Metal Anarchy

Unearth‘s Nick Pierce will not perform on the band’s upcoming dates, due to back injuries. During his absence, Mike Sciulara (Extinction A.D.) will handle the drumming duties.

The following was posted on the band’s Facebook:

“We regret to inform everyone that our drummer, Nick Pierce, has been forced to leave the Fury Tour due to his back injury. He fought through over three weeks of tour with two bulging vertebrae and a partially severed disc in his lower back, but he was given doctors orders to shut it down and get immediate treatment.

His departure from the tour will unfortunately cause us to miss tonight’s show in Fayetteville, NC at the Drunken Horse Pub. However, the show will still be going on with the other bands on the Fury Tour for just $10! So please get out and support Ringworm, Reflections, Great American Ghost and Hollow Earth.

Refunds for previously purchased tickets are available from the venue or point of purchase. We apologize to everyone who was looking forward to seeing us. We will make it up to you all.

The good news is we WILL continue the tour starting tomorrow in Washington D.C. with Mike “Scuzz” Sciulara (Extinction A.D.) behind the kit. Mike is no stranger to playing drums for Unearth as he was our touring drummer for a couple months at the end of 2014 when Nick, again, was out with a back injury. We want to thank Mike for rearranging things in his life to help us out again. He’s a true professional, excellent drummer and great guy to tour with.

We’ll be playing our full set in D.C. at the Rock’n’Roll Hotel, New York City at Santos Party House and Worcester, MA at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. See you on the road!

-Unearth

Nick Pierce has released a statement talking about his injury, long term health and leaving the Fury Tour.

As a band we all wish him a speedy recovery from this debilitating injury. We’ll miss you out here bro.”

“It’s with great sadness and remorse I have to announce that I cannot finish off the Fury Tour with my brothers in Unearth. As you know Unearth stated earlier that I was receiving treatment for a back issue while we took a night off in Mississippi. During that day I had X-rays and an MRI done, and I was in route to potentially getting a cortisone injection to last me the rest of the tour. The outcome of the MRI yielded results that were alarming enough to make me book a flight home the next day.

The back problems I’m experiencing started about 4 years ago. It started with my right leg having spasms and extreme muscle tension, which then grew into weakness in my leg and eventually turned in nerve damage and full blown muscle atrophy. Prior to tracking drums for Watchers of Rule my back went out hard for the first time. I was at Kens house in the Boston area for a month, went to the emergency room twice, was doing massage therapy, physical therapy, the works. None of which brought relief.

Because I was uninsured the emergency room rejected me both times and said it was sciatica. They told me to take ibuprofen, ice and heat, get rest and that was about it. In the mean time I couldn’t feel my calf, I could hardly operate my foot, and the nerve damage had left me without feeling below the knee and above the foot. You can imagine playing drums on an album during this time was not ideal. For months I thought my back would pop in place with repeated chiropractor or deep tissue treatment, or progressively get better with physical therapy. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Upon finishing Watchers of Rule in 2014 I immediately went home and pursued getting financial assistance for healthcare. I went and saw a specialist and they reviewed my lab results to find my L5-S1 disc was bulged to the right nearly half the discs diameter. The MRI photos looked as if I had a tongue coming out from in between my vertebrae. From start to finish of drum tracking for the album I had lost over 20 lbs. My right leg was dwarfed by my left, the muscle atrophy and nerve damage was fairly severe by this point.

The doctors suggested I get a cortisone injection in the affected area so I had one shot, and then another a week later. The first shot was ineffective aside from dishing out the nastiest pain you could ever imagine. If you can fathom what two years of swelling on a disc is like, plus all the nerves the disc is smashing into. So with that in mind stick a needle in that area and rinse it with an anti inflammatory, imagine all the swelling coming off the disc and nerves simultaneously that were bound up for years. So after that experience, I went in and did it again a week later. Finally after 2 injections I had gotten relief.

So fast forward 2 years later after the shots, doing physical therapy, relearning my drumming techniques to get reacquainted on the kit, I’m now experiencing the same problems but on the left side. The show in Houston was the first time all of the symptoms resurfaced that I had experienced in the past. My calf went numb, I have a terrible limp when I walk, the nerves were firing off all up and down the side of my leg. My first thought was I’m not putting my left leg through the same trauma as my right, I need to get this checked out ASAP.

The next day I got an MRI while in Houston and found out that the left side of my L5-S1 disc, had actually had a piece severed off which was now floating around my nerves and vertebrae. Clearly this would result in a rather uncomfortable amount of pain, not to mention potentially putting me at greater risk. I did not want to take any more risks, especially based on my previous experiences with this stuff, so I booked a flight home so I could get a proper analysis and treatment.

Currently the doctors are telling me I need surgery but I’m scouting out my options to make sure I take all the right precautions in getting the treatment that’s right for me. My main focus moving forward is to dedicate the time and effort into making sure my body is healthy and sound, I don’t want to endure this again in the future. Some pretty drastic lifestyle changes will have to be made but I’m confident I will overcome whatever obstacles are thrown my way.

Sorry to any fans that may be disappointed by my absence on the remainder of the Fury tour. I hope to make it up to all of you when I’m healthy again! Thanks to my guys in Unearth for all their support, as well as all the fans that made it out on this tour. I will be keeping everyone updated on how things are going, thanks again for understanding and keep your horns pointed my way!” – Nick Pierce