Sepultura Postpone Indonesian Tour Due to Tragic Death

Brazilian metal giants Sepultura have postponed their Indonesian 'Asian Relentless Tour' out of respect for their tour promoter, who suffered a death in his family. Promoter Shirazdeen Karim lost his grandmother, who raised Karim as a child and teenager, when she passed away from a heart attack on Monday, Jan. 16.

Sepultura posted a heartfelt and detailed statement regarding the tour cancellation on their official website yesterday (Jan 19), which includes a personal apology from Karim:

With great humility I apologize profusely to the Indonesian people, especially the fans, friends, organizers & media partners who had strongly supported us during these two months. I was amazed & touched with their enthusiasm, support & sacrifice. So in order to maintain the trust that has been given and to ensure that the tour will not get messy, I admit I’m devastated by this loss. This could affect the management of this tour. I do not want to be selfish and will not make up fancy excuses.

Ezra Simanjuntak, head of the tour organizing company Horizon Sonic also offered his support for Karim. "The risk if management is affected is that the show’s quality will disappoint the fans & the good name of our country will suffer," writes Simanjuntak. "Although I am myself saddened by this and my personal reputation is on the line, I agree with Netzah and Sepultura's decision to postpone this tour. I believe Indonesians are good, decent people & can assess objectively. On behalf of Sonic Horizon, our entire team in Medan, Makassar, Jakarta, Surabaya & Bali I humbly apologize profusely for this decision."

Sepultura and their tour team are planning to reschedule the Indonesian dates for October of this year.