"It is an odd and sad headline at the same time," says Destruction leader Schmier. "Our drummer Vaaver will leave us because of family reasons this March.

"After eight years this is bad news but we are still friends and wish him and his family all the best! He will release a statement ASAP!

"Most important: ALL shows will go ahead. Vaaver will play with us till this March. So give him a nice goodbye please!

"Mr. Randy Black, who already replaced him on his baby-break, will step in for the shows after March, until we decide who will be his worthy successor.

"Now we have almost beaten SPINAL TAP right?

Good thing - no farewell tour yet! :-P UNITED WE STAND, cheers for all the years Vaaver!"

Destruction perform next on eighth edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which sails from Miami / Fort Lauderdale, FL to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands and back, February 1st - 5th.

Every band on board 70000 Tons Of Metal plays twice: Aborted, Aeternam, Alestorm, Amberian Dawn, Battle Beast, Benediction, Benighted, Beyond Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Dark Tranquillity, Destruction, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, Enslaved, Evergrey, Exciter, Exhumed, Freedom Call, Goatwhore, Gyze, In Extremo, Insomnium, Korpiklaani, Kreator, Masterplan, Metal Church, Meshuggah, Naglfar, Necrophobic, Obscura, October Tide, Primal Fear, Rhapsody, Sabaton, Samael, Septicflesh, Sepultura, Sinister, Sirenia, Sonata Arctica, Swallow The Sun, Threshold, Witchery, Wolfchant, Wolfheart, and Voivod.

Ticket prices for the 2018 cruise start at USD 766.00 plus taxes and fees per person and include on board accommodation, access to all shows, meals, room service as well as port and service charges. Everyone on board is a VIP, and most importantly the bars on the ship never close!

“Every year I book a very diverse lineup trying to cover all sub-genres of heavy metal," says Andy Piller, The Skipper of 70000 Tons Of Metal. "The only thing that's even more diverse are our Survivors. Last year we welcomed metalheads from 74 (seventy-four!) different nations on board, making 70000 Tons Of Metal truly feel like the United Nations of Heavy Metal... at sea! Just imagine having people from all over the globe on the same ship. Origin, race, language, religion, lifestyle, all of that does not matter anymore. You can feel the vibe on board that everyone is equal. That's what makes me most proud about 70000 Tons Of Metal."

Visit the official 70000 Tons Of Metal website at this location, and be sure to check out their official Facebook page.