Shinedown bassist Eric Bass has announced that he is stepping away from the band's upcoming tour.
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This is after experiencing what he described as a "pretty serious mental health crash."
The band will begin the North American leg of its Dance, Kid, Dance Act II tour on July 11 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Bass shared the unexpected news on the eve of the tour's opening show, leaving many fans stunned.
Rock Musician Withdraws From Tour Over Mental Health
Bass took to Instagram to explain his decision to his nearly 60,000 followers.
"I don't know any other way to do this other than to just do it off the cuff, none of this is prepared," he said. "But I have an announcement to make: I'm not going to be joining the band on the beginning of this tour that starts in a few days."
"I had a pretty serious mental health crash, I guess you could say, a few weeks ago and I don't really feel it's the wise thing for me to do to go out on tour right now."
"I debated whether to make this announcement at all and just not be there and show back up when it's time. But mental health being such a thing that I have championed and the band has championed that it would be not the best look to maybe seem like I'm ashamed of it."
Bass revealed that he has been undergoing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina.
He also said he has been attending talk therapy and is already beginning to feel much better.
International Tour Plans Remain Unchanged
Shinedown's North American tour will run through early September before the band heads to New Zealand and Australia.
After a short break, the group is set to begin its European tour on October 31 in Paris. They will then perform in Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
The band will conclude the tour with back-to-back performances at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre.
It remains unclear whether Bass will rejoin the band for the international leg of the tour.
He said he does not yet have a timeline for his return but hopes it will be "sooner rather than later."
