I feel like Eyehategod play New York City basically every three months. In fact, I took a quick look at the timestamps of our videographer, Frank Huang's recent Eyehategod full set uploads, and it's actually a little longer, every six months. Point is, EHG tour a lot. And it looks like all that touring has gotten to frontman Mike IX Williams, because the band just cancelled a slew of gigs. Here's an official press release we just received:
"We regret to have to cancel both our Australian and Mexican dates until further notice. Vocalist Mike IX Williams' mental stability and health are major serious issues at this point, and we are very, very sorry for putting our fans and business partners in this miserable position. We feel horrible about these empty spaces in our schedule and will make up these tours as soon as possible. The cancellation of these tours is in no way any fault of the promoters or foreign booking agents. We hope our fans understand." – The band said.
Since part of the problem included long flights, EYEHATEGOD recently embarked upon two separate short runs of shows on the West and East coast, fully against doctor's orders. These shows were found to be physically draining and a detriment, performance-wise, to Williams. Williams – who is currently dealing with exhaustion and chronic fatigue from a near nonstop tour schedule over the last five years — is resting, healing and catering to his health and will be ready to conquer Europe and the UK on tour this April.
Look, not to be a Debbie Downer, and this is completely me editorializing… but maybe the problem isn't just touring, it's that Mike is drinking a lot lately. Take a look at any of the footage Frank posted and you can easily hear Mike slurring his words in between songs. The man drinks vodka like it's water. In fact, in the press photo attached to the release, which you can see at the top of this point, MIKE IS HOLDING A DRINK! Maybe, Mike just needs to sober up a bit.
Regardless, EHG are one of the most visceral, exciting bands to see live, so I hope Mike can get his shit figured out.
