On 1st April 2015 Massachusetts Thrashers Lich King published a new
track entitled 'I Quit'. It was naturally received as an April Fools
joke by their fans and media alike. However on the 2nd April Lich King
singer Tom Martin made an announcement that he would in fact be
relieving himself of vocal duties for the band from that point onward.
Please find Tom's entire statement regarding his departure from Lich
King below. Lich King are currently scouring the globe for a
replacement singer and are pushing forward with plans to release a new
full length album in 2015.
Auditions for a new vocalist are currently underway and the band have
released the following campaign welcoming applicants to take five
shared instrumental Lich King songs complete with lyric sheets from
tiny.cc/lkvocals. Applicants should then record their vocals over the
tracks and email their audition directly to Andy@evileyeindustries.com.
Tom Martin's Statement
So yesterday we put up an announcement in the form of a song, in which
I declared I was quitting Lich King, and... April Fools! It was the
truth.
These are my reasons for leaving. My reasons are my own, and don’t at
all reflect on the attitudes or opinions of the other guys.
Reason #1: Live shows were never my thing. I have bad hearing so at a
metal show when you hear the music, almost all I hear is deafening
jangled noise.
Reason #2: Bars are the worst. On tour, you’re hanging around in a
venue for seven to eight hours every night, and usually it’s a bar. I
have no idea how someone sits in a bar for that long and doesn’t want
to open their wrist with a blender.
Reason #3: I’m a homebody. I like sitting at home, surrounded by my
comfort zone, making stuff. This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy touring
with Lich King, because largely, I did. I love those guys and
discovered I love traveling... but I stopped having a good time when
we pulled into the venue every night. I’d dread shows, and during them
I’d sit on the bus and fantasize about being home with my stuff.
Reason #4: [redacted]
Reason #5: This is the big one: Money. There’s not much. Thrash bands
have day jobs, and I’m not just talking about the small guys. I’d be
willing to bet that just about everyone outside of the big four aren’t
living off their music alone. In the song, when I mentioned “now a
good show means some pizza and 9 bucks,” I wasn’t exaggerating. $9 and
food are what I get for devoting my evening to what is considered a
good show by our standards.
Some people tell me to be happy to have even that, because most bands
don’t, and to suck it up and be professional about it. All I can say
is that those people must enjoy the gig more than I do, and good for
them, I’m glad... but “professional” is a poor choice of words for
metal bands. If you’re in a band but it’s not your primary source of
income, it’s not your profession, it’s your hobby... and your hobby
shouldn’t eat up two months of your life when you could be hammering
at your profession.
Lich King is a hobby that got away from me and started lumbering under
its own will, demanding more and more of my time for minimal rewards
outside of seeing people enjoy what we made. That’s fine, I’m going to
let that beast stomp off and maybe in the future there’ll be lucrative
tours or big shows I can jump onto. Maybe it’ll all be worthwhile in
the future. Till then, I’m going back to just doing art and giving
Lich King the amount of time a hobby deserves.
When Ol Drake left EVILE, he said “I've reached a point where I
want... a house, a steady and definite income and everything in
between, and in regard to my personal preferences, a touring band's
income and uncertainties, in the state that I feel they would continue
to be in, has become incompatible with how I feel and what I
want/need.” That's pretty much it.
So... thanks to anyone that ever came out to a show, bought some merch
and said they had a good time, because you helped me when I needed it.
If you liked I QUIT, you can get it
here
As for now, I solemnly pronounce thrash metal dead.
Your pal
-Tom
