Former Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel has publicly responded to claims that he tried to power the disbandment of the Bay Space thrash metallic pioneers following his departure from the band, firmly denying that he ever made such a requirement.
Demmel, a founding member of Vio-Lence, performed his closing live performance with the band in February 2024 on the Carioca Membership in São Paulo, Brazil, closing out a reunion period that had introduced renewed consideration to the influential thrash outfit. Almost two years later, tensions surrounding his exit resurfaced after latest feedback from vocalist Sean Killian.
On Sunday, Demmel addressed the state of affairs instantly in a social media submit (by way of Blabbermouth), pushing again on the narrative that he tried to close the band down. “I requested Sean to finish the band with me, then carry out the fabric as a solo act,” Demmel wrote. “When he instructed me he did not need to, I did not ask once more. It was a request, not a requirement.”
In response to Demmel, his suggestion stemmed from discomfort with the band’s frequent lineup modifications, which he felt not aligned with what he wished to be concerned in creatively or personally.
Demmel additionally rejected claims that he exerted management over Vio-Lence throughout his closing years within the group. He defined that Killian dealt with a lot of the band’s logistics, together with reserving and scheduling. “For my previous couple of years of my time in Vio, Sean was doing the scheduling/reserving,” Demmel stated. “I wasn’t making any band choices.”
As a substitute, Demmel stated his position had change into more and more restricted, permitting him to selectively take part in exhibits till he finally determined to step away. “He’d ask me if I used to be accessible to play, and I used to be capable of cherry-pick the gigs I wished or might do till it was time for me to cease,” he added.
Demmel emphasised that choices have been made collaboratively and that he was not issuing unilateral directives. “I used to be by no means ‘controlling’ the band or making unilateral band choices,” he stated, noting that the one exception he might recall was bringing in Christian Olde Wolbers to fill in on bass.
Demmel‘s assertion follows a latest interview wherein Sean Killian, speaking with Robb Chavez of Robbs MetalWorks, claimed that Demmel wished Vio-Lence shelved completely after his exit. “[Phil] wished me to shelve the band,” Killian stated, recalling a dialog that allegedly befell after a sold-out Whisky A Go Go present in Los Angeles in February 2023. “And I used to be like, ‘No, I am not shelving something.'”
Killian argued that Vio-Lence nonetheless had unfinished enterprise, significantly provided that the band hardly ever toured throughout its unique run within the late Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties. “There’s so many locations all over the world that have not seen Vio-Lence,” Killian stated.
The vocalist additionally revisited tensions courting again to the band’s failed 2001 reunion, suggesting that Demmel‘s alternatives with Machine Head finally derailed momentum. Killian claimed relations deteriorated additional round Mystic Competition 2024 in Poland, after Demmel gave interviews essential of Vio-Lence.
Demmel has beforehand acknowledged that his departure was rooted within the band not feeling like “dwelling,” citing lineup instability and a altering dynamic. Since leaving Vio-Lence, he has remained extremely lively, performing with Kerry King‘s solo band, Class 7, and dealing as a sought-after touring guitarist.
Regardless of the general public back-and-forth, Demmel closed his latest assertion on a conciliatory observe. “Vio-Lence is forging forward as am I,” he wrote. “Can everybody else?”
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