The Exploited rock hard. Maybe a little too hard. The Scottish hardcore punk band's vocalist, Wattie Buchan, collapsed onstage after suffering a heart attack during a show in Lisbon. A statement from the band's Facebook statement seemed to suggest that the performer was stable, but that continuing on the tour was out of the question for Buchan.
"We are sorry to say that due to a severe illness that Wattie can't continue with the tour. He will be in hospital for at least a week. Thanks for all the get well messages," was the statement.
There was no indication as to whether the rest of the band will continue touring. Buchan has been the only consistent member of The Exploited-every other position has seen at least a dozen changes-so his presence means a tad more to fans. They are currently accompanying Napalm Death and Hatebreed as part of the Taste of Chaos tour.
The Exploited haven't released an album since 2003, but have been in talks for a while to drop a new releases. No title or official release date has been given, but the band indicated that it hoped for a 2014 release. Due to the overall mystery as to when the band was to drop anyhow, there's no sign yet as to whether Buchan's hospitalization will have any effect on the album's progress. The group's last release, Fuck The System, helped generate notoriety for the group, and not just because of its NSFW title. The band was denied entry into Canada during its 2003 tour, resulting in the cancellation of its Montreal show. Exploited fans, after hearing the news, broke into riots, smashing windows and burning cop cruisers. The group's Mexico City show was promptly cancelled following the news.
