Fallujah Part Ways With Vocalist Alex Hoffman

Some unfortunate news for fans of progressive death metal, as San Francisco band Fallujah have announced the departure of vocalist Alex Hoffman.

Hoffman joined the band in 2007 not only singing, but also taking part in the programming and briefly playing guitar in the band as well. In a statement, the band said the following:

"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the departure of our vocalist and friend, Alex Hofmann. A decade-long journey has just ended for one of our founding members, and now he begins a new path separate from our own. His dedication and creativity have been a vital part of Fallujah for the last ten years, but we respect his decision and support him wholeheartedly.

The Dreamless touring cycle has been our longest and most challenging yet; taking us across the planet with bands we respect and admire while molding this band into a brotherhood. These experiences have brought us together and proven that this is what we are meant for. Alex’s departure will bring a new period of growth and we intend to come out of it with something groundbreaking for our fans.

We will have a special guest taking over vocals for our festival run in Europe as well as our North American tour with Decapitated and Thy Art Is Murder. When we return to California, we will continue writing our new album and begin our search for a new vocalist. We invite all of our local friends and fans to join us in sending Alex off at Bay Area Death Fest; his last show, but a new beginning for us in Fallujah."

Hoffman was also quoted in regards to his departure, stating: "The reasons for my departure are both complicated and difficult to summarize; but one thing I know now is that in order to begin a new chapter in life, you must inevitably close the previous one."

From the outside, it seems like a pretty mutual decision between both parties with no real bad blood between the two. Clearly the band respected what Hoffman has done in the band over the ten years they've been together, and Hoffman sees his time in the band as being over. Time will tell what the next "chapter in life" for Hoffman will entail, whether it will be music related or not.

Last year, the group released Fearless, their third full-length record as a band, which featured some of their best work to date. Songs like "The Void Alone" showed the band as a forward thinking, modernist death metal band who knew how to write engaging music. It's helped them carve out a niche for themselves, earning themselves spots on tours with the likes of other prog metal heavyweights like Between The Buried and Me and The Devin Townsend Project.

Time will tell what's next for the band, but they've made it clear they're not stopping anytime soon.

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