Set to kick off their headlining North American tour this week, Finnish melodic death metallers Insomnium have announced a live replacement for vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevanen. 

The band comments: "Last Saturday we got unexpected phone call while driving to Gothoom Festival in Slovakia. Unfortunately, serious illness had taken place in Niilo's close family. We all felt devastated but somehow we were still able to pull through the show. However, due to these unpredicted circumstances, there was no way Niilo could have been able to leave his family behind and attend the upcoming US tour. Family is the most important thing and always comes first. We were left with two equally bad options. To cancel the tour altogether or to go and try to find replacement for Niilo in couple of days notice. We had already invested considerable amount of money on this tour and whole tour personnel had made commitments to take time off from other work to do this tour. At the same time we felt really bad about thinking about financial side of things while one of our best friends was going through terrible family tragedy. After series of emergency meetings we decided to go and look if there would be anyone that could help us out. All things considered, 50% original line up would be better than no line up at all. We also did not want to let down all the people who had already bought the tickets. Most importantly, we did not want to give up. So we went and wrote to all our friends on the state side and asked if anybody knew anyone. The response and the number of people who wanted to help us out overwhelmed us. Several talented individuals were ready to step in with short notice. We are eternally grateful and humbled by this response and it only shows how dedicated and compassionate people in US metal scene are. After numerous encounters we came across Mike Bear (Artisan, Prototype) who will be handling growling and bass duties on this tour. Mike Bear comments 'It's a huge honor to be able to help out Insomnium as they embark on their first headline tour of North America. I've been to their shows each time they've visited the U.S. over the years, and the performances and energy are something I hold in my mind as a benchmark to bring to this coming tour. All agree these are unfortunate circumstances. Though I am excited to play with the band, I will keep Niilo and his family in my thoughts and I hope all of you will as well. As a fan of the band I can tell you, the set lists that have been put together are amazing. I hope to see everyone out there in support of this tour. See you all soon!' It does break our hearts to go out on tour like this. Insomnium has always been about solidarity and unity. However, we are left with no other choices. Otherwise you would not be reading this statement. We hope that you will welcome Mike Bear and Nick Cordle (stand-in guitarist for Ville) with open arms. Moreover, I hope you give thumbs-up for both Markuses for their headstrong attitude to go out and make this tour happen no matter what. It goes without saying that these guys will put on a hell of a show every night. We can only hope that you will do the same and support us during these difficult times. We will make up this in the future and will come back only stronger.”

Ready to embark on their first US headlining tour, Insomnium have announced a split 7" with Omnium Gatherum, who will be direct support on the trek.

This release is double A-sided (meaning, each band has their own front-cover side) and contains one track from Insomnium, "Out To The Sea" (which previously appeared on the now sold-out Shadows Of The Dying Sun deluxe CD box-set edition), and one track from Omnium Gatherum, "Skyline" (which will appear on the band's new album due out February 2016).

Featuring artwork by Olli-Pekka Lappalainen (who previously created designs for both bands), this tour exclusive 7" is limited to 500 copies and available at all shows while supplies last.

Tracklisting:

Side A
“Out To The Sea” (Insomnium)

Side A
“Skyline” (Omnium Gatherum)

 

 

Tour dates:

August
9 - Montreal, QC - Heavy MTL Festival
11 - New York, NY - The Gramercy Theatre
12 - West Springfield, VA - Empire
13 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
14 - Albany, NY - Bogie's
15 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
16 - Westland, MI - Token Lounge
17 - Joliet, IL - Mojoes
18 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
19 - Winnipeg, MB - Zoo Cabaret
21 - Edmonton, AL - Pawn Shop
22 - Calgary, AL - Nite Owl
23 - Vancouver, BC - Red Room
24 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
25 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
26 - San Francisco, CA - Thee Parkside
27 - Los Angeles, CA - Whiskey a Go Go
28 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
29 - Las Vegas, NV - LVCS
30 - Tempe, AZ - Club Red

September
1 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
3 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five
4 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom
5 - Toronto, ON - Garrison
6 - Ottawa, ON - Ritual
7 - Quebec, QC - Le Cercle

Insomnium return to headline in eastern and southern Europe in October. The band are bringing fellow countrymen Wolfheart along as special guests. The tour kicks off from the Baltics and consists of 18 shows.

Tour dates:

October
6 - Tallinn, Estonia - Tapper Club
7 - Riga, Latvia - Melna Piektdiena
8 - Vilnius, Lithuania - New York
9 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
10 - Budapest, Hungary - Club 202
11 - Cracow, Poland - Fabryka
13 - Bucharest, Romania - Colectiv
14 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Mixtape 5 Club
15 - Istanbul, Turkey - Garajistabul
16 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Eightball
17 - Athens, Greece - Kyttaro Live
19 - Pescara, Italy - Tipografia
20 - Milan, Italy - Legend Club
21 - Ljublijana, Slovenia - Gala Hala
22 - Zagreb, Croatia - Mochvara
23 - Trencin, Slovakia - Piano
24 - Prague, Czech Republic - Futurum
25 - Rostock, Germany - Mau