Founding Vio-lence guitarist Phil Demmel recently responded to singer Sean Killian’s claims that Demmel wanted him to shelve the band despite their continued success. He addressed the issue in a statement shared on Metal Injection.
The statement focused on clarifying Demmel’s role in the band’s recent decisions and his approach to the situation with Killian.
“I asked Sean to end the band with me, then perform the material as solo act as I felt the rapid turnover of the band wasn’t something I wanted to be involved with,” Demmel said. “When he told me he didn’t want to, I didn’t ask again. It was a request, not a demand.”
Demmel further explained his limited involvement in band operations during his final years with the group.
“For my last few years of my time in Vio, Sean was doing the scheduling/booking, I wasn’t making any band decisions,” he continued. “He’d ask me if I was available to play and I was able to cherry-pick the gigs I wanted/could do until it was time for me to stop. I was in no way ‘controlling’ the band or making unilateral band decisions (except maybe getting [former Fear Factory bassist] Christian on board to fill in) that I can recall. Sean and I decided on things together. Vio-Lence is forging ahead as am I. Can everyone else?”
Killian previously stated that Demmel wanted him to shelve the band. He called the guitarist “selfish” and noted their disagreement following a sold-out show at the Whisky A Go Go in February 2023.
“[Phil Demmel] wanted me to shelve the band. And then we sold out the Whisky [A Go Go in February 2023] in L.A., and he brought it up in the green room after we played. And I was, like, ‘No, I’m not shelving anything,’” Killian said. “‘Cause we never really toured back in the day, so there’s so many places around the world that haven’t seen Vio-Lence or heard it live. For him, it’s a garage thing that — I don’t know… He’s kind of a selfish guy. And if you’ve seen some of his interviews. He even brings it up himself.”
Demmel officially left the group in February 2024, playing his final show in São Paulo, Brazil, after nearly four decades with the band; he explained at the time that the band’s changing lineup and dynamics made it feel “not like home” anymore, and that his role had been undefined for some time, separate from his work with Kerry King’s solo project and Category 7.
