Suffocation confirms departure of drummer

In a new interview with HitKiller.com, New York death metal band Suffocation has confirmed the rumored departure of drummer Mike Smith, who quit the band. According to the band, "[Smith] and the rest of us had serious differences of opinions... he has since been replaced with Dave Culross, who had played and recorded on 'Despise the Sun'... Dave is a permanent member now." Additionally, when asked about their next album, the band stated that it's been scheduled for a Fall 2012 release via Nuclear Blast Records. Unless you can read Russian, we suggest viewing more extensive excerpts from the interview here.