Ex-ONWARD Guitarist TONY KNAPP: 'I Will Not Be Playing Guitar For MAYHEM'

Former ONWARD guitarist and solo instrumentalist Toby Knapp (see photo below),who is currently a member of GODLESS RISING (the band featuring former VITAL REMAINS vocalist Jeff Gruslin) has issued the following update:

"To clarify a leak on the Internet, I will not be playing guitar for Norway's MAYHEM. They contacted me some months back impressed with the music on my player [on MySpace] and it looked as if a 'one-off' gig filling in for the recently departed Blasphemper was going to happen in London. They gave me the setlist, my passport was double-checked by their promoters, and these promoters were supposed to take care of my flights into Norway and to depart from London. With all due respect to MAYHEM, this gig was cancelled like many MAYHEM shows are. I enthusiastically posted a blog about this very real possibility and great experience (and quickly removed it before the cancellation). A fan or close friend of the band began posting everywhere, 'The new MAYHEM guitarist is a shredder from Wyoming' … I can't resist, another guitarist from Wyoming has taken the name shredder long ago (this is why I laugh at the sheer arrogance of these musicians around here). OK, back to MAYHEM; I am not angry with this fan who perpetuated the leak at all. Bottom line: to be acknowledged by MAYHEM as an 'awesome' talent is enough, many of my closest friends agree. This also caused a bit of stress because I am a creative force in GODLESS RISING, and our album is almost finished. Now we can freely book tours that I will be present for because the new album is fucking hot as hell and cannot be neglected."

Guitarist Rune "Blasphemer" Eriksen announced his departure from MAYHEM in April, explaining, "The main reason behind this conclusion lies in the fact that I simply don't see any future for me in the band anymore, at least not a future I'd like to participate in over the coming years. I've been playing my part in the band now for more than 13 years already, having composed, produced and released several albums with great vision, dedication and craftsmanship, to arrive at this crossroad of opposites. Sooner or later, all things comes to an end, and in my case, this circle is complete.

"For some of you this might not come as the biggest surprise, as I've clearly stated in several interviews that I was not sure what the next step would be. These 'hints' were partly rooted in the fact that our latest album fulfilled all of the expectations, visions and aspects of negativity that I felt I wanted to express with this band, and also, of similar importance, that I felt tired of both the touring aspects, amidst its turbulence and personal differences, and also my role in the band."