Three Vitriol Members Quit Mid-Tour, Stranding Frontman

In a dramatic mid-tour fallout, three members of the Portland, Oregon-based death metal band Vitriol quit the group and left frontman Kyle Rasmussen stranded at a gas station in Vermont, forcing the cancellation of the band's remaining North American dates.

Guitarist Keith Merrow, bassist Brett Leier, and drummer Andy Vincenzetti announced their departure via Instagram Stories on November 24. Merrow, who joined Vitriol in March, described the incident as stemming from Rasmussen's "cowardly and weak outbursts of misplaced anger." In his post, he wrote, "Sorry Vitriol fans. We had to abandon him at a gas station in Vermont. Myself, Andy, Brett, and Matt will not take Kyle's cowardly and weak outbursts of misplaced anger. We gave everything we had, and now have left you with nothing. Mass exodus." He called it "the darkest day of my music career to date." Vincenzetti, who joined in October, added a more upbeat note, stating, "Onwards and Upwards. Played some sick deathmetal and got to meet even sicker people."

The tour, which began on November 6 in Santa Cruz, California, had reached the Northeast by the time of the split. Vitriol had performed in New York on Friday and was...