Primal Fear bassist Mat Sinner will sit out the band’s upcoming South American dates after sustaining a serious injury during their early March show in London. Stepping in as his replacement will be Dirk Schlächter of Gamma Ray.
Primal Fear shared the following statement on social media on Wednesday, April 8: “An important message to all our fans about the South American tour. Sadly we have to tell you that Mat won’t be able to join the band on the forthcoming shows in Argentina and Brazil. Mat lost a fight against a drumriser in London and slashed his right leg in a very evil way. After some more shows the doctors in Norway planned to have a surgery on his leg because the infection was already on a bad level and to prevent a sepsis. Mat is now at home and needs to recover for another 3-4 weeks to avoid any operation. Doctors say it would be a huge risk to sit in a plane for 15 hours — health comes first. This wasn’t an easy decision. We know many of you were looking forward to seeing us together on stage and Mat is truly sorry for any disappointment this may cause. We promise to give 200% on the shows and Mat will be replaced by GAMMA RAY’s Dirk Schlächter. Thank you for your understanding, your patience, belief and faith”.
Mat Sinner (born Matthias Lasch), who also serves as producer for Primal Fear, reportedly experienced a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccination in 2021 and underwent treatment in various hospitals for eight months. Due to his health issues, the band canceled all scheduled shows in 2021 and 2022, later bringing in Alex Jansen as a temporary replacement.
