Update, October 29, 2:23pm EDT: Bart’s Batushka have issued a statement on the tour’s cancelation, citing the ongoing legal battle over the band’s name as the primary reason. Read all about it here.

Original Post:

MetalSucks has it on good authority from three reliable sources that the version of Batushka featuring vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk, often refered to by the band’s original fans as ‘Faketushka’ or ‘Poseur Batushka,’ have canceled their upcoming North American tour.

The news comes after the group’s planned Australian tour quietly disappeared earlier this month, and follows strong rumors that the ambitious North American run was not selling well after being lit up on the Internet.

This Krysiuk-led version of the band, signed to Metal Blade and managed by 5B (Slipknot, Lamb of God) has been largely scorned by fans of Batushka’s explosive debut, Litourgiya, following a split that saw Krysiuk hijack the name and social networks from founder/songwriter/guitarist Krzysztof Drabikowski. Both versions of Batushka released new albums earlier this year, with the album produced by Drabikowski’s version, Панихида, winning the support of any fence-sitting fans on its musical merit.

Krysiuk and Drabikowski remain embroiled in a lawsuit, the details of which you can catch up with here, although there haven’t been any updates in some time. Krysiuk recently teased an upcoming film explaining his side of events while Drabikowski’s version has remained quiet of late.