FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Bassist Celebrates First Year Of Sobriety

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael celebrated his first year of sobriety on Sunday, February 3.

Earlier today, the Las Vegas-based rocker wrote on Twitter: "May my hitting my first sober birthday yesterday give hope to those of you also struggling with addiction. It can be done. And, you will thank yourself when you too hit these milestones. Keep your chin up and those feet moving! #ShitYesSon #SoberAsFuck #SFG"

Last April, Kael told the KLAQ radio station that he was "going through about an eight-ball of cocaine a week" at the height of his addiction. "That got to be the biggest problem for me," he revealed. "That and depression, the two things, were not good. I didn't realize it until I got into rehab that I was self-medicating with cocaine to get my dopamine levels up to fight the depression. I never even thought about that. And then when you come off it, you crash hard."

Kael is not the first member of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH to publicly discuss his struggle with addiction. Drummer Jeremy Spencer, who left the band in December, got clean and sober seven years ago after a particularly bad episode of drug and alcohol abuse, saying that he didn't want to let his parents down after achieving the kind of success he dreamed of as a kid. Ivan Moody's own substance abuse has caused him to miss a couple of the band's tours, with the singer later apologizing to fans and revealing that he had been in a treatment facility "addressing the addiction issues that have interfered with everything in my life."

Chris said that he had feelings of guilt over the way Moody was publicly battling his addiction while he was silently dealing with issues of his own. "Ivan was going through his thing, and me, no one really knew, I was the quiet one that was kind of doing things on the side," Kael said. "That was one of the things that was eating away at me too — my guy had a huge problem, and here I am, a quiet problem. It hit me hard when I got off the road. Going home was always hard anyway, 'cause you've got so much stimulation out on the road, and then you come home and you're, like, 'Wait a minute? I've gotta take out the trash? That's the biggest part of my job now?'"

Kael first revealed his battle with addiction in a series of tweets, saying that his wife played a "major role" in helping him get clean. "Had she not busted me trying to restock after burning through $1300 in blow in two days in late January [2018], I truly believe that I would not be here today," he wrote. "She has silently and bravely dealt with far more than what would have crushed any other woman. Her loyalty, patience, TRUE love and resolve are unmatched by any other woman I've ever known."

Kael also said: "Throwing my hands to the universe and admitting I was at a fucking low and no longer able to do it myself was one of the most humbling and powerful things I've ever done in my life."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH released its seventh full-length studio album, "And Justice For None", last May.