Californian metal band Avenged Sevenfold have announced that they have parted ways with drummer Arin IIejay. The band issued the following statement via their website earlier today:
“Hello Everyone –
We are writing this to inform you all that we will be moving forward without Arin IIejay as our drummer. Arin has been nothing but a positive energy and monster drummer for us over the past 4 years. We love the guy and always will. We are and will always be grateful to him for helping us to move forward through some very dark times. Creatively though, we felt we needed to move in a different direction. While we can’t say more at this time, we are excited for the future and looking forward to sharing our plans soon with the greatest fans in the world. As always we appreciate your understanding and unwavering support.
With Love –
Matt, Zack, Brian, Johnny”
IIejay joined the band early in 2011, following the sad passing of the bands original drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan in 2009. He performed on their last album ‘Hail To The King’, which sold 159,000 copies in its first week of release.