Ex-SEVENDUST Guitarist Says His Split With Band Was Not As 'Brotherly' As Originally Portrayed

Former SEVENDUST guitarist Sonny Mayo has broken his silence regarding his split with the band.

Mayo was fired from SEVENDUST in late March — just one week prior to the release of the group's latest CD, "Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow", which he wrote and recorded with the Atanta-based band. He was replaced by SEVENDUST's original guitar player, Clint Lowery, who was previously with the group from their inception in 1995 until December 2004, with Lowery moving on to join his brother in the band DARK NEW DAY.

Mayo was in SEVENDUST for three years — long enough to appear on three of the band's full-length albums: "Next" (2005) on the now-defunct Winedark Records; "Alpha" (2007) on 7Bros. Records, SEVENDUST's wholly owned label through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group; and the aforementioned "Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow" which came out April 1 on 7Bros/Asylum.

In a March 26, 2008 press release announcing Clint Lowery's return to the group, SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose stated, "This was extremely tough considering Sonny is our brother and has been amazing to work with. He didn't do anything wrong at all, we just owe it to ourselves and all the folks that grew up with us to put our original band back together. Clint has always been our brother and Sonny will always remain our brother as well. We are sorry to say goodbye to Sonny and I'm sure this will be tough on the fans that follow him, but we're excited about reuniting the original lineup of SEVENDUST."

Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon added: "Everything happens for a reason. Sonny is an incredible person and we thank him for everything. Just like when you leave home, you come back! Hopefully everyone will understand the decision we have made."

Speaking to BLABBERMOUTH.NET on July 12, 2008 as part of an exclusive interview to announce the reformation of his previous band SNOT, Mayo stated about his split with SEVENDUST, "I was bothered by the way that they handled business between me and them — through the whole thing, but especially at the end. What bothered me is not what they did, it's how they did it. It's how they parted ways with me that was confusing. The approach that they took — it wasn't very brotherly. They did not tell me until it was already decided [that Clint would come to the band] that they were even talking to Clint. I was confused and surprised by the way that they did and when they did it — one week before the new album came out that I wrote and recorded with them. One week — seven days — before the new record that Sonny Mayo wrote and recorded with SEVENDUST, and they call me up and they fire me."

Although Sonny was caught off-guard by SEVENDUST's decision to fire him, the guitarist is quick to emphasize that he holds no grudges towards his former bandmates. "I'm not mad at them anymore," he says. "I was hurt, but I gained so much — so much experience, so many new friends and just wonderful things from that whole tenure with SEVENDUST that for me to carry bitterness towards them would be selling myself short; it would be spitting in the face of grace."