The South African death metal band Vulvodynia have fired their longtime vocalist Duncan Bentley after he allegedly injured and "tried to kill" the group's drummer, Tom Hughes, the group said this week.
The percussionist was apparently hospitalized with a "badly broken nose," Vulvodynia added, as seen in photos of the reported injuries they shared on social media.
Last year, Vulvodynia performed in North America on a tour supporting Archspire. Vulvodynia, which included Bentley as lead vocalist since their 2014 inception, are named after the medical term for chronic pain or discomfort around the opening of the vagina.
See the photos of Hughes' injuries below.
In a statement alongside the graphic photos on Sunday (May 7), Vulvodynia explained, "Due to recent events and recurring uncontrollable violence from Duncan Bentley. We can no longer have him in the band."
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They continued, "This has been something we have been considering even before this tour but had to just continue and try our best because the financial losses would have been too devastating."
Statement - Vulvodynia Say Vocalist "Tried to Kill" Their Drummer (May 7, 2023)
Vulvodynia said that Bentley "threatened and tried to kill our drummer Tom. Tom ended in hospital and sustained various injuries including a badly broken nose. This is also not the first time he's attacked Tom and displayed this type of violence. Its been a recurring problem for a while. We thought it was alcohol related but we now know its just who he is."
They added, "We will be continuing [our current] tour without him. We are going to try make plans to get some friends who are vocalists to help us out on the way and still bring you the best show possible."
Response From Drummer Tom Hughes
Hughes issued a separate response on his personal Facebook page. "I'm doing ok other than being in a little pain and we just want to try to continue … and make the best of this awful situation," he said.
He explained that he and Bentley were "not in any sort of drunken brawl. We had an amazing night out with friends after the show and towards the end of the night started noticing changes in his behavior with him becoming [erratic] and irritable and unnecessarily mean about people and towards homeless people around so when we got back to the hotel I asked him if he had been drinking at all and he absolutely snapped. I literally said 'Duncan as a friend I need to know if you have been drinking tonight' and he absolutely lost it."
Hughes added, "This is not the first time this has happened at all, had to deal with a very similar situation in the Philippines just over a month ago when he was late for lobby call for our flight and I went to his room to wake him and when I did he snapped and attacked me punching me multiple times, breaking my ribs."
Vulvodynia's latest studio album is 2021's Praenuntius Infiniti. They released new single "Eulogy of Ashes" last month.
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Tom Hughes Statement (May 7)
