Duhamel issued a brutally honest message for fans that explains why he is taking some time off. He writes, "Hello everyone, it is with an a extremely heavy heart that I announce today that I will not be performing on the new Kataklysm album, I have been struggling with many personal issues the last year but lately, the main one has been alcohol, it's been affecting my body in a very negative way to the point that when I came home after the Ex Deo tour we just did, I tried to stop drinking for few days and it's been very hard without having any withdrawal symptoms, I've also lost a lot of weight as some of noticed recently and I'm not in good shape."

"I've heard the new material my brothers have written and its truely incredible stuff, it's really some of the best music the band has ever done but It's going to be a very demanding album and my state of mind and body is not ready to confront this big task right now, I need to clean my body and my mind and come back focused to Kataklysm and I don't know how long this will take ..., the guys have reached out to help in anyway they can which I can't thank them enough .. I'm truely blessed to have them as a family, so as I start my road to recovery I send this message to all of you and thank you for all the support.