Underoath guitarist James Smith was recently let go from the band. According to Smith in an Instagram story, he was "informed" that he was no longer a member of the band and that this is "unfortunately where we have ended up."
Underoath has now issued their own statement, confirming they've parted ways with Smith. Underoath didn't elaborate on their reason why, only stating that "this was an incredibly difficult situation and isn't something that can or should be addressed on the internet."
"As some of you have noticed, James was not on the Blind Obedience tour and we want to clarify that we have officially decided to part ways.
"We care for James, we want the best for him, and that will never change. There were differences that we hoped we'd be able to work through that unfortunately, we realized we weren't able to be. Some people will want to know details, but this was an incredibly difficult situation and isn't something that can or should be addressed on the internet and we hope ya'll understand. We appreciate you all.
"Thank you all so much for all the support over the years and we'll see you soon."
Smith originally played with the band between 2003 and 2013 until their breakup, and then played in the reformed version of the band between 2015 and recently.