Metallica singer/songwriter and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield has announced that Metallica will be cancelling their appearances at Sonic Temple Festival and Louder Than Life Festival. Red Hot Chili Peppers (recently reunited with guitarist John Frusciante) and Tool have been announced as new headliners for Sonic Temple, joining Slipknot as the new Sonic Temple headliners.

Hetfield released a statement detailing his personal struggles with drug abuse and mental health, and noted that the two festivals interfere with two very important recovery events scheduled on the same dates. Hetfield expressed his condolences and apologized to his fans, and also pointed out that other 2020 Metallica dates will go on as scheduled.

Although Metallica will miss Sonic Temple and Louder Than Life, the band will still perform at Epicenter in Concord, North Carolina, Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Aftershock in Sacramento, California.

Hetfield has been dealing with stints in rehab since last year; Metallica cancelled tour shows in September of last year due to Hetfield, but recently performed live for the first time since entering rehab. In his first interview since entering rehab, Hetfield admitted he was not sure what the future holds for Metallica, but was optimistic about what the absence of a plan might hold for the future of the band.

You can read Hetfield’s full public statement detailing the reasons for the cancellation of the shows here.

Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado