Baroness Lose Two Members

I picked this up off the official Baroness website. During SXSW, John Baizley did a few interviews, and a solo performance, and I didn't see or hear anything that indicated this might be happening, but either way more line up changes following the accident in Bath:

Nothing can truly prepare you for a brush with death. The event is unique one, singular to the observer. Trust me, you don’t want to invite the experience. Our bus accident left indelible marks, external and internal, physical and mental, you name it. Each of the nine of us went through and continues to go through an entirely different, yet common experience. We are tied to each other by a trauma, which, despite its damage, has been made individually easier through our shared ordeal. While I would never wish the incident on anyone, I cannot imagine going through that wreck alone. 

Thankfully, injury was not dealt out evenly; unfortunately it was dealt in great supply. Each of the nine of us now finds our self in a drastically different circumstance, and we each move forward accordingly. There are two important things to note. First, we are all healthy. We are recovering at different rates, and we’ll all be fine in the end. Second, Baroness has made a commitment to pick up where we left off, and get back out on tour, where we belong. In fact, I am personally staking my recovery on this principle; it gives me direction and something to look forward to (finally). 

However, for some of us, the accident necessitated a change that would prevent them from performing music or touring. It is with sadness that we must announce that Matt Maggioni and Allen Blickle will not continue touring with Baroness. The details of their departure are not sensational; they do not come with hard feelings. Nor are the details going to be public; suffice it to say we’d like to keep to ourselves the finer points of this situation, to respect the privacy of all involved. While the nine of us must respect the significance of the bus accident in Bath, we must also move away from it and get back to our lives. 

Simply put, some of the effects and injuries were severe enough to prohibit further activity in Baroness. While we would never have asked them to leave; we have the utmost sympathy for this situation, and in earnest, we wish Matt and Allen the best in the future. In their stead, we have found two musicians who can approach our music with passion and vitality and help get us back out on tour to finish what was seemingly cut short last August.

‘til the wheels fall off,
John Baizley & Baroness

I have a feeling Baroness will persevere through this, and hopefully get back on track soon.

Rob Caggiano Leaves Anthrax

In a post on Anthrax's facebook page, the announcement that Rob Caggiano's departure from the band is official. There were no reasons given by the band, but should prove interesting in the coming weeks as the band preps for the Metal Alliance Tour. Read the Statement below:

Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend. 

His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road. 

With the Metal Alliance Tour on the horizon, we have been considering several lead guitarist options, and will be making an announcement on that shortly. 

ANTHRAX - Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna

I am sure there is a super group forming with Paul Di'anno, or Ripper Owens you can check out for other gigs. I hear Geoff Tate is hiring. Either way I am sure he will land on his feet, as one of the men who helped revitalize the fading legend of Anthrax.

Tesseract have parted with Vocalist

After the very recent release of their EP Perspective, it is with heavy hearts that vocalist Elliot Coleman and TESSERACT have parted ways.  A statement from bassist Amos Williams can be seen below:

"Sadly, our good buddy Elliot has decided to leave team TesseracT. We'd like to thank Elliot for everything he has done for us. We have loved having him be a part of this beast. 

He introduced us to a completely different side of our sound, as well the delights of Pho! Things we will always be grateful for. So, as well as continuing to write and record album 2, we are also on the hunt for that special (shpecial) person to be the new full-time TesseracT vocalist."