New Wave of British Heavy Metal pioneers Grim Reaper have experienced a resurgence under the Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper moniker, delivering the stellar, old-school sounding Walking in the Shadows album last year. The band has been touring heavily in support of the record, but the touring has unfortunately come to an end under dramatic circumstances.

After being forced to perform in Guayaquil, Ecaudor on Saturday (Jan. 14), sitting down, singer Grimmett was taken to the hospital, undergoing an operation "to remove an infection from his foot and bones," according to a Facebook post from his wife, Millie. She provided updates on Grimmett's condition, revealing that the first operation was unsuccessful and that he had returned to the operating room with the intent of amputating an unknown portion of his right leg.

"He has an aggressive infection that spread very quickly over night. I am sorry to say the rest of the tour has been cancelled," Millie added, stating she would be flying to Guayaquil, easing fans by saying, "But don't worry, the voice WILL be back."

Providing another update on the Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper Facebook page, Millie informed the fans that "Steve had his right leg removed below the knee" last night (Jan. 17). "The infection was so aggressive it spread from his toes to his knee over night. I've briefly spoken to him and he sounds in high spirits, laughing and joking. Hopefully he will start his journey home next week," Millie revealed.

Grim Reaper famously got their start after winning an exhaustive battle of the bands competition, which allowed them to record a 24-track demo, ultimately leading the group to be signed to Ebony Records where they delivered cult classics like See You in Hell. When we spoke with Grimmett late last year, we asked him about the battle of the bands, which he informed us Grim Reaper were the only rock act in the competition.

When asked if he believed that served as an advantage to Grim Reaper, the singer said, "Quite possibly. We did have a lot of our fans there for the start, but everybody did. Our fans just went for it. They were the loudest, rowdiest, I’m sure that was part of it. To add to that, I would never ever do it again. It was the worst time of my life. I have never been so nervous, and afterwards as well."

Grimmett added, "When we waited to find out who won, to be quite honest, we didn’t think we stood a chance. There were some really good bands there. We waited and waited and they announced who was third, who was second and I was like – 'It’s not us. We cannot have won.' When they announced it was us, the whole place erupted. It was something that I’ll never forget, but something I never want to go through ever again. [laughs]"

Loudwire wishes Grimmett a healthy and safe recovery during these difficult times.

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