\"As much as we did not like making the decision to cancel shows, I personally am also upset at the vague explanation that was posted about my situation. I did not injure my back the other night. I have had a herniated disc in my upper back since 1994, which I did to myself hitting golf balls one day in Buffalo on my first Savatage tour. This flares up once every couple of years, and unfortunately it decided to rear its ugly head now. The disc swells and pinches the sciatic nerve in my left arm, which causes more pain when I\'m not moving than it does when I\'m playing, and unfortunately not playing is the only way it heals.

My doctor has always recommended against surgery, and a traction unit to relief the pressure and time off is the only way to help this. And, not to make excuses, but I\'ve been drumming now solid for four months straight: Trans-Siberian Orchestra rehearsals, the tour and now the Metal Church tour. This tour has beaten us all up. The schedule has been crazy to say the least, the weather has been terrible, problems with the bus, no heat, arriving late to the venue and helping unload and setting up my drums, no days off... it all caught up to me, and everyone else for that matter. Let\'s face it, I\'m not a kid anymore. This sucks, trust me.

I cannot honestly say when I\'ll be able to play at this intensity again, but it is generally several weeks. I have some work with Mark Wood at the end of February, but it is not nearly as demanding. There are many people involved in putting this tour on and it obviously affects everyone. Once again, sincere apologies to everyone.\"

Ironically it was an injury that got Jeff Plate drumming in the first place: born in Horseheads, NY, Jeff Plate was an enthusiastic sports player, until one day when his hip was popped out of joint. As a result of this injury, he was advised to avoid sports for two years.

In this downtime, around 1975, he caught an airing of a television show called \"Midnight Special,\" on which he saw a performance by Kiss. This was Jeff\'s inspiration to pick up the drums.

More Metal Church news: Escapi Music has set February 23 as German release date for a live Metal Church dvd featuring the band\'s now 1991 performance at the Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven, Holland. The footage features the band touring in support of its \"The Human Factor\" album with Kirk Arrington on drums.

Metal Church\'s latest album, \"A Light in the Dark\", was released in Europe in June 2006 via SPV. The cd includes a new version of the classic song Watch the Children Pray as a tribute to vocalist David Wayne, who passed away in May 2005.