Malcolm Young Suffering from Dementia

The news that Malcolm Young would no longer be a member of AC/DC was revealed earlier this week, but it looks like it the guitarist reason for “leaving” was a lot more serious than the band originally led on.

Malcolm, who co-founded the now legendary band with brother Angus, suffered a stroke in April, but according to the Sydney Morning Herald, the former guitarist is suffering from dementia and is receiving full-time care in a Sydney, Australia nursing home.

A press release from the band earlier in the week read, “due to the nature of his condition, he will not be returning to the band.”

Malcolm’s stroke earlier this year began rumors that AC/DC would be dismantling. The rumors ended up being just that with the band revealing that they would be releasing a brand new album later this year. This week’s revelation also brought a new member in the band, but the group decided to keep it “all in the family” by hiring Malcolm’s nephew, Stephen, to fill in on guitar for his uncle.

On top of the new record which has been titled Rock or Bust, their lead single, “Play Ball” will be featured during the Major League Baseball’s postseason games beginning next month. There’s also talk about a world tour scheduled for 2015, but until tour dates are unveiled, it will be just that.

Check out the new song below.

Chris Walla Leaves Death Cab for Cutie After 17 Years

After 17 years in Death Cab For Cutie, Chris Walla has announced that he will be leaving the band following their run of festival dates. The last official show for the guitarist will be the band’s headlining gig at Rifflandia in Victoria, British Columbia.

In a blog post on SLOG Music, Walla write, “I will miss being a quarter of this band and will support whatever course Death Cab for Cutie chooses from here.”

“I am profoundly grateful for Ben, Nick and Jason for the experiences that define my adult life. Truly grateful beyond words. Thank you.”

In the rest of his release, he states the typical reason for leaving a band; the urge to explore “the unknown.”

“Deciding to leave the band was not and is not, easy,” he said. “It’s really, really sad. I love my bandmates and I’m proud of what we’ve done and mercifully, those things don’t change with my departure. Moving forward, my plans are simply to continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible. Darkness may find me, but I shall never choose it.”

Walla had a big role in the band including producing the band’s past seven albums as well as playing a slew of instruments including the guitar and keyboards on many of their tracks.

The departure of Walla comes on the heels of the band finishing up their yet-to-be-titled eight studio album . The new record is expected to be released in early 2015 with tons of touring to help promote the record. No word on whether the band will be bringing someone in to replace Walla for the “extensive tour” they have planned for next year.

La Dispute Issue Statement About Kevin Whittemore’s Departure

During their hometown show, La Dispute guitarist Kevin Whittemore announced that he would leaving the band much to the sadness of the audience. At the time, there had been no reason as to why he would be leaving the band, but today, the group have released a statement about Whittemore’s departure.

Unlike many bands who see a member make an abrupt exit, La Dispute have nothing but the best things to say about Whittemore in the statement and tried to get to the fans before nasty rumors were to begin about the reason for his leaving. Apparently, he will be leaving the band to pursue a career in building guitars rather than playing them while a friend of the band’s will be taking his place in the line-up for the time being.

Read the full statement below:

“For those of you not present at either our Grand Rapids or our Cleveland show this past Sunday and Monday respectively (excepting of course close friends not in attendance who were privy to this information prior to the commencement of tour), Kevin has, after roughly ten years of standing to my left and playing guitar in La Dispute, decided to move on to pursue other endeavors. Unsurprisingly, he’s stepping only sideways in his passion, opting instead to pursue the building of beautiful guitars rather than to play guitar beautifully as a profession, enrolling in a luthiery school here in our home state of Michigan starting this summer.

As those of you forced to suffer through my sentimental speeches during his final two shows have already heard me say, it’s as difficult for us to see him step down as it must’ve been for him to commit to doing so, and our sadness in him leaving is surpassed only by our excitement for him in the future he has chosen. He is nothing short of truly remarkable human, and he has been a vitally important member of whatever this thing is since it’s earliest infancy and the remaining four members of it plus extended family are forever in debt for his contributions both as a musician and, more importantly always, as a dear friend. There’s already a Kevbo shaped hole in me and in all of us, and we’ll feel it forever, I know. There’s really nobody like him.

And of course, I speak only of that absence in the context of the van and on stage–we’ll all remain family till death. Anybody who was in attendance for the farewell hometown show and his final show knows that without a shred of uncertainty (the chants were unreal, thank you). In all honesty, we wouldn’t be posting this were it not to combat the internet’s nasty habit of misinformation. This was a decision made between Kevin and us, five friends who’ve done more together than we ever could’ve imagined all those years back in the warehouse of a hardware store in Grand Rapids, MI. So, best to Kevin in this public forum, thanks for everything. Be seeing you soon, bud.

-ld (Brad, Chad, Jordan, Vass, and Kevin Scott “Kevbo” Whittemore)

(In the meantime, our old friend Corey worked his ass off learning songs with Kev and will be joining us in Europe, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Make him feel at home. He’s one of the best. Oh – And thanks for the fantastic photo Andy, you’re a good man.)”

Yellowcard Drummer Leaves Band

In a surprise twist that no one saw coming, Yellowcard announced that their longtime drummer, Longineu “LP” Parsons III, has left the band.

The remaining members of the Florida-based band announced in a short statement that he had left the band to pursue other endeavors, but chose not to elaborate. This news comes a few months after announcing they would be heading back into the studio to record a new album and are slated to be one of the many bands to hit the road this summer on the annual Vans Warped Tour.

At the moment, the band have not announced a replacement for Parsons. His departure now only leaves violinist Sean Mackin as the only remaining original member of the band. The band’s statement can be read below.

“Longineu has decided to pursue other musical interests. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

 

Slipknot Part Ways with Longtime Drummer

It might be the end of the week, but the hits keep coming because another band has just announced that they are down a member.

Last night, Slipknot revealed that the band had parted ways with their longtime drummer, Joey Jordison. On their official website, the band released a statement explaining to fans just what led to the decision for the parting of ways.

In the letter, it is revealed that Jordison’s abrupt exit had to do with “personal reasons” even though no other explanation is given. They go on to claim that they do intend to give more information out about what caused the departure in the near future, to stick around for that.

This news comes as a shock since Jordison was one of the original member of the Iowa-based band. Back in June, the band were dropping hints that they would be heading back into the studio to record some new material during their performance on opening at the Download Festival.

The band’s last album was 2008’s All Hope is Gone, which was released before the death of longtime bassist, Paul Gray who died in 2010 due to an accidental overdose.

Read the full statement below:

“To our Maggots and fans around the world,

It is with great pain but quiet respect, that for personal reasons Joey Jordison and Slipknot are parting ways. We all wish Joey the best in whatever his future holds. We understand that many of you will want to know how and why this has come to be, and we will do our best to respond to these questions in the near future. It is our love for all of you, as well as for the music we create, that spurs us to continue on and move forward with our plans for releasing new material in the next year. We hope that all of you will come to understand this, and we appreciate your continued support while we plan the next phase of the future of Slipknot.

Thank you,
The ‘Knot”