STRATOVARIUS Singer Falls Ill; Paris Concert Canceled

Finnish melodic metallers STRATOVARIUS were forced to cancel last night's (Tuesday, January 11) performance at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris, France as the support act for HELLOWEEN after STRATOVARIUS singer Timo Kotipelto was taken ill.

Video footage of Kotipelto explaining the reasons for STRATOVARIUS' Paris cancelation from the stage at last night's concert can be viewed below (courtesy of Rock Hard France).

Said Kotipelto: "We were touring with HELLOWEEN and we played, I think, in Poland and the Czech Republic, so I got some food poisoning, some bacteria. And my Christmas was not so nice and I still have some problems — my vocals cords are completely dry. I [saw] a doctor in Paris yesterday and today as well, so it's like... unfortunately, I can't sing a fucking note, and this never happened to me before. I'm very sorry about this and we wanna make it up to you, guys. We're gonna be back in Paris, back in France — I don't know when; hopefully this year. So I hope you understand the situation. Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup."

It is not presently clear if tonight's (Wednesday, January 12) STRATOVARIUS concert in Lyon, France as part of HELLOWEEN's "7 Sinners" world tour will also be affected.

STRATOVARIUS's thirteenth full-length studio album, "Elysium", will be released in Asia on January 12 via JVC, in Europe on January 14, 2011 through earMUSIC/Edel and in North America on January 18 via Armoury Records.

Check out audio samples of all the songs that will appear on the CD at Amazon.co.uk.

"Elysium" will be released as a regular CD; a deluxe digipak edition with bonus track; a "collector's edition" (featuring two exclusive bonus tracks on a seven-inch single); and on vinyl.

STRATOVARIUS 2011 is:

Timo Kotipelto - Vocals
Matias Kupiainen - Guitars
Lauri Porra - Bass
Jörg Michael - Drums
Jens Johansson - Keyboards