German power metallers HELLOWEEEN have been forced to cancel their Japanese tour due to the sudden illness of drummer Daniel "Dani" Löble. In the morning hours of June 14, Löble was hospitalized with appendicitis. He underwent an emergency surgery and his doctors have strongly advised him to rest for several weeks. Due to Dani's condition, the band has no choice but to postpone the scheduled Japanese tour starting this Sunday in Hiroshima. The promoter Creative Man Production Co., Ltd. is currently working on rescheduling the dates. Please keep your tickets and kindly wait for further instructions and updates via HELLOWEEN's and Creative Man's homepage and Facebook page. Says the band in a statement: "HELLOWEEN deeply apologizes any inconvenience this may cause and greatly appreciates the understanding of their faithful Japanese fans!" HELLOWEEN is continuing to tour in support of its 15th studio album, "My God-Given Right", which was released in May 2015 via Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded between October 2014 and February 2015 at the band's MiSueno Studio on the isle of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL). The "My God-Given Right" artwork was once again created by graphic guru Martin Häusler (BON JOVI, QUEEN, GOTTHARD) and is also available as a 3D lenticular print. Regarding the new CD title, HELLOWEEN bassist Markus Grosskopf told New Noise Magazine: "You've got the fuckin' God-given damn right to do what you like to do. If you do something for many years, you've got the right to do any kind of stuff you like. You have the right to do and say anything, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. When you make the choice to do whatever you'd like to do, you've got to do it with all of your heart. You've got to do it, but you've got to deal with the problems that come with it." Grosskopf stated about the new album's musical direction: "Today, we fool around more with arrangements. It's a little more arranged, like what we did in the '80s or something. But the basic track is a basic HELLOWEEN track. If somebody writes a song and the other player plays his instrument to it, he knows exactly what he needs to do, almost without asking, to make it sound like HELLOWEEN sounds like. That's the experience you get when you do something for so many years." HELLOWEEN returned to North America to play select shows in February and March.
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