Arin Ilejay Was Shocked And Scared Following Avenged Sevenfold Firing

(TeamRock Radio) Former Avenged Sevenfold drummer Arin Ilejay has recalled how his firing from the band via a phone call left him "shocked and scared." His dismissal was confirmed last year, although the move had been planned as early as 2014.

He was replaced by former Bad Brains man Brooks Wackerman. The band cited the need to "move in a different direction" as the reason for the split. Ilejay is now a member of Islander, who've just released a video for Darkness, the lead track from second album Power Under Control.

He tells Rolling Stone: "I was totally shocked and scared out of my mind when Synyster Gates called to let me go. I was like, 'Oh my God - my wife is about to have a baby. How am I going to support my family now?'"

He was offered the role with Islander soon after that band's frontman Mikey Carvajal heard he'd been fired. The drummer says: "I realized if I joined Islander I'd have an opportunity to help write songs and build something - instead of being on the inside, but at the same time really being on the outside, the way I was with Avenged." Read more and watch the video here.

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