DIVINE HERESY Members Respond To Former Singer's 'False' Claims

DIVINE HERESY members Joe Payne (bass) and Tim Yeung (drums) have released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET in response to claims by the band's former vocalist Tommy Cummings (a.k.a. Tommy Vext) that DIVINE HERESY mainman Dino Cazares' "massive ego" and "abusive mentality" ultimately caused Tommy's departure from the group.

In his videotaped statement (see below) which was released last week via the Metal Injection web site, Tommy stated about his split with DIVINE HERESY, "I've been suffering the indignities of Dino's massive ego for as long as I've worked with him, and unfortunately everything I've heard about him had eventually come to fruition, and he is exactly as he's been portrayed as by his ex-band members. And this happening now is the same reason why he's not in FEAR FACTORY anymore. It was a stepping stone in my life and I'm moving on."

Tommy added, "Dino has pushed around Tim physically, verbally and emotionally, as well as Joe, as long as they've been working with him, and they're willing to put up with it because they look at Dino as a meal ticket, potentially."

The following statement statement from DIVINE HERESY members Joe Payne (bass) and Tim Yeung (drums) was sent to BLABBERMOUTH.NET on Sunday, May 4:

"Our primary goal with this press release is to stop the drama and mudslinging, so we, as DIVINE HERESY, and everybody involved can move on with our lives and put this issue to rest.

"It is unfortunate that our situation with Tommy Cummings has become so ugly.

"The decision to remove Tommy Cummings from DIVINE HERESY was not solely Dino Cazares'. It was a decision we made as a band.

"We have had some major issues with Tommy in the past and given him many second chances to be what DH needed him to be. However, his actions at the Poughkeepsie, NY show were completely unacceptable and unprofessional.

"Yes, there were some monitor problems that night, but no PA problems, and we understood that Tommy wanted to cut the set short for various reasons, but we were contractually bound with the promoter to play a full set or else he could have refused to pay us. Mostly we wanted to give the fans their money's worth.

"It was not only Dino's call to play the last song. We agreed to do it and Tommy was just outvoted.

"In a recent video interview, Tommy Vext responded very harshly to the statements Dino made in our first statement regarding our recent split with him. Tommy made a lot of negative and character-degrading remarks about Dino, which were exaggerated and blown out of proportion and false.

"First thing to clear up: Dino Cazares has more than proven to be a very fair and trustworthy business partner. We generally listen to him because he does have the most experience and knowledge. Dino really does work his ass off 24 hours a day for this band.

"Lastly, we do not consider this band to be a 'meal ticket' for us. It is a passion and an opportunity to do something great with our musical abilities.

"We wish Tommy much success in his future endeavors. We would also like to thank all of the bands we have toured with and a special thanks to all our fans for your undying support.

"We are currently auditioning vocalists and are looking forward to seeing you all on the upcoming ARCH ENEMY tour."

DIVINE HERESY's debut album, "Bleed The Fifth", has sold more than 20,000 copies in the United States since its August 2007 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD was released in Japan with an exclusive bonus track, "Purity Defiled".

Tommy Cummings' videotaped statement:

DIVINE HERESY's "Failed Creation" video: