If you've followed Seether over the years, you know how important the issue of suicide prevention is to the band. Frontman Shaun Morgan lost his brother to suicide, and the band's Rise Above Festival has been dedicated to bringing awareness to suicide prevention programs. For his efforts, the vocalist has been honored with the Artistic Expression Award at the Awards of Excellence from the National Council for Behavioral Health.

The ceremony took place in Las Vegas earlier this week, with Morgan telling those in attendance, "I wanted to help those who suffer silently behind closed doors and drawn curtains. I wanted to raise awareness to their plight, and our Rise Above Fest seemed to be the answer. In the last three years, we have managed to raise more than $100,000 for suicide awareness groups, and I feel that we have started breaking down the wall of secrecy and shame that is built so solidly around people with mental illness. We have donated over 750 tickets to veterans and spread our message to millions around the world. Thank you for this award. It represents the most important achievement of my life, to date." You can read his full speech here.

Since starting the Rise Above Festival, the event has become the No. 1 suicide awareness music fundraiser in the world. The festival takes its name from Seether's hit song "Rise Above This" that Morgan penned after losing his brother to suicide in 2007.

This year's Rise Above Festival is set for Aug. 6 at Darling's Waterfront in Bangor, Maine. In addition to Seether, the lineup will include Disturbed, Volbeat, Alter Bridge, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, Memphis May Fire, We Came as Romans, Beartooth, I Prevail and more. Ticketing info can be found here. And to learn more about the National Council for Behavioral Health, click here.

Watch Seether Discuss the Rise Above Festival

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