Finnish metallers Manitou have issued the following update on their MySpace blog:

"After a long struggle and a lot of effort to give some rescue breathing to this band without much results we've decided to call it a day and say goodbye to the Manitou.

We had some new rocking songs ready for the recording and we even had a new bad-ass keyboard player Mikko Reinamo on board. Too bad that we failed to get the recordings done due to the lack of motivation.

Twelve years, three great albums and a big bunch of great gigs, ups and downs. A big thank you goes to all our friends, fans, co-operation partners and supporters, you know who you are!

The good news are that Ismo, Antti, Mikko and Markus are already working together on a new still anonymous project, which will in a way continue the legacy of Manitou with a new singer and drummer on board. More info coming soon on this case, so keep on checking the Manitou MySpace site for updates on what's happening in the family.

But we won't be leaving here quietly as we'll be still performing one last show and playing the Manitou farewell gig at the mighty local Dark River Festival on August 7 at Honkala Ski Stadium in Karhula.

So, be sure you won't miss this event as you really can't catch this later!

R.I.P. Manitou 1997-2009"

Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Manitou