Tuesday afternoon Silent Planet took to Facebook announcing they would be stepping down from their currently European tour with Northlane releasing the following statement,
Lovers,
Due to circumstances that are beyond our control, we will be dropping off the European leg of Northlane’s Alien world tour with Polaris and Void of Vision. This was not a decision that was made easily and we are deeply sorry to anyone who was looking forward to seeing us at one of these shows. Your continued support over the years means the world to us, as does your understanding in this current situation. We will see you soon.
Thank you,
– SP
Since then frontman Garrett Russell has an official statement about dropping off the tour. Read the official statement below.
I’ve written and re-written this post a dozen times. But either way, the conclusion is the same. So I’ll just tell you what’s going on.
My name is Garrett and I struggle with mental illness. If you’ve followed our band closely, you might already be aware of this. I’ve done my best to be open about my experience, as I tried to set a positive example for others who struggle.
You are not defined by your disorder. You are not your disorder. I believe you are a human, made in the sacred image of God. Whether or not you believe that, I hope you at least realize how mathematically unlikely your existence is in this universe.
However, it’s one thing to talk about mental health… and it’s another thing to take care of it. I have been neglecting my own mental health, and unfortunately, I was given a harsh reminder over this last week.
I had a series of episodes while in Europe, and I became a danger to myself. My bandmates, who love me very much, decided that we should all go home together. The care they’ve shown me has been the clearest depiction of grace I’ve ever seen in my life.
This was not an easy decision because we have never cancelled a show in our 10 years of existence and thousands of shows. We’ve had shows cancelled by weather, police, venues, promoters, etc. But it’s never been us. We don’t take our opportunities for granted – we have been grinding since day 1, and we’ve never been okay with taking the easy way out.
So as you can imagine, this hurts like hell. Every morning I wake up and think of every person I’ve disappointed. So this is why I will be doing everything in my power to never let this happen again. I’m going to try to get healthy. I’m checking myself into a psychological rehabilitation clinic, where I’ll be treated by a team of mental health professionals.
Now, I’m going to level with you. We aren’t trust fund babies, so the financial road ahead looks difficult for us. We’ve been planning some Black Friday/Cyber Monday merch sales for weeks, and we will continue with those to hopefully help us pay off the many bills we now owe. I’ll post these items later, and if you wanna grab one or give one as a Christmas gift, that would be rad.
But most importantly, I want to thank you for reading this. In my current mental state, it’s difficult to see what’s ahead, but someone once said that “faith is being certain of what you do not see” – so I’m trying to have faith.
Love you all. Thank you for reading. Thank you for sticking with us. See you soon.
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving or whatever today means to you. Find something to be thankful for, even if it’s just being alive.
