Megadeth’s upcoming tour with Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies and Metal Church will no longer feature Colorado thrashers Havok. In a statement released by Havok’s David Sanchez, the frontman cites “an unacceptable management contract from Mustaine Management” and failed contract negotiations as the reasons they were removed from the bill.

Earlier this year, Megadeth took Havok on the road for a stacked North American tour also featuring Suicidal Tendencies and Children of Bodom. The tour seemed to run smoothly, as Havok were once again invited to open for Megadeth this fall. Unfortunately for thrash fans, Havok are now off the bill.

Sanchez posted the following statement on Havok’s Facebook page:

It is with deep regret we are forced to inform fans of metal that we will not be on the upcoming Megadeth tour with Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies, and Metal Church. We will also not be going to Mexico in August and early September as was planned.
We were really looking forward to these shows, but unfortunately, Mr. Mustaine has chosen to remove us from the lineup. The reasons for our absence are directly related to a contract negotiation insisted upon by Mustaine Management - a negotiation that has gone awry. We are authorized to say that we were offered an unacceptable management contract from Mustaine Management, which we declined.
While working with our lawyer to negotiate the terms of the contract, Mustaine Management threatened to kick us off of the Megadeth tour, Mustaine Management repeatedly failed to respond to phone calls and emails, and eventually told us (through their lawyer) that Mustaine Management is no longer working with Havok. We are only releasing this information to give fans an honest account of the reasons we are no longer on the tour.
We cannot disclose more details at this time (at our attorney’s directive), but nonetheless, would like to thank Mustaine Management for the past opportunities that they brought to the table while working with us. We would also like to apologize to the fans that will not be able to see us this fall - we will sorely miss all of you. New tour dates will be announced soon and we look forward to getting back on the road to headbang with the best fans in the world.
-David Sanchez / HAVOK
Havok is set to release their fourth studio album via Century Media Records this winter. You can pre-order the new album at www.pledgemusic.com/projects/havok

MetalSucks were first to report the story, but Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was quick to deny Havok’s statement:

We reached out to Mustaine to get his side of the story and Dave wrote us back choosing to withhold any comment on Havok at this time. However, Mustaine assured us he will be in contact if management chooses to offer a response to Havok's statement. Click here for Megadeth's full list of tour dates with Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies and Metal Church.

Update: Mustaine has claimed Havok stiffed his son Justis, who used to manage the thrash band, of thousands of dollars. Justis Mustaine later backed that up with his own posting, seen below. Mustaine also answered multiple fans' questions about the conflict:

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