Yesterday, Metal Church drummer Jeff Plate departed the band after 12 years. We were wondering if the band would be able to nab a new drummer  in time for their tour with Alter Bridge and In Flames. It turns out that they’re not. At first, Metal Church shared the news on their Facebook that they dropped five dates from their tour with Alter Bridge and In Flames.

“Due to unforeseen personnel changes within the Metal Church organization, regretfully we have to pull off the five Alter Bridge / In Flames show dates in May.  We are grateful to everyone in the Alter Bridge camp for having offered us the opportunity, and would like to extend our deepest apologies to both bands, their management, and all the fans for the last minute cancellation. We had hoped we could make something work out, but that is no longer a possibility. We will be back on the road in June for all the European shows and we look forward to introducing you to our new drummer! Thank you for your understanding ~ Metal Church”

However, one hour later, Alter Bridge announced the band was dropped from the tour completely, with Devour The Day taking Metal Church’s spot along with a brand new flier:

“US Tour UPDATE!!!

Unfortunately our friends in Metal Church had to fall off the tour BUT we have filled the spot with our brothers in Devour the Day!

Tickets, VIP Meet & Greets and Guitar Clinics are for sale now at AlterBridge.com/Tour”

[via theprp]