Venom Prison Cancel All 2022 Shows so Vocalist Can Focus on Motherhood: “My Son and My Family Need Me”

UK death metal outfit Venom Prison have canceled all of their 2022 shows and festival appearances in order for vocalist Larissa Stupar to focus on being a mother.

The band shared the news via Twitter:

“It is with great sadness that we’d like to inform you that we decided to cancel all our upcoming performances for 2022.

“During my pregnancy I have made plans to make festivals and shows possible for Venom Prison. I have now realised that I was being too ambitious and was putting too much pressure on myself to make things happen while navigating motherhood for the very first time.

“Ash, Ben, Mike and Joe have worked really hard to return back onstage while trying to accommodate my situation. And I am very grateful for their support and understanding. We really tried but my son and family need me full time at the moment.

“We are going to focus on the creative side of things for now before we can start playing shows again. This means we have more new material on the horizon and other positives to focus on.”

Stupar’s son, Aleksander, was born in March of this year. She has previously been critical of the music industry for their lack of support for pregnant women and mothers, writing an editorial for Kerrang where she explained her feelings:

“Women are still a minority in the live music industry and that is one of the main reasons these topics are hardly talked about. We need to introduce strategies and arrangements for pregnant musicians and crew. Like in any other industry, we need to learn not to discriminate due to pregnancy, how to respectfully talk about these issues with expecting parents and offer support wherever possible. We need to do better.”

Venom Prison released their fourth LP, Erebos, in February via Century Media. MetalSucks praised the album for its “ultra-earnest but thoroughly-modern approach,” as well as the no-nonsense lyrics and delivery the band has become known for.