Rise Against parts with guitarist

Rise Against has parted ways with guitarist Chris Chasse, according to Punknews.org. Chasse joined the band in 2004 following the departure of Todd Mohney, who in turn replaced Dan Wleklinski. Rise Against said that Chasse left due to the band's heavy touring schedule. The guitarist said in a statement, "Rise Against was the best three years of my life. I've met so many amazing people and been all over the world with the best friends anyone could ask for. I'll never stop writing or playing music. Thank you to everyone over the past few years for all of the love and support."

Frontman Tim McIlrath told us that Chasse played an important role on his only album with the band, 2006's The Sufferer and the Witness: "The songs just came out, like, just ready to go, and Chris certainly played a role in that. He's got a great sense of melody, he did a lot of the leads on this record. He contributed to a significant portion of the writing on the record as well."

Rise Against has enlisted guitarist Zach Blair of Only Crime to step in for Chasse temporarily.

The punk act kicked off a North American tour on Thursday, February 22nd, as support for My Chemical Romance.

The latest single from The Sufferer and the Witness is "Prayer of the Refugee."
Submit the above story to:

Del.icio.us   Digg   reddit   StumbleUpon   Facebook