AMEN: New Drummer Speaks Out

AMEN have announced the addition of drummer Joe Letz and guitarist Eric Amblur to the group's ranks. A brand-new posting from Letz on the band's official message board reads as follows:

"Hello, everybody. For those who have, thank you for welcoming me. Yes, I am the new drummer for AMEN and my name is Joe Letz. I am from Brooklyn, New York, as is our new guitar player Eric Amblur. We are over here with the rest of the newbies (who you will learn about shortly) rehearsing for some shows overseas and also cutting some demos for the next album, to be worked on with Casey when he gets back.

"Casey is in Norway right now in the studio with a sick all-star line-up... I don't know what aspects of that project have been made public yet so i won't speak of who is involved right now, but I can promise you that it is going to be something completely new, and very fucking exciting.

"As for all the now OLD members jumping ship, I'm sure many of you are going to miss them. I met everyone during the BRIDES [OF DESTRUCTION] tour, where i wound up teching for [previous drummer] Luke [Johnson] for a few days. Let me say that though my contact was short I did get to know those guys. They were all great players, and from what I knew, great people. I'm sad that I won't be working with some of those guys, but at the same time, we've worked hard to get a new line-up of guys who are fuckin cool, who don't give a fuck, and who are willing to stick it out. I can promise you that everyone that is here right now is here because they want to be a part of this BAND.

"I think that what people in the past have failed to understand is that at the end of the day, whether you are on MTV or playing at 80,000-seat arenas or playing in front of 5 of your friends at a dive bar and making no money, you are still apart of a BAND and you do it because you love what you do and who you are doing it with.

"I don't know about anyone else, but when i was 10 years old and decided to play the drums, it wasn't because I wanted to be rich and famous, it was because it felt good. It was in my blood from the second I picked up those sticks.

"Well, that is where I come from and Casey and I made sure that the rest of the guys come from the same place. All of us are big fans of AMEN and know that it is important for all of us to carry the integrity of what this band is about. We hope we won't let any of you down.

"Stay tuned for confirmed tour dates, and a 4-CD box set that Casey has been working very hard on. Pay close attention to pre-orders that will get you some one of a kind AMEN gear. I also rescued all the merch from the black hole (the garage) and we will be posting it on the site soon so everyone can buy some cool shit.

"Thanks for stickin around guys, see you all soon."