Max Duhamel, drummer of the Montreal based death metal powerhouse, Kataklysm, is forced to take a break. He also won’t be performing on the new Kataklysm album.
Max has released the following official statement: "Hello everyone, it is with an a extremely heavy heart that I announce today that I will not be performing on the new Kataklysm album. I have been struggling with many personal issues the last year but lately, the main one has been alcohol. It’s been affecting my body in a very negative way to the point that when I came home after the Ex Deo tour we just did, I tried to stop drinking for few days and it’s been very hard without having any with drawls symptoms. I’ve also lost a lot of weight as some of noticed recently and I’m not in good shape.
I've heard the new material my brothers have written and its truly incredible stuff. It’s really some of the best music the band has ever done but it’s going to be a very demanding album and my state of mind and body is not ready to confront this big task right now. I need to clean my body and my mind and come back focused to Kataklysm and I don’t know how long this will take. The guys have reached out to help in any way they can, which I can’t thank them enough. I’m truly blessed to have them as a family, so as I start my road to recovery I send this message to all of you and thank you for all the support. It’s time to take my life in my hands and take responsibility, I will not be attending the Juno Awards ceremony in two weeks for Ex Deo nominations, but I will close my contract with the shows in May that are left. Extremefest, Beastival in Germany and Metalfest Cszech Rep will be my last shows until I’m ready again to come back in full form, you guys deserve the best of me. See you later."
Kataklysm have released the following statement in response: "We as a band of brothers stand by Max's decision to get better and to rise from his demons. We all have them; some of us try to hide them and pretend they don’t exist, some of us have the courage to confront them. Max has shown strength to fight his. We stand by him and hope that he returns home when he is ready. In the meanwhile, I want everyone to know for those who haven't seen the Iron Will documentary that this band’s story is one of drama, pain and the long road to victory. We will practice what we preach on our album and we will come out swinging hard and strong with this new record. We will find a suitable replacement and we will announce him in the next few weeks. We will not disappoint any of you. We have read the messages of encouragements you have posted; we have the best fans. As the saying goes ‘the show must go on.’ Here’s a cool clip we found from Rocky that describes well what is to come from your veterans. ‘Horse power.’ See you soon.”
The new album Waiting for the End to Come is tentatively scheduled for a late 2013 / early 2014 release. The album will be recorded by guitarist Jean Francois Dagenais and mixed by Zeuss (suffocation, hatebreed, arsis).
Heaven’s Venom was released on August 24th 2010 in North America and debuted at #196 on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart, making it the band’s highest charting album and their biggest first week sales to date. This will now be the band’s longest stretch between records.
Check out the music video for the song “Iron Will” on YouTube: http://www.youtu.be/KSs6Jp7X0uY. The track was recorded in Montreal, Canada with guitarist/producer Jean-François Dagenais and mixed by Tue Madsen in Denmark.
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