Satryicon are one of the standard-bearers of Norwegian black metal, even as their sound has continued to evolve into a slightly more hard rock direction since their formation in 1991. Singer/guitarist/bassist Sigurd “Satyr” Wongraven is at the center of the two-man band, and the 39 year-old has been through quite a lot over the course of 24 years and eight albums. Today, however, he shockingly revealed that he has a been diagnosed and is dealing with a brain tumor. He chose to tell his fans via a post on Instagram, and while the news is unsettling, he appears to be pretty upbeat about it all. Here’s what his Instagram post says:

I’m going home. I got extremely sick 8 days ago and was rushed to hospital. Scans have shown that there is a blind passenger in my head. Most likely it is benign. I can live with it as long as it does not grow bigger. Removing it is extremely complicated and should only be done if it grows into a size where it is a matter of life and death. We all get our set of cards and this happened to be one of mine. There are so many people who have to deal with much worse things than I do, so I do not feel sorry for myself. I have a great family, lots of friends, Satyricon, Wongraven Wines and many people who support my endeavours all over the world. I will spend the next two weeks trying to get my strength back, then try to starting writing on the new Satyricon again and pick up where I left on all my wine projects. 👊👊👊 #thankyou

A photo posted by Wongraven Wines (@wongravenwines) on Oct 5, 2015 at 7:27am PDT

Well, it’s good news that it’s hopefully benign, and again, his overall positive mental attitude will certainly help. And it’ll be cool to potentially hear some more Satyricon, which he promises to begin working on shortly. Our best wishes go out to him.

[via Metal Injection]