Dogma have postponed their immediate U.S. touring plans, citing visa issues. The divisive outfit issued the below statement regarding the matter today, March 14th.
“Due to unforeseen delays in the visa processing timeline, DOGMA must postpone our upcoming U.S. tour dates.
After months of preparing for these masses, it hurts to delay the moment when we were meant to finally gather with our U.S. sinners.
The first masses where our new songs were meant to be revealed will now arrive later than we had hoped.
We are currently working with promoters and venues to confirm the rescheduled dates, which will be announced soon. All previously purchased tickets will remain valid.
We were ready to meet you.
Ready to open these rituals.Now we must wait a little longer.”
That trek was due to commence tomorrow, March 15th, in Seattle, WA. A wave of controversy swept the band last fall after numerous former members came forward alleging the group had been essentially controlled almost entirely by their management, leading to countless members cycling through the group. One of the project’s co-founders Alvaro Rabaquino (aka The Dark Messiah), also spoke out against the band’s management, after running into disagreements with them behind the scenes as well.
Rabaquino went on to claim he was one of the primary songwriters and musicians for the band’s output. He went on to team up with several former members of Dogma in a new rival band dubbed VindictA.
This isn’t the first time Dogma have encountered visa issues while touring the United States. Former guitarist Rusalka (Patri Grief) claimed in a statement last October she was let go from the band after encountering visa issues entering the United States. She said of that:
“The reason why I am no longer in the band is rather simple: I wasn’t accepted into the United States because management wouldn’t provide the proper visa. I watched another member get kicked out simply for asking for the correct working visa, so it seemed pretty clear to me: either go on tour, or be replaced. There was no other option. I flew to the US with the person who was supposed to be the new singer. We were both interrogated and detained. They took our phones (you can imagine how worried my family was), belts, earrings, and even our shoelaces. After 48 hours, we were sent back home.
The minute I turned my phone back on, I had a message from management saying ‘hey I found a replacement, could you teach her the songs?’ Not even an apology for taking the risk! Only him asking for more. When I got back home, I told him that I was detained for 48 because of his poorly made decision, to which he answered ‘nobody forced you to do so. It was your decision, and you got caught because you were wearing a Pirate Queen t-shirt under your hoodie.'”
