UPDATE: According to Chimaira's Facebook page, the band called it quits today. This follows the departure of five members.

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And history repeats itself. You might remember that back in 2011, everyone left Chimaira except for founding member and vocalist Mark Hunter. Well, it happened again. The mass exodus happened after the band's most recent U.S. tour. First, it was guitarist Emil Werstler who left Chimaira. The rest of the band's lineup have now quit as well. That includes guitarist Matt Szlachta, keyboardist/vocalist Sean Zatorsky, bassist Jeremy Creamer and drummer Austin D'Amond.

Werstler said of his departure: "My time in Chimaira has, unfortunately, come to an end. It is time for me to move on as I continue to focus on harvesting my abilities as a musician. I'm very fond of everyone in the band and wish them all the best in the future. Although this was a difficult choice to make, I feel it was necessary in order to take the next step in my career. The best is still yet to come and I'm very excited for the multiple projects I am working on. I would like to thank the band, management, and, most importantly, all the fans for the endless support and understanding."

The collective statement from Szlachta, Zatorsky, Creamer and D'Amond: "In light of recent news, the rest of the band have decided to part ways with Chimaira. For us this was a great stepping stone, and an honor to play these songs live, and fulfill an incredible legacy. This was an excellent platform to help continue playing music, when our collective bands either ended or went on a hiatus. Chimaira was an amazing experience and we look forward to future music endeavors with eachother."

Guitarist Matt Szlachta also posted on his Facebook page: "I wanna thank all the fans, friends, promoters, peers and endorsers for the support & great times, means the world! I plan to continue teaching, playing, recording, touring and keep music my life. Sorry for the bad news, that's the music biz for ya go forth and thrash \m/"

What will Mark Hunter do now? Chimaira has an European tour set for October and Hunter hasn't yet released any statement regarding the future of the band.

Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Chimaira