Slayer/Exodus guitarist Gary Holt and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian have offered their support to Yungblud after the English pop-rock star shared an emotionally raw social media post detailing what he says was a "breakdown" following his Bludfest headline show in Czechia last week.
The Yorkshire-born musician played to 20,000 fans in Hradec Králové at what was the first international staging of his bespoke festival. Alongside a video clip showing him sobbing onstage, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter born Dominic Harrison issued a statement admitting that he has been "struggling" with his mental health in recent months.
"Honestly, I’ve been debating whether or not I should post this clip because I don’t want it to feel disingenuous like I’m doing it for a reason like clicks or personal game but at the end of the day this is what happened and it’s genuine so I thought fuck it," he wrote in a new post titled 'Warning. Truth incoming.'
"To be truthful. Recently, I’ve been really struggling and this moment is a byproduct of my body releasing the wave of emotion that has hit me in the past year that I’ve been unable to process. I’m not gonna lie to you when I got off this stage I felt elated but 20 minutes later when I was in the shower on my own I had a breakdown.
"Being an artist in this day and age is so strange because everything moves so quickly. You never get to sit in what happens for more than a couple hours therefore you fail to navigate or process anything you feel both good or bad at all.
"In the past 10 years I’ve been on a million different journeys tried a million different sounds trying to figure out who I am or what I can mean to the world everyday whilst the world shouts back.
"The amount of hate and disbelief around me from strangers on the internet or bitter musicians really weighs on my heart as all I’ve been trying to do for the past 10 years is spread love, build something I believe in and unify people in a safe space.
"I should really say nothing about this because it would makes me seem cooler and like it isn’t affecting me but deep down but I don’t think that’s who I am or why we all connect to each other.
"I read an article yesterday morning that felt validating to me. It’s strange because the press don’t usually like to compliment me. Writers and influencers get more clicks out of negativity around me. I don’t complain about it because I think that’s just the space that I take up for them, that’s the kind of artist I am and that’s the way of the world.
"This article said ‘Yungblud isn’t an industry plant. The internet just missed the grind.’ This made me feel happy. I think when things appear to happen so quickly and you get millions of eyes upon you that didn’t know you existed there two hours before of course it feels unbelievable, of course it feels disingenuous, of course it feels inauthentic.
"I think that’s why I’m so grateful to have all of you. We relish in a journey together that started nearly 10 years ago in 100 seater venue upstairs in Amsterdam. I think this is why I got so emotional when I saw 20,000 of you in a field in Czechia on a festival we started from scratch two years ago in the UK now it’s first International year.
"We’ve been moving so fast that I haven’t really been able to process anything at all but in this moment my emotions got the better of me. I needed that. Thank you for providing a space that makes me feel safe enough where I could express myself truly. This community is created by us, for all of us.
"I think the most beautiful thing about this festival is that WE built it. This place is a house that is ours. Here, I feel like I’m like standing in front of my girlfriend or my mother. I can’t hold it in. I can’t hold anything back. I can’t be ‘“’professional.’”’ I can’t hide.
"Right now, deep down, I know I need to do a bit of work on myself to process everything I’m feeling and attain the a strength I need to keep going at this pace as we move into another chapter together. I feel good about the next couple months before I hibernate and take the time to prioritise that work.
"To all my beautiful community reading this I just want to let you know how lucky I feel to have you all. This day reminded me of why I do this and how special what we have is. I love you with all my heart and I am truly thankful. What an honour it is to spend this life with you.
"If you are a journalist reading this, please don’t twist it. This is how I feel."
Holt and Ian replied with posts expressing support for the star.
“An industry plant cannot do what you did at Back to the beginning," Holt wrote. "Genuine and real and convinced a horde of headbangers of this. Not easy to do."
“I stood side stage at BTTB and watched you breathe rarified air the way you elevated Changes," Scott Ian posted. "You’ve earned it all Dom. Cheers brother."
