POWER OF OMENS Call It A Day

San Antonio-based progressive metallers POWER OF OMENS have split up. An official statement on the matter by the group's guitarist, David Gallegos, reads as follows:

"To all of our devoted fans… It comes with great sorrow the news I'm about to bring you.

"For almost 12 years, this band has consistently found ways to be unique and always move against the grain, never trying to follow in anyone's shadow… but in doing so, the band also found itself always swimming upstream and against the current in trying to survive amongst all of the amazing bands that have been coming out year after year.

"We've taken a lot of rough hits from losing our original bassist Matt Williamson to the U.S. Army, losing our original drummer Alex Arellano to musical differences, to just about never having a full-time keyboardist until these last few months with the addition of Joel Hopkins. However, our biggest blow was finding out this year that our original bassist, Matt, was diagnosed with a terminal cancer that will probably be taking his life soon. So far we've been lucky enough to still have him around seeing as he's already surpassed the doctor's original diagnosis of not living more than three months as of January of this year. Between the chemotherapy, and Matt's spirits, I truly believe that is what's kept him around much longer than expected.

"As many of you know, I moved to Dallas at the beginning of the year to be closer to the majority of the band, and we've been trying to work on the new material for a new CD.

"Unfortunately, over the last several months the progress of this band continued to deteriorate in regards to our original plan of schedule to release the new CD by the summer… the lack of dedication and heart soon became extremely evident, not only in myself, but with everyone else. I personally kept looking back to a time when this band was fun, and enjoyable to play in…. a time when 4-5 rehearsals a week wasn't a hindrance in everyone's personal lives and schedules, but a chance to get together playing some great music, having fun, and forming a brotherly bond with each other. A time when everyone put in equally into this band. Now those times seem like they're so far away. I miss so much what the band USED to be… and when Alex and Chris [Salinas, vocals] originally left, I thought I could continue forward with a revised version… but the truth is, POWER OF OMENS was such a unique band that its integrity was built by four guys almost 10 years ago… an integrity that can only be fueled by those same four guys. The passion that once created this band has altered so much from the first time we played together that it's become clear to me that this has become a very scaled-down version of the original POWER OF OMENS.

"I don't believe it's fair to the fans not to give you something like our first CD [1998's 'Eyes of the Oracle'] , which had 100% heart. Even 'Rooms of Anguish' [2003] received less than good acclaim, and it was at that time that I realized that things were changing. I'll admit that I'm not an easy person to work with when it comes to this band… but that's only because it's been my life for nearly 12 years, and it's only natural to have extremely high expectations for anyone who becomes involved because it feels like your life is in their hands… and when those expectations are not met, then I feel like there is something that I need to do about it. So without going into additional details or specifics, it has come down to one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my entire life.

"So with deep sorrow, and a broken heart… it's time for me to lay POWER OF OMENS to rest. No words can describe how sorry I am to have to bring this news to those who believed in us so much… but with the change in this band… it's no longer worth the stress or the constant struggle to survive. I truly wish the rest of the guys in the band much luck and success with what ever they decide to do from this point out, as they are all amazing musicians… as I will continue with my acoustic venture, I hope they find happiness in what ever projects or endeavors they decide to follow as well."