Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has been diagnosed with acute laryngitis, leading to the cancellation of three shows on the band's current North American tour.
In a Facebook post, Åkerfeldt wrote, "It all started with voice problems in Royal Oak, Michigan. I had a doctor take a look at me before that show, and even if he gave me the all-clear in terms of being free from flu symptoms and the likes, he couldn’t dismiss potential problems with the vocal cords.
"Which indeed I had during Saturdays show. So we have a day off to rest during Sunday and arrived in sunny Worcester Monday morning to another doctor’s appointment. This time the doctor advised a 3-4 day rest due to 'acute laryngitis'."
He continues, "We set the stage up and started getting ready for soundcheck anyways. As I was warming up my voice it was abundantly clear that I was not going to be able to perform at the level where I want to be vocally. I sounded like a goddamn troll. And not in a good way.
"So, I’ll end this rant with a massive apology to the people looking forward to tonight’s event as well as to our Canadian friends. We are currently looking into postponing these cancelled shows and come back hopefully with a clean bill of vocal-health and everything else. Try and make it up to you. In the meantime…I’ll watch TV. The joy!"
The affected shows were Monday's performance at The Palladium in Worcester, MA., last night's show in Montreal, QC., and this evening's gig at The Rebel on Toronto, ON. The tour will resume in New York on Friday.
In November it was confirmed that Opeth will headline this year’s ArcTanGent festival in the UK.
Opeth 2020 North American tour
Feb 21: New York Apollo Theater, NY (With Graveyard)
Feb 22: New York Apollo Theater, NY (With Graveyard)
Feb 23: Silver Spring The Fillmore, MD (With Graveyard)
Feb 25: Indianapolis Egyptian Room at Old National Centre, IN (With Graveyard)
Feb 26: Nashville Ryman Auditorium, TN
Feb 28: Houston House of Blues, TX (With Graveyard)
Feb 29: Irving The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, TX (With Graveyard)
Mar 01: Kansas City Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland, MO
Mar 02: Denver The Mission Ballroom, CO (With Graveyard)
Mar 04: Los Angeles Hollywood Palladium, CA (With Graveyard)
