I’ve had my ticket for Maryland Deathfest purchased since the day it’s gone on sale, and I’ve been pretty stoked about making the pilgrimage up to Baltimore this summer ever since. One of the main selling points for me was the exclusive US show from Norway’s Ulver. A weekend of brutal and abrasive metal with a high profile set of ambient and electronic compositions? You can’t beat it.
Now though, Ulver have crushed my spirit by announcing that they are pulling out of booked dates coming up, including their appearance at Maryland Deathfest. Shit.
We regret to inform you that for the second time in our live-career we are obliged to cancel our most imminent shows. This includes the announced concert in Moscow (with orchestra) in April as well as the Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore in May. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and/or disappointment this may be for some, but the time is simply not right for us.
We just got home from a shorter tour of Europe and have been advised by the doctors to take it easy, for the time being, due to unexpected health concerns. We feel that it would be irresponsible to proceed with these big shows now that visas and flights etc. are about to go through and high costs are about to be incurred on promoter’s end – as we are simultaneously undergoing medicals, waiting for verdicts etc. – not quite knowing if things will be better or worse by the time these concerts would have taken place.
Instead of a potential last minute pullout we have decided to withdraw now – before any real damage is done – and focus on getting out of the woods. We apologize to both of the promoters and the people who were looking forward to these concerts. Cross our fingers and hope to return at a later stage.
Ulver, Oslo, March 4 2014.
It didn’t take MDF officials long to address the issue regarding the vacant spot in the lineup:
We will be filling the vacant space created by the cancellation and that will be addressed within the next couple of days. We kindly request that you keep your expectations in line with reality, given that we are dealing with short notice and a limited list of available bands that could be considered a legitimate replacement for Ulver.
I’m going to go ahead and guess that Sunn O))) will be out of the question. After all, if they were free and willing I’m sure they’d have been booked to begin with. Fortunately, it looks like they’re looking for a band that will be on the same level as Ulver. We’ll update you when something happens!
– JR