Avenged Sevenfold has pulled the plug on the remaining dates on the band's North American tour due to a “terrible viral infection” that has hit frontman M. Shadows.
The rock band was scheduled to perform at the Heavy Montreal festival on Jul. 29 and in Toronto on Aug. 9. Appearances in Québec City, Saint John, and Rimouski, QC were also scrapped.
Heavy Montreal announced on their Facebook Page Friday that Limp Bizkit will replace Avenged Sevenfold.
In a statement posted on Avenged Sevenfold's website, M. Shadows (aka Matthew Sanders) explained: “After Europe I came down with a terrible viral infection that rendered me voiceless. I tried my best to take care of the situation with voice rest, medication and doctor visits but the voice was only getting worse.
"After a week of steroids, the swelling went down enough to see the cause of the problem. A blood blister has formed on my vocal folds and is preventing them from vibrating properly. In short, I can't sing anything at the moment and the more I attempt to, the more damage is being done. Luckily, as of now the doctors feel that 3 months of no singing and voice rest should get my chords back on track."
The singer added: "Decisions like this weigh on me very heavily. It's a tour I was looking forward to very much. I want to apologize to the fans who have spent their time and money booking travel arrangements and accommodations. I also want to apologize to our crew and the other bands who were depending on this tour."
See the full statement from Shadows here.