OPETH have been forced to cancel their previously announced gig in Jordan due to sickness.

The following is OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt's official statement on the matter:

"It's seem to be a dark spell upon OPETH at this moment. First Chile and now Jordan. I'm in a terrible state myself right now but will try to explain to you our reasons for cancelling.

"[OPETH drummer] Martin Lopez called me 10 minutes before I was supposed to get in the cab for the airport saying he couldn't go. He's suffered a stress-related breakdown and said he simply couldn't do this. We've never cancelled a gig ever before due to the state of the band, so I knew he was serious when he said this. He has a doctors appointment and my guess is that he's suffering from panic or anxiety attacks. This is the reason why we decided to cancel this gig in Amman, Jordan.

"Yesterday our entire (all but one) crew dropped off due to the recent terrorist attacks. See, our crew is from the UK and were worried they'd be going into trouble. So at one point we had no crew, and the gig was in danger of being cancelled. After close talk with Mute Records we decided that we'll go anyways regardless if we had enough crew guys or not, and now this!!

"I want to stress out to all the fans that has travelled high and low to get to the venue in Amman that we are beyond sorry! I can't tell you how bad we feel about this. We sincerely hope that we'll get another chance to do a gig in Jordan soon, in fact we are trying to talk to Mute Records about that possibility. All of us really looked forward to going to Amman, not only because of the gig but also because there was a day set out for us to do some serious sightseeing of your country.

"These are dark times for OPETH and it seems like the circumstances got the best of us this time. We've done over 150 gigs this year I believe so in a way I'm not surprised.

"As I'm writing this I've just got informed about a death in the Akerfeldt family so my mind is not what it should be. I'm trying to keep it together here and explain to you, and apologize for all the problems we've caused.

"Anyways, we love you all and again, we're so sorry!! I'm gonna post something about Martin Lopez state as soon as I know myself."

Band profile:

Opeth

Sweden's OPETH recently returned from their first-ever Scandinavian tour. The band performed live in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The Finns finally had a chance to see the band live in concert for the first time ever, and OPETH tried to repay their "debt" by playing a set over two hours 20 minutes long in Helsinki. Surprise for this tour was the inclusion of "April Ethereal" from the 1997 album "My Arms Your Hearse". This has only been played live twice before back in 1997.

The long-awaited DVD, "Lamentations - Live at Shepards Bush Empire" will be released in late November through Music For Nations. American release is set for the end of February 2004.

Candlelight Records have re-issued the first three OPETH albums ("Orchid", "Morningrise", and "My Arms Your Hearse") in embossed tin-can editions. This is a very limited release and they're available now.

Since OPETH have been in North America three times in support of "Deliverance" and "Damnation", there will be some drastic changes in the band's live set list for the upcoming 2004 tour. To keep the interest from the fans, the band will pull out a series of never-before-played numbers from albums past and present. Some songs up for rehearsals are "The Moor", "Nectar" and "Blackwater Park", among others.

Band profile:

Opeth

OPETH have set "Lamentations - Live At Shepherds Bush Empire" as the title for their forthcoming live DVD, due on November 24 through Music For Nations.

As previously reported, the disc, which was recorded September 25 in London, will contain both the mellow and heavy set with a running time of approximately an hour each, as well as a unique 65-minute documentary about the band with in-depth focus on the recording of "Deliverance" and "Damnation". "Lamentations?", which was mixed by "Deliverance" mixer and co-producer Andy Sneap, will also include exclusive interviews with the band and producer. A two-CD live album will also be issued in the coming months.

Band profile:

Opeth

OPETH have spent the weekend supervising the pre-mix of the live tracks recorded on September 25 in London. "Deliverance" mixer and co-producer Andy Sneap will take care of the final mix. The as-yet-untitled DVD will contain both the mellow and heavy set with a running time of approximately an hour each, as well as a unique 65-minute documentary about the band with in-depth focus on the recording of "Deliverance" and "Damnation". It will also include excusive interviews with the band and producer. A two-CD live album will also be issued in the coming months.

The band are currently in between tours and are concentrating on the DVD as well as rehearsals for the upcoming Scandinavian tour starting on October 15 in Helsinki, Finland. The set list will consist of songs from OPETH's entire career.

South American dates have been confirmed for mid-November. The Australian tour will start in Adelaide on December 9 of December and will finish with three nights (December 13-15) at the Hi-Fi in Melbourne.

Band profile:

Opeth