Lead guitarist Martin Arendal has left the progressive power metal band Manticora due to "personal reasons". For now, the band will continue focusing on writing new material as a four piece and will search for a new guitarist later.

The band stated: "Due to personal reasons, lead guitarist Martin Arendal has chosen to leave Manticora. The spirit to keep on fighting for this project is simply not there anymore, and Martin believes that it's better to leave in time, than to hang around, like the old horse in the circus.

We (the remaining 4 members of the band) of course respect the decision, and even if we'll miss our buddy and will have to find a new guy - NOT an easy task, we should say, given Martin's talent and skills - we understand Martin's situation and we'll continue writing material as a 4-piece so far.

As it is, we're not actively looking for a new lead guitarist immediately, as we're mostly writing new material at the moment, but if you're a fantastically skilled guitarist and you feel that you have what it takes to replace Martin, feel free to contact us, and we'll check you out. Stay Metal. Manticora."

Source:	manticora.dk
Band profile:	Manticora