Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Nico Santora announced on his Facebook page that he has left the band to dedicate himself full-time to his metal side project Lillake, who have an album on the way. He explains:
“To whom it may concern: I will no longer be playing guitar in Suicidal Tendencies and will be focusing on my new band Lillake as well as opening my availability to tour with other bands. I’m not getting into details and won’t be answering messages about why or what happened, etc. I’ve put my time in, and am ready for new things. It’s been an amazing 4 years, and I am sincerely thankful and grateful to everyone who has supported me from the beginning.”
Who will replace Santora on their upcoming European tour is unknown, but rumor has it that either Mike Clark (whom Santora had replaced back in 2012) or Rocky George (who was the lead guitarist for Suicidal from 1984 to their temporary breakup in 1995) will return to the band. We’ll keep you posted as more details on a replacement for Santora come to light.
Santora isn’t the only member of Suicidal to have left or been missing out on their current activities. Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo filled in for Eric Moore (also a member of Lillake) on the band’s U.S. tour with Megadeth last February, and will be filling in for him again on future tours, which has lead to speculation that Lombardo is a full-time member of Suicidal, but neither Suicidal nor Moore or Lombardo themselves have commented on the situation.
Suicidal Tendencies recently announced plans to release a new EP and full-length later this year. Their most recent studio album 13 was released in 2013.