Metallica has announced that frontman James Hetfield has entered rehab, and the band is canceling its upcoming tour in Australia and New Zealand. A band statement reads as follows:

“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. More details on how to obtain your refund are here.”

Since the announcement, Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta has spoken out in support of Hetfield's decision to enter rehab:

Jasta: "Just got off stage in TN and heard about @papa_het_ so I want to post a few things here in regards to addiction & counseling. I commend James for seeking help and I want to send my love & support to him, his family and the entire extended Metallica camp. I hope that all Metallica fans affected by this understand that this is absolutely the best choice. Health is EVERYTHING. No tour or album or mountain of obligations is worth diving back into the abyss of booze & drugs.

Energy is real and if you’re going to put it out either online or in person I ask that you please put out positive energy for James. Sure, there are people who can cut loose every so often & bounce back but for others, even one drink can lead to decisions that snowball into a destructive avalanche. I’ve toured heavily for over 20+ years and would not have given up drinking if it wasn’t for James and the example he set.

I always said that booze was the “dark river” that is always flowing and the current is too strong for me. I want to dive in, sometimes every day for weeks, but I don’t and it can’t. Meeting James at MTV and speaking with him about my drinking problem was very eye opening because this is a guy who is in one of the biggest bands in the world with so much pressure on him and so much weight to carry and he really made me think if he could quit so could I. Now I’ve stayed away from that river for well over a decade.

I may not be 'as fun as I used to be' it might be hard for me to attend certain events or functions where people are plastered or going to be drunk. but I know it’s the best choice and I think that in the years ahead we’re gonna find out that the booze companies have lied to and manipulated us. I think it’s WAY worse than people realize but I will save that for another day.....

If you or anyone you know may be going through something similar, maybe James having the courage to confront his demons again can be the compass to point you in the right direction. No amount of booze, drugs, food, sex, gambling etc. will fill the hole inside that is eating at you and growing. Get help. Go to a meeting, look up free resources online. Take a step away from the dark river and don’t look back."