It's been a rough week for European metal fans. Anthrax cancelled their European dates due to financials, while both the UK's Dominion Festival and Manorfest were both cancelled due to incredibly low ticket sales and financial issues.
Unfortunately The Agonist is the next in line to can their European performances, once again thanks to the rising costs of everything. Or as The Agonist puts it, "we would stand to lose a dangerous amount of money" if they continued on as planned.
"We must unfortunately announce that we cannot make any EU summer shows this year. The reasons are a combination of multiple factors. You guys probably all know by now how expensive touring is at the moment – it’s been a hot topic.
"Rising costs are affecting everyone now, from legacy bands to local bands, and we are no exception to that. Unfortunately, if we went to Europe on our current arrangement, we would stand to lose a dangerous amount of money, putting ourselves in financial jeopardy. We hope you understand this difficult choice."
Coupled with the ongoing issue of insane merchandising cuts at shows and the prospect of touring looks pretty grim these days, though merch cuts appear to be at the forefront of the conversation. Russian Circles recently refused to sell theirs at a Paris venue due to cuts, while Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds discussed a similar situation to Russian Circles' at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London that happened to Igorrr. Then there's Khemmis, who took the time to explain that it's not exactly easy for smaller bands to simply rebel.
Monuments recently refused to sell merchandise in Greece due to insane cuts, while our own Frank Godla penned an editorial about why Gojira is a good example of a band trying to keep their business going in a difficult touring world. Architects drummer Dan Searle also recently posited that maybe bands should get a cut of the venue's nightly alcohol sales to balance things out, while Dark Funeral guitarist Lord Ahriman has outright said that venues are killing the live music industry.
