After a flurry of rumors swirling around, the British doom metal legends MY DYING BRIDE have officially confirmed what fans feared: due to internal challenges, they're pulling the plug on all live performances slated for 2024. This band's decision ripples into the lineup of the KILKIM ŽAIBU festival. But fear not, Lithuanian metalheads, you're not getting shortchanged – instead, you're in for a treat with the Portuguese masters of gothic, doom, and black metal – MOONSPELL.
We're bummed about MY DYING BRIDE calling for a concert hiatus, especially after locking in the tour calendar, and it's a bummer for our festival–goers missing out on this long–awaited act. We wish them smooth sailing through their internal hurdles, a good rest, and continued success in their musical endeavors. However, we're thrilled to announce that KILKIM ŽAIBU has executed a swift lineup switcheroo, and filling in the Brits' hefty shoes will be none other than MOONSPELL.
Rumors about MY DYING BRIDE skipping live shows this summer started circulating in early April, but the official clarification from the band itself came only in recent days.
"The production of this latest album was arduous and challenging to such an extent that it has revealed fractures within the band. These tensions had already been observed during the creation of the previous 2 albums and were only exacerbated during the Covid period. Over the past few months, they have intensified, causing a profound sense of discontent among the band members. The resulting stress and the pervasive feeling of burnout, along with the physical and mental malaise it creates, necessitated a period of time off which unfortunately impacts on live shows.
The reason for the lack of an official statement until now is because the band has truly hoped to resolve these internal issues and perform some shows this year while trying find a resolution in time to satisfy all parties involved. Sadly, this resolution is yet to be found.
Regrettably, a lack of understanding and poor communication from our professional partners has resulted in an untimely and chaotic mess from which a recovery is challenging. However, the promoters have now been officially contacted and it is hoped that steps can be taken to minimise the impact on you all.
We apologise for keeping you in the dark, but these are indeed challenging times," the band officially states.
Taking the stage at this year's largest metal gathering in Lithuania will be MOONSPELL, who could be dubbed as kin to MY DYING BRIDE.
During similar stretches of their musical careers, these bands have toured together, released collaborative live albums, and often found themselves on the same festival bills.
We have no doubt that for many fans of heavy music, whose hearts were touched by one of these bands in one way or another, the other has left a similar impression. The stylistic similarities between these bands and the proximity of the moods they evoke allow us to confidently state that fans of darker, slower metal will undoubtedly witness a top–notch performance this summer. Rest assured, we'll make up for MY DYING BRIDE'S absence in Lithuania as soon as the band is ready to climb back onto the stage.
