Drummer Pete Sandoval has announced his exit from Morbid Angel tribute project I Am Morbid. Sandoval was one of the alumni of the actual Morbid Angel lineup involved with that band, and announced his exit on social media earlier today, September 30th. Across two posts, Sandoval stated:
“Hey friends , I will not be part of this upcoming tour, and I am no longer part of I Am Morbid.
During my last tour with the band, I went through a lot. I became very sick with the flu and I wasn’t physically at my best, but that is not the reason for my decision.
The truth is that, for some time now, I haven’t been feeling the same connection with these songs anymore. I Am Morbid has focused on the material from Altars of Madness through Domination. I am very proud of those records and everything I created and contributed to during those years, but my history with Morbid Angel continued far beyond Domination. There is a much larger part of my musical legacy that I haven’t been able to represent with I Am Morbid.
I feel that I’ve given the fans everything I could through I Am Morbid over these past years, and now I need to take a break from this chapter and move forward.
I have a lot of respect for Richie and Bill and their work, and I’m grateful for the time we spent playing together—especially on that last tour, when I was going through such a difficult time physically and wasn’t at my best.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has been messaging me, sending me love, and telling me you’re looking forward to seeing me in Europe. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand the upcoming tour or expect me to be there when I won’t be.
You will see me again—just under different circumstances.
For now, this is all I want to say. Thank you for all the years of support, love and respect.
Pete Sandoval“
His second post read:
“One more thing I want to clarify. (Part II)
Before my last tour with I Am Morbid, I had already made it clear that I intended for it to be my last and that I needed a break. As many of you know, that tour became extremely difficult for me physically, and when I came home, my priority was recovering.
But after receiving so many messages from fans who were hoping to see me in Europe, I actually began reconsidering. I was planning to start rehearsing again and see how I felt over the next couple of months. If I felt I could perform at the level you deserve, I was going to reach out to the guys and tell them I was willing to do this tour for you.
Before I had the opportunity to do that, I was informed that another drummer had already been hired for the tour.
So I want you to know that I did think about coming back for these shows because of you, the fans. It simply didn’t work out that way.
Thank you again for all the messages and support. It means more to me than you know.
Pete Sandoval … so to the ones who admire my drumming , who expect to see me , I will not disappoint you, you will, just blasting new /other music . Love all”
Additionally, Sandoval has newly issued a third post, in which he outlined how he can no longer work with his fellow Morbid Angel alum, David Vincent. Vincent fronts I Am Morbid and handles bass and backing vocals in Terrorizer, another outfit that features Sandoval. Sandoval went on to state in third post:
“HEY GUYS,
I also want to clarify something about
TERRORIZER.I’m not ready to talk about all the details or future plans for Terrorizer yet. What I can tell you is that Terrorizer will continue, with some changes.
I also want to be honest about something. At this point, I don’t feel that David Vincent and I can continue working together. David has his personality and his way of working, and I have mine. We are very different people, and professionally those differences have caused us to clash too many times.
This is not about hate or holding a grudge. Sometimes two people simply reach a point where they realize that working together is no longer good for either of them.
I respect everything we have done together, and I sincerely wish David the best. No hate, no hard feelings. I just believe it’s better for us to continue on separate paths professionally. As for Terrorizer, I’ll share more when the time is right.”
