In a statement that is the most professionally addressed amongst the controversies of White Wizzard, guitarist Will Wallner has announced he is out of the band. That basically leaves Jon Leon and his overwhelming sense of greatness to magically carry on all roles of the now unsigned metal troupe. Wallner recently came to the defense of former vocalist Joseph Michael saying the alleged fan bag theft incident was not in fact a theft, but that the fan had left her bag at the band’s merch table. Member drama also led to a recently cancelled tour.
In a message on his own Facebook page, Wallner said he is not currently commenting on the gory details of the departure, but that he he is grateful for the last record the band made together. He says he will continue making music with his project Will Wallner and Vivien Vain. Read the rest of what he had to say below.
I am sad to announce I am no longer a member of White Wizzard. I will not get into the petty argument between Jon Leon and Joseph Micheal, I will only comment on what matters; the music. I am proud of the album Joseph Micheal, Will Wallner, Jake Dreyer, Jon Leon and Giovanni Durst created this year. We all brought our own influences and individual styles to make a great metal album. That is what I want to remember from my time in White Wizzard. We had a great live chemistry and for a brief moment I believed the band could have done something.
As proud as I am of the music we created I am equally pissed at how the tour and band ended. I am even more pissed for support band Monument who got screwed out of a tour because of our unprofessional attitude. I am pissed for the people who donated to the bands indiegogo campaign. The money was meant to help the band tour and now that band does not exist. I knew it was a bad idea and the video was humiliating and insulting. I hope each of you at least get what you paid for…
I may give an in depth statement explaining exactly what happened but for now this is all I want to say. I will be focusing on my solo project “Will Wallner & Vivien Vain”. We have started working on a new album and am very inspired to get back to making real music. Finally I would like to thank all the fans who supported the band and all the friends I made while I was in the band. I would like thank Earache Records and Century Media for the work they did while I was in the band. Cheers!
