Metal Church and At the Gates have each canceled their respective 2024 tour dates.
The two veteran metal bands announced the cancellations for different reasons, though it is a bummer to lose two of the year’s big metal tour packages in the same week.
Metal Church announced the cancellation of all their 2024 dates on Monday (January 22nd), citing guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof’s lingering back issues. He took to the band’s Instagram to break the news to fans:
“Dear Friends (Kurdt here). As some of you may have recently noticed during our live performances, I frequently will disappear to the side of the stage during a set and continue playing while sitting on a chair. This is due to an ongoing back issue that I’ve needed to deal with for a while now. I kept putting it off and it’s finally caught up with me, so I’m going to get this taken care of so I can continue performing live in the future.
That being said, sadly we will be canceling all upcoming show dates for 2024. I apologize for this but I need to get this taken care of. Check with your local venues for any refunds. Thank you for your continued support and I’m looking forward to seeing you in the future!”
Meanwhile, At the Gates announced the cancellation of their Spring/Summer 2024 tour early Tuesday (January 23rd) but only cited “reasons beyond our control” in a Facebook post:
“We regret to inform you that At the Gates has been forced to cancel all upcoming shows in the spring and summer due to reasons beyond our control. Special info and refund options for ticket holders, please visit the festivals FB or web pages for more info. Thanks.”
The timing of the cancellation is unfortunate for Metal Church, who were set to support the release of their new album Congregation of Annihilation, which dropped in May. It remains to be seen why At the Gates were “forced” to can their touring plans. The death metal vets welcomed back founding guitarist Anders Björler in 2022 and seemed to be on a promising trajectory following 2021’s The Nightmare of Being.
You can view each band’s social media post below.