Defenders Of The Faith, le forum Metal

San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL have issued the following statement:

"As some of you may have already heard, DEATH ANGEL's longtime drummer and original member Andrew Galeon [pictured below] has decided that it is time for him to move on from the band. While we are sad to see him go, we wish him nothing but success. Not only has he been an integral part of DEATH ANGEL from day one, but he's also family and a friend and we will miss him. All the best to you, brother.

"As for the future of DEATH ANGEL, THE SHOW GOES ON. Old friend and longtime fixture of the Bay Area metal scene, Will Carroll (SCARECROW, OLD GRANDAD, VICIOUS RUMORS, etc.), will be handling the drum duties for the upcoming local shows in June and the Summer Madness Tour in Europe with KATAKLYSM and KEEP OF KALESSIN. Will's been jamming with us for over a month now and is tearing it up! We look forward to hitting the stage with him very soon... We'll be performing songs from 'Frolic' and 'Act III' that we haven´t played live since back in the day so prepare for a dose of some serious old-school thrash!

"Thank you all for your continued support over the years... See you on the road this summer!"

When asked about his departure from DEATH ANGEL, Galeon replied, "We had a tour booked, and basically, I had personal things I had to deal with — I had a newborn baby — and I just was like, 'Well, I've gotta do stuff at home.' We [the members of DEATH ANGEL] weren't communicating well or nothing. I wasn't about to ask them to not go [on the road], so I just said, 'I'll just leave then.' I even pointed out a few [other drummers] from the [San Francisco] Bay Area that could be a fill-in or a replacement, whatever you wanna call it. I mentioned Chris Kontos [MACHINE HEAD, TESTAMENT], I mentioned Will Carroll [OLD GRANDAD, SCARECROW, VICIOUS RUMORS, MACHINE HEAD], and I think there was another guy... I know they were gonna go with Will, because Ted [Aguilar], the rhythm guitar player [for DEATH ANGEL], has played with him in a bunch of bands — he even plays with him in SCARECROW, so I knew it would be easier. They went and did the tour and they also went to Mexico, and that's where it stands now."

Regarding whether he envisioned his departure to be temporary or permanent, Andy stated, "Well, I just quit. There were things that weren't dealt with when Den [former DEATH ANGEL bassist Dennis Pepa] quit, and we were trying to deal with it, but you know how communication is. It's like with a marriage — some people don't see the same page. Everyone is looking at one piece of paper and everyone has a different idea about it. I mean, it is what it is. And I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but we'll see what happens." He added, "I've been recording with people and doing some production stuff here and there, and working on some CDs and stuff... Giving drum lessons and everything. [But] you never know what the future holds."

Q: You guys are family. You would think you guys could work it out [among yourselves]?

Galeon: "Yeah, you would think. [laughs] Everyone always says that but, to me, sometimes being family, it makes it harder for some reason. I don't know why, but it's just that way sometimes. Imagine being in a band with your brother for over 20 years, jamming with the same guy. You know every little quirk, you know every little thing that pisses him off, and you press those buttons when you have to, and he presses your buttons when he has to... I don't know what it is, man. You'd think we'd communicate more, but at times it's not that way. Musically, we always communicate pretty well; I mean, everything goes smoothly, [and] we push each other musically. I'm on every song that D.A. has ever released, as well as written."