APOCALYPTICA Says It Was Not Directly Involved In RAMMSTEIN Lawsuit

Finnish rock cello quartet APOCALYPTICA has released a statement clarifying a report that was originally published on the German web site Anwalt24.de which indicated that the band was forced to pay 45,000 euros (approximately $59,000) in damages to German industrial rockers RAMMSTEIN. According to the site, the legal action arose in connection with a German advertising campaign for APOCALYPTICA's 2007 album, "Worlds Collide", which featured guest vocals from RAMMSTEIN singer Til Lindemann. The record was reportedly sold in Germany with a sticker across the cover that said, "featuring RAMMSTEIN." The Regional Court of Berlin ruled against APOCALYPTICA in the case for trademark infringement.

APOCALYPTICA's official statement regarding this matter reads as follows:

"The [Anwalt24.de] article's headline [which suggested that APOCALYPTICA was forced to pay damages to RAMMSTEIN] is substantially wrong: neither the band APOCALYPTICA nor their management are or were involved in the described lawsuit. However, the parties involved are the band RAMMSTEIN and Sony Music Entertainment GmbH, as the successor of the by now-defunct affiliated label GUN Records.

"APOCALYPTICA and Halbe Miete Management regret the events, but neither had any influence on a violation of trademark and naming rights, nor any part in whatsoever resulting agreements.

"It is correct that GUN Records published advertisements with the stated endorsement disregarding existing agreements, and the band RAMMSTEIN subsequently filed a lawsuit against Sony Music Entertainment GmbH as the parent company. It is furthermore correct that Sony Music Entertainment GmbH and RAMMSTEIN have agreed on a settlement, the details of which, however, are unknown to APOCALYPTICA and Halbe Miete Management. We ask that further articles on the topic correctly reproduce the facts."

This incident adds to a recent stretch of bad news about APOCALYPTICA. As previously reported, the band has been forced to pull the vocals of SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith off the group's new single, "Not Strong Enough", after the band failed to secure the right to release the song to radio with Smith's voice on it from SHINEDOWN's label, Atlantic Records.

APOCALYPTICA member Eicca Toppinen told The Pulse Of Radio that making records which feature multiple guest vocalists, like the band's last two efforts, is often a logistical nightmare. "It's really a big, complex process, because it's so much company policies and so much schedule problems and people can't come to APOCALYPTICA record and release a single with us if they have own release coming at the same time," he said. "So it's a lot of this kind of thing."

Smith's vocal track remains on the version found on the group's latest album, "7th Symphony", while the radio version will feature vocals from HOOBASTANK's Doug Robb.

Finally, health issues on the part of member Perttu Kivilaaskso forced APOCALYPTICA to postpone a U.S. tour and a number of European dates, all of which have been rescheduled.