Firewind Vocalist To Miss European Tour, Mats Leven Fills In

Firewind has announced that singer Apollo Papathanasio will be forced to miss the band's European tour for family reasons. Amaseffer vocalist Mats Leven will fill in.

The official announcement reads:

"FIREWIND front man Apollo Papathanasio has been forced to miss the band’s imminent European tour due to family issues. Apollo will be back with FIREWIND for their North American 'Frets Of Fury' tourdates in October. Apollo’s replacement for the European 'Defiance Over Europe' dates is the hugely talented singer Mats Leven (Therion, Yngwie Malmsteen).

"FIREWIND’s European tour starts out next week on September 9th in the UK and will additionally cover The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and France with support coming from Swedish metallers and labelmates Wolf. Here are the exact dates for both the European and the North American tours in support of the acclaimed latest FIREWIND album release “Days Of Defiance” so you can get your tickets NOW."

FIREWIND + WOLF - 'Defiance Over Europe' Tour 2011

Presented by: Blackstar Amplification, Rock Hard (Germany), Rock Tribune (Benelux) and Lords Of Metal (Benelux)

FR 09.09. Southampton, UK - Talking Head
SA 10.09. Manchester, UK - Moho
SU 11.09. Glasgow, Scotland - Cathouse
MO 12.09. Reading, UK - Sub 89
WE 14.09. Zoetermeer, NL - Boerderij
TH 15.09. Den Bosch, NL - W2
FR 16.09. Kerkrade, NL - Rock Temple
SA 17.09. Vosselaar, BEL - Biebob
SU 18.09. Cologne, GER - Underground
MO 19.09. Aschaffenburg, GER - Colos Saal
TU 20.09. Hamburg, GER - Knust
TH 22.09. Vienna, AUT - Szene
FR 23.09. San Dona Di Piave, IT - Revolver Club
SA 24.09. Pisa, IT - Borderline
MO 26.09. Paris, FRA - Le Nouveau Casino

FIREWIND + Arsis, White Wizzard & Nightrage – The 'Frets of Fury' North American Tour 2011

Sponsored by ESP Guitars, BlackStar Amps and Guitar World
SU 09.10. St Petersburg, FL @ The State Theater
MO 10.10. Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
TU 11.10. Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
WE 12.10. New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
TH 13.10. Hampton, NH @ Wally’s
FR 14.10. Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
SA 15.10. Ottawa, ON @ Maverick’s
SU 16.10. Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
TU 18.10. Joliet, IL @ Mojoe’s
WE 19.10. St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
TH 20.10. Winnipeg, MB @ The Osborne Village Inn
FR 21.10. Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
SA 22.10. Kelowna, BC @ Sapphire Nightclub
SU 23.10. Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
MO 24.10. Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
TU 25.10. Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
WE 26.10. San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
TH 27.10. Hollywood, CA @ The Whisky A Go Go"

The tour trailer can be viewed here: