Mercyful Fate will hit the road for their first headlining North American tour in over two decades next month, but won't be joined by bassist Joey Vera. In a post to the Mercyful Fate Instagram account, Vera states prior touring committments with Armored Saint have taken precedence and that he'll be replaced by Becky Baldwin.
"My dear friends: As some of you have done the math and checked your calendars, you may have noticed that it appears as though I’ve scheduled myself to be on two tours at the same time this Fall. As most of you know, I have been promoting the tour with Armored Saint supporting WASP for almost a year now. A tour I committed to in 2021 and Never You Fret, I am standing by that commitment. No thanks to the results of Covid affecting nearly every aspect of the touring industry, touring schedules have since been cancelled and moved to different times in the year. And so, Mercyful Fate had received a touring opportunity recently that was impossible to turn down. Unfortunately, this schedule conflicts with my tour in the fall with Armored Saint. So, it pains me a great deal that I cannot be in two places at one time, because If I could, I most certainly would.
"Over the past 3 months I have been welcomed into the Mercyful Fate family with open arms, and this includes all of the fans. I have made new lifelong friends and have had the most amazing time this summer performing with these great musicians onstage and of course for you, the fans. These Mercyful Fate shows have been some of the most incredible gigs I’ve ever been a part of. Ever. I have been asked to be a full member in the Mercyful Fate band for touring and recording their next record, and I have accepted. However, I regretfully have to sit out this upcoming Fall Tour in the USA and S. America.
"Since the show must go on, I hope you will welcome my stand-in bassist for the fall tour Becky Baldwin, with your open arms, who also plans to play the Mercy music with honor and respect to our fallen brother Tim Hansen, just as I have tried to do. I know many of you have seen the live clips on Youtube, but I promise you, this is a show you will have to see in person to believe it. Prepare yourselves to be completely blown away.
"I will miss my brothers and our crew in Mercy this fall, but I’m looking forward very much to playing with my mates in Saint again and of course seeing all of you on our fall tour. See ya down front! In closing, If I may borrow King Diamond’s 'sign off,' – Stay Heavy"
Mercyful Fate will hit the road with Kreator and Midnight starting October 25. Mercyful Fate has also been playing a new song called "The Jackal Of Salzburg" live lately, so get stoked on hearing that too!
10/25 Dallas, TX – The Factory
10/27 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
10/29 Inglewood, CA – Youtube Theater
10/30 Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
11/1 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
11/3 Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
11/4 Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J. Brady Music Center
11/5 Detroit, MI – Masonic
11/8 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/10 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theater
11/11 Laval, QC – Place Bell
11/13 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall At Fenway
11/14 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
11/16 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
