On April 20th, Internal Bleeding drummer and veteran FDNY firefighter Bill Tolley passed away after falling five stories from a rooftop while battling a two-alarm apartment fire in Queens, New York. The tragedy touched family, friends, his bandmates, the city of New York, and the worldwide metal community.

Many fans expressed concerns as to whether Internal Bleeding would continue and more specifically, whether they would still take part in the upcoming Strike Of The Empire US tour with Vader.

"Bill was having trouble getting all the vacation time needed to complete the tour, so we had a backup drummer in place and ready to go. He will be filling in," says the band. "Bill would want it no other way. When we were discussing the problems with his vacation, he told Chris [Pervelis] something along the lines of, 'You've gotta do it, bro. Fuck it, no matter what happens, Internal Bleeding needs to go on. You gotta do it, asshole.' So we think it's only appropriate that we do this tour, continue with the band, and continue to release music in Bill's memory, and in the memory for all those metalhead men and women who have fallen. There is no other way. Metal is our life. Our love. Our passion. And to our fans, you are family: we don't leave family hanging. We got your back, because you always had ours. Our backup drummer will be announced soon. Out of respect to Bill, please don't ask. Love and metal always: Chris, Shaun, Chris, and Joe.”

The Strike Of The Empire US tour will commence on May 27th in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and run through June 16th in New York City, New York. Additional support will be provided by Sacrificial Slaughter, Voices Of Ruin, and Micawber.

Tour dates:

May
27 - Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
28 - Brass Mug - Tampa, FL
29 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
30 - Siberia - New Orleans, LA
31 - Acadia - Houston, TX

June
1 - Curtain Club - Dallas, TX
3 - Blu Phoenix - Albuquerque, NM
4 - Club Red - Phoenix, AZ
5 - Malones - Santa Ana, CA
6 - Oakland Metro - Oakland, CA
7 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
8 - Las Vegas Death Fest - Las Vegas, NV
9 - Metro - Salt Lake City, UT
10 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO
11 - Riot Room - Kansas City, MO
13 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
14 - Reggies - Chicago, IL
16 - Webster Music Hall - New York City, NY

Internal Bleeding's digital single, "Final Justice”, was released just one day after Tolley's passing. The track serves as a teaser from the band's forthcoming full-length, Corrupting Influence. While filled with all the hooks, slams, and grooves you've come to expect from the band, the track is more focused, sophisticated, and sharper, than anything they're released previously.

"Final Justice" is available now through Unique Leader here, and via iTunes.