The affliction of friendship have announced the postponement of their upcoming European tour. The group explained in a statement that dates have been pushed back as group members seek help to improve their mental health.
The group made the announcement late last week, just over a month before they began a lengthy tour of the UK and Europe. “For anyone who has been following our band for the past 18 years, it will come as no surprise that we as a band have had ongoing issues with our mental health,” they wrote.
The Amity Affliction have postponed their European tour dates as members seek help to improve their mental health:
“We have never canceled a tour. Never,” they added. “We’ve played nearly dead, we’ve played crippled, we’ve played when I (Joel, who is writing this) came close to killing myself, and not once did we hit the brakes when we definitely should have.”
The band, which is currently in the middle of a US tour, explained that they had committed to their tour but were now in a situation where they could not “conscientiously embark safely” on the dates. of both tours.
“Some members of the band need to seek help for their mental health, issues that have only been exacerbated during the worst of Covid,” they added. “We are at a point where if we were to force them to continue our European tour as it is, right after the US tour, we would risk having to face a much worse situation than a canceled tour, and that is not a risk. . willing, nor should anyone be willing, to take.”
In another part of their statement, the group took the opportunity to one more time shed light on the music industry itself, pointing out the impact of extreme expectations and “brutal” schedules that artists are forced to adhere to.
“Sadly, within the music industry, and indeed in the larger entertainment and hospitality industries in which we coexist, the schedules that artists are expected to continue to maintain in order to remain relevant are brutal,” added The Amity. Affliction. “This has created a culture and atmosphere that almost rewards abuse, leading to extremely bad mental health issues that are mostly overlooked.
“The music industry is a giant moving on without the artists it spits out, so if we ignore this situation and abandon the love we have for our friends, WE HOPE they embark on a tour timeline that would most likely destroy them and us, life would go on, but not for us. Not for our band. Not for all the people who love you, and not for you, our extremely loyal and beloved fans.”
The group, which will also perform at this year’s edition party of good things – concluded their statement by noting that their next European dates would be moved to early 2023, before hinting at a busy couple of years, including the arrival of a new album and the 10th anniversary celebrations of Let the ocean take me in 2013.
“We want to make sure that we move into the next two years as strong as we can be as a band, and that means we have to be proactive and recognize that acting preemptively rather than reacting to potential tragedy is the right thing to do. do,” they added.
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