Guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost and drummer Markus "Makka" Freiwald have released a joint statement regarding their departure from legendary German thrashers SODOM.
SODOM bassist/vocalist and sole remaining original member Thomas "Angelripper" Such announced on Friday (January 5) that he made the decision to part ways with Kost and Freiwald because he wanted to "start all over again with fresh and hungry musicians."
Over the weekend, Kost and Freiwald addressed their exit from SODOM, writing in a Facebook post: "Tom has already pointed it out in his statement that in fact we have slightly drifted apart from each other. Indeed, our conceptions of respect and workload diverged even further. Also tour offers neglected by Tom disappointed us.
"After its overwhelming reactions, we were totally looking forward to creating a successor to 'Decision Day' and have already recorded lots of song ideas. Unfortunately, Tom did not share our enthusiasm; he terminated his cooperation with us via [messaging platform] WhatsApp even without listening to any of the new material.
"Of course, it is not easy for us to leave SODOM — the band that have become such a huge part of our lives and that we totally identify with. But, we will not stop doing what we love — together we will found a new band and we will see a way forward.
"Within our hearts, we will remain SODOM even if Tom is not with us any longer."
Such has yet to announce the new lineup of SODOM, which will make its live debut in April at the Full Metal Mountain festival in Kдrnten, Austria. Tom is also planning to begin work on the next SODOM album, to be released on Steamhammer/SPV.
SODOM's latest album, "Decision Day", was released in August 2016 via SPV/Steamhammer.