ALL THAT REMAINS Officially Recruits JASON RICHARDSON As New Guitarist

ALL THAT REMAINS has officially recruited Jason Richardson as the replacement for guitarist Oliver "Oli" Herbert, who passed away in October.

Earlier today, the band released the following statement via social media: "ALL THAT REMAINS would like to clarify that guitarist Jason Richardson is now an official member of the band. Some recent interviews were conducted before a decision was made or announced regarding Jason. But the band has indeed welcomed him into the fold as an official member and is excited to get back on the tour and play for fans."

Regarding how ALL THAT REMAINS ended up linking up with Jason to do the band's recent European shows, vocalist Phil Labonte told Decibel magazine: "Well, we had toured with BORN OF OSIRIS when Jason was in that band and him and Oli had hit it off and become buddies. I'm not sure exactly how much they stayed in contact, but I knew that they would hang out and talk guitar and listen to music and stuff, so when Oli passed away, Jason did a cover of him playing 'Chiron', and then Aaron [Patrick], our bass player, reached out to Jason and said, 'Hey, you sounded really good. Would you be interested in filling in if we went and needed you to come aboard?' He was, like, 'Yeah, dude. I'd love to,' and he did an amazing job. He came in and nailed everything and really kind of saved our ass. He made it easier on us when it comes to the grieving side of it. It relieved pressure about this stuff, the business side that we had planned. The personal side is easier to handle and cope with. The more pressures you can relieve on a situation, the better."

Asked if he felt like the band's performance on the stage was different without Oli, Labonte replied: "I don't know. It's tough for me to answer that kind of question. It's still really new. In the 20 years' time that ALL THAT REMAINS has been a band, there's only been one tour where Oli wasn't ever playing lead guitar. I don't know how to process that yet, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet."

Oli was found dead on October 16 at the edge of the pond on his Stafford Springs, Connecticut property. He was reported missing by his wife about 3 p.m., and his body was found by police face down at the edge of the pond where the water was only a few inches deep.

Herbert began playing guitar at 14. He co-founded ALL THAT REMAINS with Labonte in 1998.