When word spread throughout the internet that Derek Rydquist was not on tour with his band, The Faceless in Europe, we immediately shot the dude an email to get his side of the story. He commented exclusively to Metal Injection saying "…I think you're on to something here. I'm definitely not in Europe with them right now." Now that the dust settled, Rydquist has released another statement, this time to Lambgoat, where he confirmed that he quit the band due to fatigue. Here is the full statement:
"As you Internet sleuths have deduced, I have left The Faceless. I left the band a couple months ago, and we were waiting until they had everything sorted out on their end before saying anything about it, but I guess I'll take it upon myself to break the news. I am no longer emotionally or artistically fulfilled by being the vocalist for the group, and that's how I arrived at my decision. Touring's luster has worn off, and I have found myself reconsidering the role I would like to take in creating and presenting music. Also, being a 'professional musician' was kind of ruining my love for music because when you rely on this stuff to make you money, as with anything, it is easy to become bitter towards it. Not that it was all bad, I had the best times I will ever have being in this band, but it is time for me to move on.
"I'd like to thank the band and the friends I've made through the band for making this not only a life altering experience, but a life shaping one. There is an immense amount of talent in this band, and the new vocalist they have is doing a great job, so please keep supporting The Faceless. I can now join you in anticipating the new album.
"If you're interested, I'm now playing in another group with some dudes from some awesome bands. Check it out at www.facebook.com/bewilderbiest. We're mixing the album right now, so we should have some music up soon."
It doesn't sound like there was much drama in the situation, just a case of Derek being "over it." As for the Faceless, guitarist Michael Keene officially announced the band's new vocalist in a statement:
"So, as some of you may have heard, Derek is no longer in The Faceless. We wish him the best of luck and will always value the time he spent in our band. Our new vocalists name is Geoffrey Ficco and he is truly a beast! If you've heard our demo for 'The Eidolon Reality' than you've already heard his punishing vocals."
It's interesting that Derek is not even recording with the band. We barely noticed the difference when the demo was released, so surely this a great sign for the future of the band. As for Geoffrey, he was previously in the bands Kamikabe and Orgone. Cleary, the band wasn't going to just pick a random name from a hat so I am confident the band will continue their success with Geoff. Good luck to both parties!
