Withered replaces founding member

Atlanta, Georgia metal group Withered (Prosthetic Records) has announced the departure of co-founding member Chris Freeman (guitars, vocals). The band's Mike Thompson has issued the following: "Well, many of you have noticed that Chris didn't perform at any Withered shows over the summer. And, I've been receiving numerous inquiries about this. So, I suppose it's time to make it official. Chris, after much soul searching and consideration, decided it was time to leave the frontlines and persue some personal goals that he had been putting off for years. Touring became too much of a burden for him at a time when the rest of Withered was striving to push the envelope and increase touring activity. "Personally, I must say that I'll miss him a lot. We've been playing music together 2 or 3 times a week for the last 14 years and mutually conceived Withered in 2003. He was key in nurturing the ideology behind our music and lyrics and his contributions will be missed. Despite all of that, Mike, Beau, and I completely respect his position and there are no negative feelings towards the situation. "As for his replacement, our friend, Dylan Kilgore, filled in for Chris on the last leg of the Blackenedfest tour last June. He did an amazing job and his work ethic in learning the songs was unparalleled. So, it was very natural for him to assume Chris' position full-time. We're moving full steam ahead on the new album and the writing is going better than expected. At this point, we have 4 new tracks almost completed and anticipate the new album to be released sometime in mid-2010. We'll post more updates as they develop."