Protest the Hero Cancel Tour Dates Due to Rody Walker’s Vocal Issues
Well, this stinks: Protest the Hero vocalist Rody Walker is experiencing some issues with his voice, causing the cancelation of the band’s U.K., European and Japanese tour dates and delaying the recording of their next album (which, it turns out, the band has been quietly working on for the past two years).
Walker began experiencing issues on the North American leg of the band’s 10th anniversary Fortress tour, and unfortunately time off between those shows and recording sessions for the next album did not heal the issue. The band and Walker issued the following statements on the band’s Facebook page this morning, as brought to our attention by Metal Injection:
“UK, Europe and Japan:
“We regret to inform you that we will be cancelling our summer tours in your wonderful countries due to unforeseen circumstances.
“During the Fortress X North American tour, Rody started to develop issues with his voice which carried on for the duration of the tour. Near the end, we were almost forced to cancel our three shows in Toronto because of it.
“Early last week, our producer flew to Toronto to begin tracking vocals for our new record (LP 5) – something we have been quietly working on for a couple years now. After only a few hours in the vocal booth, Rody’s vocal issues began to surface.
“Rody and our producer were forced to stop tracking – worried that he may do irreparable damage to his vocal chords.
“We have no other choice than to postpone our recording sessions, and cancel our tours this summer.
A”s of this moment, there are no plans to make up these shows. The next time we visit your countries will be on a headline tour in support of our new album.
“You can read Rody’s personal statement below.
“Sincerely,
“Protest The Hero
—–
“From Rody:
“Dear European and Japanese friends,
“You know when you’re hearing from Choady it’s bad news, and this time will be no different. Unfortunately, the rest of the Fortress tour is cancelled. I completely frigged myself on the North American portion of the tour. I assumed it would be like any other tour, a few days off and I’m good to go, however, I was mistaken. I don’t know whether it’s my age or so many years of improperly using my voice, but it’s not snapping back the way it once did. At this point, I’m worried that heading back on tour would result in irreparable damage. So, I’m going back to the basics, I’m going to figure out what I’m doing wrong and learn how to sing properly, all while attempting to record the new album.
“This sucks, and I’m very sorry. I hate disappointing people, but I have to put my health first.
“Choadecency”
We sincerely hope that Walker receives the vocal training he needs to get his voice in tip-top shape and that there’s no serious underlying medical issue, ala Jesse Leach. Get well soon, dude!
