Chimaira keyboardist/programmer Chris Spicuzza has confirmed his departure from the group today. Spicuzza has apparently been out of the group since this past January. The keyboardist released the following statement to The PRP about his decision to leave the Cleveland metal act:
“As of early January I decided to leave Chimaira. The choice was extremely tough and stewed around in my mind for quite awhile. Many things led to this decision. The situation in Chimaira had ultimately become a negative environment that I had to get out of. Secondly, the music industry is completely fucked and honestly, I became concerned for my future. The amount of work and stress I took on got the best of me. I guess if you’re not happy or having fun, what’s the point?
As far as the new Chimaira album, I have not contributed to it. There is no doubt in my mind that Chimaira’s sound will not suffer minus my presence. The demos I heard showed great potential and I’m sure the album will melt faces. I’m proud to say I was on five Chimaira albums and wish those guys the best.
I’ve decided to shift gears from music to gaming. A group of friends and I started up a mobile gaming company. We’re about to launch our first iPhone game. It’s a location based RPG. Think of it as foursquare meets Mafia Wars but full of Zombies. If you’re interested you can follow us on twitter, @irlgaming, or visit www.irlgaming.com.
I will always cherish the amazing worldwide journey Chimaira gave me. I took many things for granted that I now regret. Watching our last DVD helped me realize how fucking amazing our fans are. Thank you for being so passionate. I have a lifetime of memories thanks to you.
The dude who made noise and headbanged, Spicuzza.”
Spicuzza’s exit from the group comes shortly after bassist Jim LaMarca’s departure back in November. With both guitarist Rob Arnold and Matt DeVrie’s new jobs in Six Feet Under, we’d be a bit suspicious as to what actually going on with Chimaira, even though it seems like it’s more of a temporary situation with SFU. However, with the band’s recent signing to eOne Records, and a new album expected to come within the year, we don’t have to worry about Chimaira going away anytime soon.
We’ll keep you posted when/if replacements for Scipuzza and Arnold are announced in the near future.
