Godsmack have been forced to postpone their upcoming European tour following the unexpected death of the son of guitarist Tony Rombola.

Vocalist/guitarist Sully Erna has issued the following statement on behalf of the band:

"With my deepest regrets, and on behalf of our guitarist Tony and his wife Sue, I am personally writing this message to all of our fans worldwide to inform you that Tony and his family have suffered a loss that no parent should ever have to endure.

"Tony and Sue's son Joe Fay passed away last week, unexpectedly, at the young age of 34. He was one of the kindest and most humble guys I had ever met. And most importantly, he was a FAN. Just like all of you. He literally lived the success of Godsmack through his Dad. He was always so excited and proud just to be around all of us, and we will all miss him deeply.

"As we await more information on how this happened, we humbly ask that you respect Tony and his family's privacy as they take time to process this and heal.

"We appreciate all of your patience, prayers and support in this very trying time. And I promise you, we ARE coming back bigger and stronger in the beginning of 2019, and we WILL honor all of these tour dates in Europe and across this globe. So be ready!"

The month of European dates were set to kick off October 29th in Stockholm and follow the group's cross-country summer US tour. The band's final show was Saturday, October 13th at the Aftershock Festival in California. These dates will now take place in early 2019, details of which will be announced soon.