Tag Archives: dianne van giersbergen

Dianne van Giersbergen Announces “I’m Leaving Xandria”

Now this news might have been expected after discussing in a post yesterday that Xandria had cancelled their upcoming North American tour because of apparent health (or something else) with their lead singer Dianne van Giersbergen. If you didn’t see that post just click HERE to get a refresher and then come on back to see what’s transpired since as Dianne herself has announced to the world via her Facebook that she was no longer a member of Xandria. I’ll return after the statement.

The moment I promised you and me that would never come is here: I am leaving Xandria. And the reason is simple: staying in the band would cause further damage to the health problems the band has caused me.

For nearly 2 years now I’ve been trying to put band and management issues on the table, with the sole reason to keep this band healthy, together and ready for the future. Today I am sad to say that my attempts failed and have been ignored, that my cries for help have been met with financial threats and emotional extortion and that my persistence to keep on going, ignoring all the warning signs, has left me with uncontrollable stress symptoms (confirmed by doctors). I am a fighter, but I’ve come to see that this is one I cannot win. I don’t want to leave, I love the music that I got to write for you – which is 100% me – but I can’t live, can’t perform, can simply not exist in an environment that harms me. This environment does not care for me nor for the fans (even proposed me to playback in order to do more shows in a row) and somehow miraculously never generated any financial outcome and therefore no stability for any of its band members.

Yesterday evening the last hope I had of ever reconciling with the boys was shattered when they made a statement announcing that ‘I’ could not perform with the band anymore, forgetting to mention that I am in this unhealthy position because of Xandria & management. Not surprisingly they also already have a replacement for me and kicked me out of every Xandria social media page. With that they’ve send me one last clear message: they are not interested in fixing the situation nor are they willing to support me if that means (partly) stepping away from the business perspective (quote: ‘we are not friends’) which leads me to conclude what I know now: it is time for me to close this chapter and wish them the best of luck in continuing the band I loved so much.

Now, I don’t know where we will meet again, but I didn’t follow my passion, study all those hours and travel all those roads to simply give up. I’m sad to close this chapter, but I’m sure there will be another one to write. In the meantime I will be focussing on what does make me happy and I will be posting my daily business and updates on my Precious Metal Jewelry and Ex Libris stuff as usual. I very much hope to see you online so we can stay in touch and who knows, maybe one day in an audience again.

Thank you all for understanding, for your love and support!
I am forever grateful ♡

Dianne”

PiercingMetal Thoughts: Wow, what a surprise or was it not too much of one based on the cryptic nature of the bands commentary yesterday. Having caught Xandria twice on visits to our fair Metal Metropolis I can say that her sonic register will be missed during these songs. I’m sure in time the band will bounce back with another singer (and they noted that they had a temporary player in place so maybe she is fulltime now) but its Dianne’s good health that I am most hopeful for. If she felt that she was put through the ringer by the band then she would probably be best served by taking a few months out of the public spotlight to recharge the mental and physical batteries. I think she is a wonderful talent and hope that she is out there kicking some Metal behind sooner than later. What do you readers think about her decision? Did you expect this? Does it surprise you? Chime in down in the comments section below.

Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diannevangiersbergenofficial/

Xandria Cancels 2nd Leg North American Tour

We were getting pretty excited about the upcoming return of Xandria to our region since it was going to also bring along Kobra and The Lotus (who we love) and September Mourning (who we also greatly enjoyed) but then we saw this Facebook notice go by. I have copied it in full for your perusal. Check it out.

Facebook Statement:
“Dear all,

Some bad and some good news, folks: Starting with the bad news first: It comes with grief and sadness that our singer Dianne cannot perform with us for the time being. Sometimes these things are beyond your own power and there is a life offside the stages of the world which requires appropriate attention, so please bear with us.

This unfortunately also means that we have to cancel the upcoming Russia shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as the following US tour in the end of September and October. We are already working on new dates for these stretches, yet can’t determine an exact time window by now already. Please stay alerted for ticket-return info in here and where you purchased your tickets.

As for short term solutions: Our dear friend Aeva Maurelle (https://de-de.facebook.com/aevamaurelleofficial/) of our buddies from alternative metal band Aeverium – Official Site will step in to rock with us the European dates in November and December. Please welcome Aeva (https://www.instagram.com/aevamaurelle/) with a warm applause. We will make these shows nights to remember for you all! Ticketlink: https://xandria.merchcowboy.com/tickets. Can’t wait to see you out there!

Yours,
Xandria”
Continue reading Xandria Cancels 2nd Leg North American Tour

Xandria Announces 2nd Leg North American Tour

We’ve been interested in the music of Xandria here at the Metal Command HQ for some time and it’s wonderful that they’ve been able to come over to this side of the ocean and entertain their fans. We first managed to catch them in concert when they were one of the openers for the mighty Sonata Arctica but then there was too long of a break in their US Touring action until only recently when they hit the road and brought an exciting package to our live stages with support from Sirenia and MindMaze. If you missed those shows when they rumbled through you surely missed out but now you have a second chance as the band announces a second leg return. Check out their quick Official Facebook page announcement along with the tour dates. I’ll return at the close with additional thoughts.

Per Facebook:
USA here we come again! What would be more fitting after the great success of our 1st US Headlining run in may than doing a 2nd stretch in Oktober? Right…nothing! Well, except doing another one with our buddies from KOBRA AND THE LOTUS and September Mourning! Hell Yeah!! So many cities we haven’t rocked sofar! Well here we go again! Get your tickets NOW! Because THIS Is going to be AWESOME!
Continue reading Xandria Announces 2nd Leg North American Tour

Xandria Announces First-Ever North American Headlining Tour

I love a good concert tour announcement and this one ranks high on my list since its bringing a few bands that we don’t see all that often around these parts and that is awesome. Check out the press release below.

The Press Release:
German Epic Symphonic Metal stalwarts XANDRIA have taken things to the next level with their seventh studio album Theater of Dimensionss. The album is a hyper-emotional affair that digs deep, lyrically speaking. It’s also an incredibly metallic effort. There is a soundtrack-like, orchestral finesse inherent to the compositions, echoed by pounding groove and sophisticated shredding. Now XANDRIA is ready to bring their breathtaking live show back to North America for a headline tour this May. Support on the tour will come from label mates Kobra And The Lotus and Once Human. The tour kicks off May 9th in New York, NY and runs through May 30th in Mesa, AZ. A complete list of dates can be found below.
The band cannot wait to tour North America:

“We are super excited to go on our first ever North American headline tour in May, playing east to west coast, along with the wonderful Kobra and the Lotus as well as Once Human. Let’s get these places rocked!”
Continue reading Xandria Announces First-Ever North American Headlining Tour