Amity Affliction Drummer Leaves Tour To Focus On Mental Health

The year of 2016 will be ending on a bittersweet note for Brisbane-based The Amity Affliction, with the band last night announcing that drummer Ryan Burt will be sitting out the rest of the band’s huge European headline tour due to mental health issues.

In a statement posted to Facebook, the band told fans that “Ryan has recently been battling some ongoing mental demons, and as a group of friends who have had to deal with mental health issues in one way or another, all four of us knew that the best course of action was for him to take the time to go home and get some professional support.

Our priority at this point is Ryan’s health, and that will always come first.” Read the entire statement from the band below.

The terrible news comes right in the middle of the band’s huge tour of Europe alongside Australian heavyweights Northlane, with supports from American hardcore acts Stray From The Path and Wage War.

The band has confirmed that Casey McHale from UK act Funeral For A Friend will be filling in on drums for the rest of the tour, with Casey appearing in his first show with the band last night in London at the iconic Roundhouse.

The band is yet to confirm if Burt will appear in their upcoming regional tour of Australia this January, which will see them perform 13 shows across the country in tow with Ocean Grove and Hellions.

The band have had a globe-conquering 2016, with their 5th album This Could Be Heartbreak reaching number one on the ARIA charts, alongside multiple international headline tours and festival appearances.

What this shows, however, is that regardless of how successful things have been for an individual, mental health does not, and never will discriminate.

We wish Ryan and the band all the best in this difficult time.