Metal Band Breaks up After 'Allegations of Harmful Conduct'

Vancouver, BC metal band Baptists have broken up after "allegations of harmful conduct" against their frontman. Metal Injection reports that the band first shared the news on social media. "Due to allegations of harmful conduct involving our singer, Andrew Drury, we have parted ways with him, effectively ending Baptists."

The band message continued, "We believe the people who have brought their concerns forward, and hope that by stating this publicly those individuals will feel heard and the risk of future harm will be reduced. The safety and well-being of our friends and community are important to us, and it is clear that we can not move forward as a group. Please message us if you have any immediate concerns." At this time, Drury does not appear to have commented on the allegations against him.

Additionally, Lambgoat reports that Drury's other band, Erosion, made a similar decision, noting that he is ousted but that they may resurface again in the future. "Due to recent allegations of harmful conduct in our community, Erosion has decided to move forward without our bass player Andrew Drury," they wrote. "Safety at our shows is important to us and we apologize to anyone who has ever felt unsafe at a show due to our involvement. We have no immediate plans to regroup and will be taking some time off to address the situation at hand. Please message us if you have questions or concerns."

The news of Baptists' breakup comes just weeks after longtime punk band Anti-flag broke up, which came amid sexual assault claims against their singer. On the Anti-Flag Patreon, one of the members wrote a message to fans, stating, "Anti-FIag has disbanded. The Patreon has been switched into a mode where it will no longer charge the monthly fee. I will begin to process refunds to all patrons in the coming weeks. Once all refunds are processed the Patreon page will also be removed."

While the band did not explicitly say that they disbanded due to sexual assault allegations, IdiotEQ reported that the breakup came after an explosive Enough podcast interview, in which therapist Kristina Sarhadi alleged that she was raped by the lead singer of a political punk band. Later, Justin Sane's personal Wikipedia page was changed to read: "Justin Cathal Geever (born February 21, 1973), known professionally as Justin Sane, is an American rapist." Sarhadi did not name her rapist, nor the band he was a member of, which IdiotEQ noted.

In response, Sane issued a statement, saying, "Recently, there have been claims of sexual assault made against me and I can tell you that these stories are categorically false." He added, "I have never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual, nor have I ever been approached by a woman after a sexual encounter and been told I had in any way acted without her consent or violated her in any way." Click here to read Sane's full statement.