News broke over the weekend that the female vocalist of a popular metal band had exited the group mid-tour.
Now one of its guitarists — who also happens to be the female singer’s husband — has left as well. Not of his own volition, though, it seems.
Loudwire reports how Marek “Ashok” Šmerda has been fired from Suffolk, England-based Cradle of Filth. His departure from the group was announced via a statement published to Instagram on Tuesday.
Ashok had actually mentioned he was planning on leaving the band at the end of the current tour, Blabbermouth.net states. However, it appears Cradle of Filth wanted to expedite his leave.
“It is with a grave heart that Cradle of Filth officially announce[s] the firing of guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda from the band, effective immediately,” the statement reads. “Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows, though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour a few days time.
“Thank you for your understanding in this horrible matter, we are in a state of shock over proceedings and will share our side to these unfortunate events in due course. Please, respect our decision to part with Ashok now rather than at the end of the tour and avoid the speculation as more clarity on the situation will be provided.”
The post adds: “Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out.”
According to Consequence.net, Šmerda revealed that he, too, would be leaving Cradle of Filth right after wife, singer and keyboardist Zoë Federoff abruptly left. Šmerda alluded to “low pay,” “stress,” and “unprofessional behavior” as some of the reasons behind the schism.
As previously stated, Cradle of Filth will sally forth on their “The Screaming Of The Americas” tour for now.
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