Pestilence forced to cancel Maryland Deathfest appearance
Resurrected late '80s/early '90s death metallers Pestilence have been forced to cancel their appearance at the Maryland Deathfest due to their detainment at the U.S. border. Upon entering the U.S. and stopping at customs, Patrick Mameli (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Uterwijk (guitar) discovered that the paperwork for their travels, which was sent to them, was not properly completed for the required working visas. Originally they were told all was in order and to proceed on the trip to the U.S.
Mameli and Uterwijk were kept in custody for several hours and sent back to the Netherlands late yesterday.
They spent a total of 44 hours in flights and detainment.
Commented Mameli: "We are extremely sad and disappointed not being able to perform on the Maryland Deathfest. Not having received the proper information on our visa application, we were under the impression that what we received from the securing visas and working permits office was the actual working permits. We were kept under custody by the border security police for four hours trying to do everything in our power to let us pass, but all our efforts failed. They sent us home on the next plane. Hopefully we will be given another chance to perform for you, our fans!"
Quality video footage of Pestilence's April 25, 2009 concert at P3 in Purmerend, The Netherlands, can be viewed below (clip shot and uploaded by "letthemetalflow").
The first show of Pestilence's current European tour took place on April 9, 2009 at the Inferno festival in Oslo, Norway.
Pestilence's latest album, "Resurrection Macabre", was released on March 13 in Europe (April 14 in the U.S.) via Holland's Mascot Records. The band recorded a total of 14 songs during the session at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark - 11 new tracks and three classic Pestilence cuts (as chosen by the fans) to be included on the limited-edition first pressing: "Out Of The Body", "Chemo Therapy" and "Lost Souls". Joining guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli in Pestilence's current recording lineup are Tony Choy (Atheist, Cynic) on bass and Peter Wildoer (Darkane, Non-Human Level) on drums. Patrick has previously described the band's new material as a modern fusion of "Testimony of the Ancients" (1991) and "Spheres" (1993), but even more technical and brutal.
Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.
Pestilence 2009 touring lineup:
Patrick Mameli - Guitar, Vocals
Patrick Uterwijk - Guitar
Tony Choy - Bass
Peter Wildoer - Drums