Metallica have postponed their upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand so that frontman James Hetfield can enter an addiction treatment program.

“As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years,” the band wrote in a statement on Instagram last night. “He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again.”

Metallica’s tour was scheduled to begin 10/17 in Perth, Australia and conclude 11/2 in Auckland, New Zealand. All tickets purchased will be fully refunded.

“We fully intend to make our way to your part of the world as soon as health and schedule permit,” the band added. “We’ll let you know as soon as we can.” Read their full statement below.

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A Note from Lars, Kirk, and Rob ・・・ We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must postpone our upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand. ・・・ As most of you probably know, our brother James has been struggling with addiction on and off for many years. He has now, unfortunately, had to re-enter a treatment program to work on his recovery again. ・・・ We fully intend to make our way to your part of the world as soon as health and schedule permit. We’ll let you know as soon as we can. Once again, we are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who often travel great distances to experience our shows. We appreciate your understanding and support for James and, as always, thank you for being a part of our Metallica family. ・・・ All tickets purchased to the shows in Australia and New Zealand, including Enhanced Experiences and Black Tickets, will be fully refunded. Links to more details on how to obtain your refund are posted on Metallica.com.

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on Sep 27, 2019 at 5:00pm PDT