ARKAEA — the band featuring FEAR FACTORY members Christian Olde Wolbers (guitar) and Raymond Herrera (drums) — has been forced to pull out of the remaining five shows on the KITTIE North American tour.

Commented ARKAEA vocalist Jon Howard (also of THREAT SIGNAL): "For the past week, I had been pushing myself to perform with the flu and I hoped it would eventually fade away, but it got worse. Once the sickness moved into my lungs I took my ass to the clinic in Flint, Michigan. I had a chest x-ray and it turns out I have pneumonia. The doctor almost put me into a hospital bed I was so bad... I decided my health is the most important and I came home to rest.

"A big thanks to everyone on the tour — KITTIE, SOIL, STRAIGHT LINE STITCH, crew and the fans — for making this tour such a blast! I wish it could have ended on a better note for me, but that's life sometimes."

"Gone Tomorrow", the new video from ARKAEA, can be viewed below. The clip was filmed with Dale "Rage" Resteghini (HATEBREED, TRIVIUM, MUDVAYNE) and Dan Dobi (BLEEDING THROUGH, CANNIBAL CORPSE, WARBRINGER) at the helm.

"Years In The Darkness", the debut album from ARKAEA sold 980 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 39 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Years In The Darkness" was released in the U.S. on July 14 via E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records). The CD was produced by Christian Olde Wolbers and ARKAEA and mixed by legendary producer Terry Date, best known for his work with the DEFTONES, SLIPKNOT, WHITE ZOMBIE, SOUNDGARDEN and PANTERA. The album was mastered at Sterling Sound by Ted Jensen, who mastered FEAR FACTORY's gold-certified 1998 release "Obsolete".

Howard has been a part of the FEAR FACTORY family ever since Wolbers served as producer for THREAT SIGNAL's debut, "Under Reprisal". Given that connection, the chemistry was there the instant the band started jamming. Howard has managed to push himself as a singer with the help of the veteran musicians. "I always try to do new things and experiment with my voice, and this project has been challenging," said Howard. "It always takes a little time to get comfortable working with new people and a new style of music, but I got over that really fast with Christian and Raymond, and I feel very comfortable where we're going right now."