News•February 8, 2016 1:48 PM ET•37,102 views

The Black Dahlia Murder guitarist exits band

The Black Dahlia Murder has officially confirmed the departure of guitar player Ryan Knight, who originally joined the band in 2008. Brandon Ellis (Arsis) will serve as touring guitarist for the time being. Frontman Trevor Strnad had this to say:

"When Ryan first joined the band, he drove from the hospital where his first child had just been born to begin practicing and writing with us, on the eve of the recording of our 'Deflorate' album. In his years with the band, he made a lot of sacrifices to be with us and uphold our insanely demanding touring and recording schedule…He always gave us 100 percent, and for that I thank him. "He is an incredible musician and creative force…It was exciting to make new material with him, and his wealth of knowledge has left its stamp on the band's music forever. I always knew that his time in the band would be limited, and it has now come time for him to go home and be with his family. Ryan, being the stand-up dude that he is, told us of his plans to leave the band more than a year ago, and with heavy hearts we began to plan for The Black Dahlia Murder's future. "We admire that Ryan went to such lengths to make his departure as easy on the band as possible, even going as far as to help us find a talented leadsman in Brandon Ellis – who has been lending us his tremendous guitar skills on the current TBDM tour…Knight is one of my best friends and I wish him the best in everything he does. He will always have a place here in the TBDM family. I look back at our time together with nothing but gratitude."

Meanwhile, Knight offered up this:

"After nearly 7 years with The Black Dahlia Murder, I feel the time has come for me to step down and focus on other aspects of my life. The decision to leave was very difficult, yet necessary I feel for me to ultimately be happy and keep moving forward. I feel very lucky to have had the best band-mates/crew (past and present) to traverse the world, guzzle beers, and bring the rock with every night…Thank you guys <3, I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to all our fans for being so cool to me over the years, and all the hardworking people over at Metal Blade Records for their support, and general badassery. In the meantime, I'll still be teaching guitar, working on new music, and just getting pretty domestic in general. Thanks again!"

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anonymous 2/8/2016 11:15:04 AM

Hey this is Mike from Breech, make sure to check out my tattoos. Anyway, I feel like I should have informed about the position of lead guitar. I can cover most Emmure songs and even a few Thy Art is Murder smash hits. Oh well the dream might be dead but our new smash single SHOTS is alive and kicking.

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anonymous 2/8/2016 11:43:41 AM

Out of all news this really sucks.....I loved Ryans playing in Black Dahlia and I felt it added something to their music that was lacking. I'm sad to see you go Ryan Knight, hopefully a replacement can fill half your shoes.

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anonymous 2/8/2016 11:48:50 AM

good move

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anonymous 2/8/2016 11:51:12 AM

Stand-up guy. That's a rarity in the music business.

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anonymous 2/8/2016 12:25:43 PM

I'm sure Nate from fit for an autopsy could learn from this

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DoctorDoom 2/8/2016 3:10:01 PM

Bummer

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anonymous 2/8/2016 5:31:02 PM

GOD DAMNIT!!! I am straight up depressed after hearing this news. Ryan Knight is one of the most underrated shredders of all time. Every time he had his solos in TBDM it was climaxic ( no homo). Seriously, his shredding was so beautiful and insane, I really hope they find another shredder. He really made the band's sound so much more compelling, melodic, and more dynamic.I just hope that they can find a replacement that can match his skills.

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anonymous 2/8/2016 5:36:50 PM

David Pierce from Corrupted Youth Crew here. If anyone has a problem with CYC or Corrupted Booking call me 9513700291

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anonymous 2/8/2016 7:00:12 PM

Hey, maybe now we won't hear the same riff we've heard in every song they've ever made

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DoctorDoom 2/9/2016 5:45:33 AM

"Hey, maybe now we won't hear the same riff we've heard in every song they've ever made" It must suck to be born without ears.

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anonymous 2/9/2016 9:14:55 AM

Now if they'd just pay me.

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anonymous 2/9/2016 5:03:01 PM

Start making cash right now by selling your old prescription medication. Its so easy, i bought a new BMW yesterday with all the money I made selling my outdated painkillers and muscle relaxers from home. Get started today >>>>>>>>>Kill Yourself inc.

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