Tallah Removed From Avatar Tour After Some Members Contract COVID

Burgeoning nu-metal band Tallah are no longer a support act on the U.S. Going Hunting Tour now being headlined by Swedish metal outfit Avatar after some of Tallah's members contracted COVID-19. Subsequently, the Philadelphia-based group, rhythmically driven by drummer Max Portnoy, have launched a crowdfunding campaign to accept donations.

Tallah — who emerged in 2018 and, in addition to Portnoy, include vocalist Justin Bonitz, ex-Doll Skin guitarist Alex Snowden, guitarist Derrick Schneider, bassist Andrew Cooper and DJ Mewzen — last month released their latest single, the six-minute alt-metal opus "Vanilla Paste" featuring several guests.

In a Sept. 28 statement, Tallah shared, "As you already know, some of our members caught COVID-19. Due to some miscommunication about Avatar's COVID guidelines, their management has decided to remove us from the rest of the Going Hunting Tour."

The band continued, "We would have loved to continue the tour once we got better and tested negative, but that decision was not ours to make. We appreciate everyone who came out to see us and wanted to see us on the rest of this tour — there is always next time. If you'd like to continue your support, we have set up a GoFundMe to recoup some of our losses."

Tallah first revealed on Sept. 21, "Despite our best efforts to try to follow the rules and be safe, members of our touring party have tested positive for COVID." The act initially expected to miss only a few shows plus their slot at Louder Than Life Festival.

Other rock and metal musicians who have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last few months include Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Chad Gray (Mudvayne) Jonathan Davis and Munky (Korn), Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (KISS), Sean Killian (Vio-Lence), Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) and members of Tesla and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Metal singer Eric Wagner died last month after being hospitalized with COVID pneumonia.

Fans can contribute to Tallah's online fundraiser, which, as of this posting, stands at around a quarter of the way to its stated $10,000 goal, over at gofundme.com. See Avatar's remaining fall 2021 tour dates here.