Four dates on King Diamond’s current European tour have been scrapped due to illness. The band’s frontman has been diagnosed with strep throat, a bacterial infection that typically causes a sore throat and often requires a period of vocal rest.
In a message posted on social media earlier today, the singer gave fans an update on his condition and hopes for recovery: “Hello everyone, King Diamond here. As you may know by now, I was diagnosed with strep throat this past Saturday, and told to rest a certain amount of days. As I have had experience with strep throat before, I believe that with the medicine prescribed by the doctor and my own knowledge, I can be back singing before the estimated day.
By cutting my recuperation from suggested 14 days to 6, which I feel might work in this case, we could be back performing this Thursday, July 10 in Athens, Greece. Send me a devil’s prayer or two and I shall do my utmost for this to happen.”
The canceled performances include:
- July 5 – Rockmaraton Festival in Dunaújváros, Hungary
- July 6 – Arena Wien in Vienna, Austria
- July 8 – Arenale Romane in Bucharest, Romania
- July 9 – Arena Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria
The tour originally kicked off on June 4 at Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. The current live lineup includes King Diamond on vocals, Andy La Rocque and Mike Wead on guitars, Pontus Egberg on bass, and Matt Thompson on drums. Also joining the group for this run is Greek singer Hel Pyre, formerly of Nervosa, who is contributing backing vocals throughout the tour.
