Imagine Dragons Nix Festival To Finish Up Album No. 2

Imagine Dragons have been on a whirlwind tour through much of the world over the past two years on the heels of their inaugural big-label EP, Continued Silence, and the singles “It’s Time” and “Radioactive,” which just earned the band a Grammy for Best Rock Performance.

But all that isn’t enough for Imagine Dragons. They just canceled an appearance at the popular Bilbao BBK Live festival in Spain on July 10-12, according to Digital Spy, to get their priorities straight. Now, they say, it’s time to finish up and release their sophomore album, Night Vision, which has been three years in the making. They released the following apology to their Spanish fans:

“We are incredibly sorry to be canceling this show. We had an amazing time playing in Spain last year, and we were excited to be coming back to see you all once again. Unfortunately, it will have to wait just a little longer. We have to head back to the US due to scheduling issues with the second album.

“We are working with the festival to figure out how to make it up to you as soon as possible. We’ll let you know when we work it out. Hope to see you all very soon.”

Imagine Dragons just finished a long roll through Central and South America. Above they’re seen relaxing before a show in Mexico in a photo they tweeted to their 1.12 million followers.

Those followers and many others are anxiously anticipating a full-fledged Imagine Dragons album. Lead singer Dan Reynolds, along with bassist Ben McKee, guitarist Wayne Sermon and drummer Daniel Platzman will be hammering out the final touches in the coming weeks to their first full-length album, produced by Grammy-grabber Alex Da Kid. Reynolds says the album will encapsulate the band’s mission of transforming personal pain into a blossoming art:

“This record has been three years in the making. We feel that we have finally created something we are all truly proud of and that can hopefully inspire others and help them feel a little less alone. That’s what music is about. It’s the greatest communicator I know.”

Festival-goers in Spain needn’t worry about the Bilbao BBX Live lineup minus the newly legendary Imagine Dragons, though. Still on the itinerary are The Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Phoenix, The Lumineers, Jack Johnson, MGMT, White Lies, Foster the People, John Newman and Crystal Fighters; and organizers just announced that Bastille and Band of Horse have just joined in to cover the absence of Imagine Dragons completely.

Don’t expect one-track minds from Imagine Dragons in the interim, of course. The band has become notorious for chattering at will about their obsession with sports. But don’t expect an Imagine Dragons/Josh Homme collaboration anytime soon. Snubbed by the Grammy gods, Homme says “F**k Imagine Dragons” and “F**k the Grammys.” We’re sure he would have had a different take had his Queens of the Stone Age not been deposed.

Below, the band explains how grateful they feel to have won their Grammy over other legendary artists and why they’re taking so long completing their sophomore effort:

[Image courtesy of Twitter; @ImagineDragons]