Nobody’s Stopping Them
Getting hit by a car is not a walk-it-off situation. Bell’s Palsy is not a push-through-it situation. Knocked Loose is doing both.
On May 29, guitarist Isaac Hale was struck by a car while the band was in Zurich, mid-run on their European opening slot with Metallica and Gojira. His Instagram post about it: “got hit by a car yesterday felt bad but got this boba after and it was really good.” Vocalist Ryan Garris is simultaneously dealing with Bell’s Palsy — a nerve condition that causes partial facial muscle paralysis. Not a single date has been cancelled.
This is not a small opening slot. Knocked Loose is playing stadiums and major festival stages across Europe — Olympiastadion Berlin, Graspop Metal Meeting, Primavera Sound, Rock for People. The exposure that comes from performing for 60,000 people who showed up for Metallica but ended up watching Knocked Loose? That doesn’t come around twice. You don’t cancel that for a car accident. You don’t cancel that for anything.
Touring with Metallica at this stage of a band’s career is a crowning achievement. They’re not headlining yet — but this is the run that shifts the trajectory permanently. New listeners in countries they’ve never played. Streaming bumps. Name recognition in markets that wouldn’t have clicked on a Knocked Loose album on their own. Their co-headline “Hive Mind” tour with Denzel Curry is already lined up for North America this fall. Everything is compounding right now. Getting off the road would cost more than any injury.
Both Hale and Garris are dealing with real problems that deserve real recovery time. Here’s hoping they get it on the other side of this. The fact that they’re out there anyway says everything.
Source: The PRP
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