Death Metal Band Vitriol Breaks Up Mid Tour

Photo Credit: Metalchondria

A death metal band from Portland, OR is no more after the members had an explosive falling out. Vitriol guitarist Keith Merrow, bassist Brett Leier, and drummer Andy Vincenzetti all three say they quit because of a dispute with their frontman Kyle Rasmussen.

“He f*cked around and found out,” Merrow wrote on an Instagram Story about the incident. “Sorry Vitriol fans. We had to abandon him at a gas station in Vermont. Myself, Andy, Brett, and Matt will not take Kyle’s cowardly and weak outbursts of misplaced anger.” He admits the band left Rasmussen at a gas station in Vermont.

Both Andy Vincenzetti and Brett Leier are replacement drummer and bassist for the group; according to an article from NME, previous drummer Matt Kilner left the group earlier this summer. Meanwhile Co-founding bassist and co-vocalist Adam Roethlisberger also left Vitriol last year.

“We gave everything we had, and now have left you with nothing. Mass exodus,” Merrow stated. He called it the “darkest day of my music career to date.”

Meanwhile, Rasmussen confirmed the breakup on a GoFundMe page asking for help after he, his girlfriend, and their dog were left at a gas station in upstate New York. As of Wednesday morning, that fundraiser has garnered $10,859 in donations. “After a disagreement with a band member, we suddenly found ourselves as far from home as we could possibly be, with very little money and no way to feed ourselves or secure transportation to get back to Portland, OR.”

The discrepancy between the band saying they left him in Vermont and Rasmussen saying he was left in upstate New York has not been explained. Vitriol performed in New York City on Friday and were scheduled for a show in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday and Ottawa, Ontario on Sunday.

Following up on the incident, Merrow says the band grew tired of Rasmussen “irrationally screaming at the whole crew at the top of his lungs on multiple occasions. We simply won’t tolerate it, just like all the other 19 people who left this failed band. What more needs to be said. It’s the same sh*t as every other victim of his abuse.”

Merrow says he, Leier, and Vincenzetti will continue together as a band under a different name—though no name was announced. Vitriol was formed a decade ago and has released two albums, averaging around 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Rasmussen has not explained if he will attempt to continue the band with a new lineup.