Finnish heavy metal monsters LORDI have cancelled their previously announced appearance at this year's installment of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 2-4, 2007 in Wacken, Germany.

LORDI management has issued the following statement regarding the matter:

"It is with deep and genuine regret that LORDI are forced to cancel their scheduled appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air. The band has been offered a headline, main stage slot at this year's Ozzfest, and so are unable to leave that tour in order to perform at Wacken. The band wish to sincerely apologise to the booker, the organizers, and especially their fans for this situation, but their hands are tied. LORDI look forward to performing at Wacken in the near future."

LORDI has already been confirmed for the 2008 edition of the festival, set to take place July 31 - August 2, 2008.

Since winning Eurovision (the song contest that previously was a springboard for mainstream artists such as ABBA and CELINE DION) by its highest score ever, LORDI's popularity has grown to gargantuan heights, with the band conquering numerous European charts and a six-week sold out tour of Europe. The band's latest album, "The Arockalypse" has been certified triple platinum in Finland and is now also among the Top 60 best-selling Finnish albums ever. In addition to gracing the cover of dozens of Finnish publications, news features on LORDI's groundbreaking Eurovision win appeared outside of Finland in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian and Spin.