As I Lay Dying is now just one guy, and not exactly in the Tame Impala way. Vocalist Tim Lambesis's bandmates made a mass exodus from the metalcore act last month, and although he expressed his intentions to rebuild and continue, the singer's additional projects seem to be starting to fall apart, too.
Lambesis — who has been a controversial figure in the scene since his 2013 arrest for hiring a hitman to kill his estranged wife — also fronts Austrian Death Machine, an Arnold Schwarzenegger-themed thrash metal outfit that somehow honours the actor's filmography.
Over the weekend, drummer Brandon Short announced that he would be terminating his tenure with Austrian Death Machine "in light of the recent developments surrounding the As I Lay Dying camp and Tim."
In a statement posted to Instagram, Short wrote, "To walk away from something I cherished so deeply, that once felt like a fulfilled dream, is incredibly painful. I grew up listening to As I Lay Dying and Austrian Death Machine, never imagining that one day I'd be part of this world that meant so much to my younger self. But dreams can come at an unexpected cost, and that cost has proven to be too great.
"My integrity and character have been called into question in a way I can no longer accept, especially with what has come to light and being in utter disbelief," he continued. "The repeated promises, the endless cycle of 'I'll do better' — words that once gave me hope — have turned into a broken record that has brought no real change. Instead, I found myself trapped in a pattern that eroded my trust and my well-being. This cycle has reached into my personal life, affecting my mental health in ways I can no longer ignore."
Short joined the band last year when they returned with the single "No Pain No Gain" after not releasing anything since the album Triple Brutal in 2014 — the same year Lambesis was sentenced to six years in prison for the aforementioned murder plot. Austrian Death Machine released their comeback LP, Quad Brutal, in February of this year.
See the drummer's full statement below. It doesn't sound like he'll be back.