Primal Fear announce lineup change for upcoming shows in South America

Primal Fear announce a lineup change for their upcoming shows in South America. The band shared the news via their social media channels.

An important message to all our fans about the South American Tour.

Sadly we have to tell you that Mat won’t be able to join the band on the forthcoming shows in ARG & BRA. Mat lost a fight against a drumriser in London and slashed his right leg in a very evil way. After some more shows the doctors in Norway planned to have a surgery on his leg because the infection was already on a bad level and to prevent a sepsis. Mat is now at home and needs to recover for another 3-4 weeks to avoid any operation. Doctors say it would be a huge risk to sit in a plane for 15 hours – health comes first.

This wasn’t an easy decision. We know many of you were looking forward to seeing us together on stage and Mat is truly sorry for any disappointment this may cause. We promise to give 200% on the shows and Mat will be replaced by Gamma Ray’s Dirk Schlächter.

Thank you for your understanding, your patience, believe & faith.

Yours,

Ralf, Thalia, Magnus, André & Mat

Upcoming shows:

• Thursday, April 16, 2026 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – El Teatro Flores
• Tuesday, April 21, 2026 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil – Mister Rock
• Friday, April 24, 2026 – São Paulo, Brazil – Audio

Ralf Scheepers and Mat Sinner formed Primal Fear in October 1997. Ralf Scheepers was a vocalist for the bands Tyran Pace, F.B.I., and the globally popular band Gamma Ray. The idea to start Primal Fear emerged following a performance with his Judas Priest cover band Just Priest, in which Tom Naumann and Mat Sinner assisted. In late 1997, they got a record contract with Nuclear Blast Records. One of the highest chart entries for a debut album in German metal, “Primal Fear” was released in February 1998 and peaked at number 48 on the German LP charts. They went on tour with HammerFall and Running Wild that same year.