This is not my favorite news to report. Another great musician lost to the world of "real life jobs." Months after drummer Mike Smith quit the band, and only a few weeks after Suffocation announced the completetion of their new album, vocalist Frank Mullen dropped a bombshell: his current job will no longer afford him the opportunity to tour full time with the band.
In a recent interview with Horns Up Rocks, Mullen stated:
“I can’t really tour full time anymore. So when the album comes out, they’ll probably set up about a month-[long] tour, or something like that, in the States. I’ll only do about two weeks of it. There’ll be a fill-in singer [doing the rest of the shows]. And then I’ll probably do maybe a week, or a week and a half, over in Europe, and then any other touring they do for the rest of the year, wil probably have somebody else filling in [on vocals]. I mean, I’ll do, like, spot shows here and there. But unfortunately, as you get older, death metal doesn’t make tons of money, and I’ve got a good job, so… you know, you’ve gotta work. And that’s pretty much what it is. I’m not a kid no more.”
I completely understand Mullen's position. He has a family to support and as much as he enjoys doing the band, the band is not paying his bills so he has to act on it. He goes on to say something that's all too familiar when writing about band lineup changes and breakups:
“At this point, you’ve gotta start thinking ahead in your life, you’ve gotta start thinking long-term goals and stuff And unfortunately, death metal, again, it’s not the type of music where you’re gonna make millions and where you can make a really good living on it. I mean, you can have fun with it, and some bands could have a steady life on it, but for the most part, you do it more or less for the fact that that’s what you love — you love death metal and that’s what you play. It’s more or less that than trying to make a living.”
While it's disheartening to hear that one of the funniest frontmen in metal will not be touring, I applaud the band for being mature about it and working within their restrictions. Earlier this year, the band toured without Mullen and had Decrepit Birth's Bill Robinson fill in the spot and do a stand up job (sidenote: he was there when a girl flashed the band). Will he be the permanent fill in? It's not like he has rent to pay (Robinson is willingly homeless).
How do you feel about this?
[via MetalSucks]
