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Rest In Peace, Justin Lowe (After The Burial)

Photo credit: Derek Soto/Sinestra Studios Over the last few weeks, things have been a little rough with After The Burial and their guitarist Justin Lowe. For those unaware, Lowe

9 years ago

Photo credit: Derek Soto/Sinestra Studios

Over the last few weeks, things have been a little rough with After The Burial and their guitarist Justin Lowe. For those unaware, Lowe has apparently been struggling with mental illness for a while now. We had all hoped that he was getting the treatment he needed and that we would see a positive result to this. Sadly, yesterday, July 21st, 2015, Justin Lowe passed away. Head on over the jump for what little we know.

A statement via Lambgoat sums up what we know:

“Lowe was reported missing on July 18 in Washington County, MN. His disappearance came just weeks after Lowe issued a troubling statement, followed shortly by word from After The Burial that Lowe was mentally ill, though receiving treatment.
Lowe’s body was found by a hiker Tuesday evening beneath the Arcola High Bridge near Somerset, Wisconsin. His vehicle had been found in a parking lot nearby in Minnesota. Authorities state that cause of death is consistent with a fall.”

We at Heavy Blog want to express our deepest condolences to Justin’s family and After The Burial, Anthony, Trent, Lee and Dan.

Mental illness is no joke, and if you are suffering, we urge you to get help. If you know anyone who is suffering from mental illness, we urge you to give them as much help and support as you can. There are often situations like these that cannot be resolved; there is only so much that one human can do for the other. However, sometimes that little bit is exactly what we need. Knowing that others are there for us, genuinely there and not in an abstract sense likes fans are, is sometimes as essential as air or food.

After the Burial are a seminal band, one which stood at the forefront of their respective genre. This might be a good time to mention that musicians, and often successful ones, can be even more prone to these kind of illnesses. The pressure of constant creativity, the distance that can be created by the stage and the instrument, all of these factors can aggravate and sometimes downright generate these conditions. Please, if you know anyone in these positions, try and take a look behind initial impressions. You can’t force anyone to ask help but perhaps just another question in the right place could make the difference.

Rest in peace, Justin. Our hearts are with you.

-MV

Mark Valentino

Published 9 years ago