What can stop a heavy metal juggernaut that has been going strong for more than 20 years? Pollen.
Not even the seemingly supernatural powers of band mascot Eddie could ward off the allergies that forced Iron Maiden to cancel shows this week in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Denver. As the band rolled through the deserts of the American Southwest, frontman Blaze Bayley suffered an allergy attack severe enough to keep him from performing. A statement announcing the postponements notes, "The band apologizes for the inconvenience to their fans. They hope to rectify matters quickly." The band is following up on that promise; they have already rescheduled the Los Angeles date, which was to go on Thursday night, for August 2 and hope to do the same for the other dates soon. As we previously reported, the band is out as part of the Metal Mania tour, which also includes Dio and Dirty Deeds (see ). W.A.S.P. was originally scheduled for the tour too, but dropped out in June to work on its new album.
