In the midst of a world tour in support of their ninth album, Choice of Weapon, Britain’s legendary post-punk band, The Cult, had a brush with death when their bus went careened off course and slid eighty feet down a steep hill while band members were fast asleep in their bunks.

The band was traveling from Croatia to Slovenia when the accident occurred. According to the band’s publicist, the “terrifying crash” left frontman Ian Astbury “pretty banged up.”

“I was the only one awake,” says Astbury who was sitting in the front lounge when the accident occurred. “All of a sudden, the bus veered violently, hit the guard rail and tipped on a 45-degree angle, then righted itself and came to a halt. The guard rail was the only thing that prevented us from going over an 80-foot drop.”

The publicist continues, “Astbury was thrown into the aisle, and as a result, suffered a spate of injuries to his neck, back and shoulder. He later received pain meds and applied ice to his wounds. The driver managed to get the damaged vehicle to a service station a few miles down the road, where it was patched up. Miraculously, the band was able to play that night’s show with no interruption.”

Astbury looks back, “You never think something like this is going to happen to you, and it just did.”

The Cult will pass through the West Coast in August before returning to the U.K.

Aug 18, Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA

Aug 19, Sleep Train Pavilion At Concord, CA

Aug 20, Roseland, Portland, Or

Aug 21, Neptune, Seattle, WA

–Jay Tilles, CBS Local