Dutch Metal Bassist Ruptures Testicle Onstage, Still Finishes Set

Dutch symphonic metal act Delain take the old adage “the show must go on” very seriously, or at least their bassist Otto Schimmelpenninck must. The musician is now recovering from surgery, after he ruptured a testicle onstage in Birmingham and somehow managed to play through the pain and finish the gig.

As explained by Schimmelpenninck on Facebook, it has become a tradition for Delain to launch confetti cannons on stage during their song The Gathering and while this typically goes smoothly, things at their November 26th show in Birmingham took a very wrong turn when one of the cannons shot directly into his groin, rupturing his left testicle.

“It hit me from the back, in my genitals,” explains Schimmelpenninckin in a Facebook post. “Although pain was pretty bad right away, I was merely pissed off at myself for not paying attention. During the next song, pain got worse though, and I had the feeling I was bleeding. Pretty soon pain got to the point where I could barely stay conscious anymore, but for some reason I did manage to finish the show and even squeeze out some grunts!”

Readers can watch fan footage of the incident in the video below (at around the 3:30 mark), though it is almost impossible to tell that the bassist is in any pain at all as he continues to play and jump around.

Schimmelpennick says that after the show his scrotum had swelled up to the “size of a big grapefruit” and he was understandably in a lot of pain. He was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital where he was operated on.

“It appeared here my left testicle had been ruptured as well as some arteries,” he writes. “More than 500 ml of blood was removed from my scrotum and my testicle stitched up.” He described the event as “one of the most unpleasant adventures I’ve ever had to endure.”

According to the bassist, though he has a tough road of recovery ahead of him his prognosis is good. “I was very close to losing my left testicle, but chances are good it will be fine,” he writes. “It will also be a while before I am without the very uncomfortable pain I am in now, but sadly, it’s just the way it is for now.” Schimmelpennick says he hopes to be well enough for the band’s upcoming European tour with Sabaton, due to kick off in mid-January 2015.

Read Schimmelpennick’s full statement and watch the fan-shot footage of the incident below.

Watch: Delain – The Gathering – O2 Academy, Birmingham 26/11/2014

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