Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Joey Vera to sit out Mercyful Fate U.S. tour
Mercyful Fate have recently announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, but bassist Joey Vera will miss it due to a scheduling conflict with his band Armored Saint.
Both Mercyful Fate and Vera posted on their Instagram accounts that the bassist had previously committed to an Armored Saint tour supporting WASP, delayed due to the pandemic. This led to both tours overlapping and Vera having to choose between them.
The statement reads:
“My dear friends: As some of you have done the math and checked your calendars, you may have noticed that it appears as though I’ve scheduled myself to be on two tours at the same time this Fall. As most of you know, I have been promoting the tour with Armored Saint supporting WASP for almost a year now. A tour I committed to in 2021 and Never You Fret, I am standing by that commitment. No thanks to the results of Covid affecting nearly every aspect of the touring industry, touring schedules have since been cancelled and moved to different times in the year. And so, Mercyful Fate had received a touring opportunity recently that was impossible to turn down. Unfortunately, this schedule conflicts with my tour in the fall with Armored Saint. So, it pains me a great deal that I cannot be in two places at one time, because If I could, I most certainly would.
Over the past 3 months I have been welcomed into the Mercyful Fate family with open arms, and this includes all of the fans. I have made new lifelong friends and have had the most amazing time this summer performing with these great musicians onstage and of course for you, the fans. These Mercyful Fate shows have been some of the most incredible gigs I’ve ever been a part of. Ever. I have been asked to be a full member in the Mercyful Fate band for touring and recording their next record, and I have accepted. However, I regretfully have to sit out this upcoming Fall Tour in the USA and S. America.
Since the show must go on, I hope you will welcome my stand-in bassist for the fall tour Becky Baldwin, with your open arms, who also plans to play the Mercy music with honor and respect to our fallen brother Tim Hansen, just as I have tried to do. I know many of you have seen the live clips on Youtube, but I promise you, this is a show you will have to see in person to believe it. Prepare yourselves to be completely blown away.
I will miss my brothers and our crew in Mercy this fall, but I’m looking forward very much to playing with my mates in Saint again and of course seeing all of you on our fall tour. See ya down front!
In closing, If I may borrow King Diamond’s ‘sign off’, – Stay Heavy”
Replacement Becky Baldwin has also been announced, and Mercyful Fate has introduced her to fans in a publication on their Instagram, which you can see below.
You can see the original posts below: