Silverchair Delays 'Diorama' Release

NEW YORK (Silverchair Official Website) - Silverchair's forthcoming album, Diorama, is being delayed due to singer-songwriter Daniel Johns's severe case of reactive arthritis. The album was to have been released on July 30, but Atlantic Records pushed it back to August 30 to give Johns time to recover and then travel to the U.S. to do promotion.

The condition causes chronic swelling of the joints resulting in impaired movement and extreme pain. It led the band to delay a world tour and caused the cancellation of sold-out shows in London and New York. Johns has a strict treatment regimen, but he's been recovering steadily enough to allow him to participate in a limited number of promotional shows via the Internet to support Diorama.

"Obviously this 'virtual tour' is nowhere near as much fun as playing real shows," noted bassist Chris Joannou in a statement. "But at least it allows us to do something to connect with some of the people who would have been coming to the gigs we had to cancel."

Silverchair's Diorama has already been released in Australia, and it spent two months in the Number One album spot on the charts there.