Blackenedfest, a North American tour featuring MAYHEM, MARDUK, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATTLE DECAPITATION, and WITHERED has been partially marred by MARDUK’s unexplained absence from the tour. The tour, which kicked off on May 21st, has carried on without MARDUK’s participation. The Swedish black metal band finally issued a statement regarding their situation:
“The situation with MARDUK not having performed during the first week of Blackenedfest is due to Mortuus, the vocalist, not having received his visa yet.
“It is not a ‘denied’ visa. The band filed for a P-1 non-immigrant work visa, which is required for a band to play in the states. The visa was APPROVED by the United States Government’s Homeland Security Office.
“Furthermore, as required, the band members each individually went to their Visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm for the standard interview, at which point the persons handling the band’s applications informed the band that there was no further action needed and that they should expect their passports in the mail with the P-1 visa attached.
“Everyone in the band received theirs except Mortuus.
“The day before tour, while the rest of the band were at the airport awaiting to board their flights to the US, Mortuus returned to the embassy to inquire as to the location of his passport. At this point he was informed that he was missing one document in order to finalize the visa.
“No one in the band, nor the label, was made aware of this missing form. After we were made aware of this missing document, we provided the document to the Embassy in Stockholm and we are currently awaiting each day for the Passport to be returned to Mortuus with the visa stamp. The Embassy is aware of the urgency of this matter and we expect the band to join the tour in progress any day now. MARDUK are prepared to make up the shows they missed immediately after Blackenedfest ends. These dates will be announced upon the band’s arrival in the US.
“We are staying on top of the situation each day and hope to announce the arrival of the band soon.”
Remaining Blackenedfest dates are as follows:
May 29 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater May 30 - Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse May 31 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues Jun. 02 - Hollywood, CA - House Of Blues Jun. 03 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Jun. 04 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre Jun. 05 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven Jun. 06 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House Jun. 07 - Denver, CO - Gothic Theater Jun. 09 - St Paul, MN - Station 4 Jun. 11 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues Jun. 12 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s Jun. 13 - Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater Jun. 14 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House Jun. 15 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques