The Amity Affliction's Joel Birch Reveals That He's Seven Years Sober

The Amity Affliction are known and loved for their tunes that explore mental illness, addiction, and finding hope in the darkness. So, it’s cool to read that vocalist Joel Birch is seven years sober, as of yesterday.

As he wrote on Twitter, Birch is “Seven years sober today. Zero drinks the entire time, no days off. My youngest son will never see me drunk.” Hell yeah, that’s bloody awesome; we love to see it.

Seven years sober today. Zero drinks the entire time, no days off. My youngest son will never see me drunk.

— Joel Birch (@joelfcbirch) March 7, 2023

Birch has been remarkably open about his journey, not only in sobriety but in his bipolar disorder diagnosis and being a father. The Amity Affliction will be heading to Europe this June.

Last month, the Aussie band returned with I See Dead People, the follow-up to the recently released Show Me Your God. Their latest single features the late New Zealand rapper Louie Knuxx, a close friend of the band who tragically passed away from a heart attack in 2021.

I See Dead People is lyrically and musically heavy, with Joel Birch discussing "the ongoing and nebulous struggle that comes with dealing with the pain of friends killing themselves, while myself dealing with passive suicidal ideation." 

With no clean vocals from Ahren Stringer, the track is filled with breakdowns, blast beats, and a music video that turns ominous when Birch screams, "I am death".

In November, The Amity Affliction gave us a taste of new music after putting out the singles Like Love, Give Up The Ghost, and Somewhere Beyond The Blue in 2021.

"Show Me Your God is the first song of our first self-produced record," the band said. "The song is the first in a series of explorations and internal meditations on how our past shapes us and interacts with our various mental struggles in the present, drawing from both personal experience and also the trauma of close friends who have passed away or who have dealt with close loved ones passing away." 

Show Me Your God followed Birch's teasing on social media. He gifted fans with the following information: the Aussie metalcore band's eighth album is done! "New album finished. Mixed. Done," Birch tweeted. He added, "[it's the] Heaviest music we've ever written."