Original news, posted on 04.09.2010

Kamelot have made the following statement:

"The band and crew are all here in Tampa rehearsing for the tour. Visas have been cleared and the guys are in good spirits and ready to party with all of you. However, during rehearsals, Roy Khantatat became severely ill. Due to this, as yet undiagnosed, illness, Roy reluctantly has been forced to head back home to Norway. He is currently under his physician's care, but unfortunately these circumstances will prevent him from joining us on the North American concert tour. Of course, we want Roy to take care of his health as priority one for now and for the future.

After much consideration on how to proceed, all of us in Kamelot feel strongly about keeping our commitment to our fans, promoters, and support bands on this tour! We are all ready and excited about playing these shows, we have flown in people from around the world to be apart of it and it has been in the works over a year! Therefore, we are working diligently with a fantastic singer willing to step in at the eleventh hour in order to make this tour a reality - our good friend Michael Eriksen from Circus Maximus has agreed to fill in for Roy! And we are excited to announce a special guest: Swedish vocalist Elize Ryd from Amaranthe will be joining the band on the North American Tour. She will also be part of the VIP meet and greet! Elize toured with us on our Summer Pandemonium Tour and also the European tour earlier this Spring.

Roy also commented: "I am terribly sorry that I cannot do this upcoming tour in North America this fall. We have our most fantastic album ever coming out in September, and the timing could have been better I guess. The band has my full and unconditional blessing to go out there and kick ass regardless, and I feel we have found a good replacement in Michael. He is a very good singer and long time friend. Be good to him! Hope to see you soon!"

Michael states: "Roy and I go way back, so when he called and asked me to help him and the rest of Kamelot to do their long planned USA tour, I told him, 'Sure bro, I am there for you.' It will be big shoes to fill, but in his honor I will do my best to give the Kamelotfans a show they have long awaited. So grab your earplugs and come join the party!"


UPDATE: (thanks to Zhao)

Last week, Kamelot announced that vocalist Roy "Khan" Khantatat was sitting out the upcoming North American trek because of a severe illness. Circus Maximus Michael Eriksen would be falling in for Khan. But now the band has announced they're postponing the tour altogether. Here's the official word:

"We have been rehearsing like madmen here in Tampa ? the band is tighter than ever and Michael from Circus Maximus is truly an amazing singer; if there is one male vocalist in this world who is on par with Roy, it is Michael! However, after today's rehearsal, we all decided that we do not feel right about doing the North American tour as anything less than a 100% Kamelot Experience.

We appreciate that many fans have waited more than 2 years for new material and to see us perform together. Our new album, Poetry for the Poisoned represents a labor of love from us, and to present it at anything less than full strength seems a disservice to all involved. Though we will suffer financial losses on this late hour cancellation, we still feel it's the right decision for us as a band to make - we regret disappointing all those who worked so hard to shape this tour, and especially those fans who were still so willing to come through and support us despite Roy's absence. We are humbled by that type of support, and we sincerely hope that our return in full form Kamelot strength will be more reward for your unwavering loyalty!

We will reschedule all shows in the near future, once Roy is able to return. Refunds can be obtained at the point of purchase. To thank Michael for his effort, the band will still appear at the sold-out Progpower Festival, as a one off show with him and many special guest singers from the festival. It will be one hellava party! Again, we want to thank all of you for your amazing support!"

Source:	kamelot.com
Band profile:	Kamelot
Event:	Kamelot + Leaves' Eyes [POSTPONED]