Antagonist guitarist leaves band

California metal band Antagonist has officially parted ways with guitar player Matt Lopez. The group has released the following statement: "Our long time friend and guitarist and friend Matt Lopez has decided to call it a day and pursue other things. "He joined the band about 6 years ago, and although he wasn't technically an "original" member, we consider him one. He added so much to the band in terms of music and just our personality in general (or lack thereof, until he joined the group). He's decided that he wants to go back to school and we support him 100 percent. "There's absolutely NO bad blood between us, we're still all the best of friends and will continue to jam and make music that isn't Antagonist. Being in a full time touring band is definitely not easy, especially one like ours that still books our own tours and hasn't made money in our ten year history (sad but true, haha). This lifestyle isn't for everyone, and to be perfectly honest, Matt did the very smart and logical thing, because now he won't be broke like the rest of us! "So i know you're all wondering who's going to take Matt's place. And the fact is, so are we! We don't know the answer to that yet, but thankfully our good friend Lanny Pearlman (ex-Cerberus) is filling in for a few shows. We're currently looking for someone to fill in for our February tours, as Lanny won't be able to do so due to work obligations. As for a permanent replacement, that's something we'll need to think about long and hard. But we'll keep you all posted. "If you have any questions/comments, please let us know. Matt's last show w/ the band will be at the end of this month. We'll let you know the details as soon as we get them."