The Acacia Strain guitarist Tom Smith leaving band

Tom Smith, guitarist of Massachusetts metalcore/deathcore group The Acacia Strain, has announced that he will be exiting the band following their forthcoming shows. Smith has offered the following explanation:

"It's weird to be posting this, but I am here to announce that the upcoming shows in March will be my last with The Acacia Strain. There is no bad blood and this decision was completely my own. It's time for me to take some time to finally focus on myself and care for my mental health/overall well being. This is by no means a goodbye to music or to the industry. I don't know what the future holds for me but I'm open to possibilities in and out of music. I'm focusing on living in the present and doing what I need to for my day to day happiness right now. You'll see me becoming more active with T W Smith Guitars and you'll see me releasing music on my own in the near future. But I can't put into words what these last 6 years in this band mean to me and I could not thank all of our fans enough for making me feel like I did something important for the world of heavy music. Thank you to my band mates and friends for having me along for this ride and spending so much of our lives crammed into a van together ❤️ Come see us 3/4 in MA, 3/5 in Long Island, and 3/6 in Albany!"