’t told us specifically what the problems with their visas are, so all we can do is speculate. Although based on the fact that they claim they’re already working on another U.S. tour it probably isn’t anything too serious.
Stepping in for Hour of Penance will be Black Crown Initiate. BCI certainly don’t have the name recognition or status of Hour of Penance (or even a full album out!) so their selection as a replacement is a bit curious, but they are a very good band that you should absolutely arrive early to see if you’re attending one of the tour’s stops. Dates below.
06/22/14 – Springfield, VA – Empire
06/23/14 – Wilmington, DE – Mojo 13
06/24/14 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
06/25/14 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East
06/26/14 – Montreal, QC – Café Campus
06/27/14 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
06/28/14 – Lakewood, OH – The Foundry
06/29/14 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
06/30/14 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
07/01/14 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
07/03/14 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
07/04/14 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
07/05/14 – Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
07/06/14 – Portland, OR – Tonic Lounge
07/07/14 – Oakland, CA – Metro Opera House
07/08/14 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
07/09/14 – Las Vegas, NV – Cheyenne Saloon
07/10/14 – Phoenix, AZ – Joe’s Grotto
07/12/14 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
[via No Clean Singing]
