In January, Bad Wolves parted ways with former frontman Tommy Vext. Since then, the band has stayed relatively quiet while focusing on a new album featuring their new frontman Daniel ‘DL’ Laskiewicz (formerly The Acacia Strain). Over the weekend, Bad Wolves announced that their new album Dear Monsters will be released on October 29th and we should expect a new single called “Lifelines” on Wednesday.
The major part of their social media post focused on the ongoing conflict with Tommy Vext. In the post, the band address a few statements that Vext has made in regards to the album and claimed that Vext was and continues to be “emotionally and physically abusive” to the band. You can read their full statement below:
“Since Tommy Vext quit Bad Wolves in January, we have all largely stayed silent.
We were prioritizing our search for a new singer, making music and focusing on the band’s future. We have all put a tremendous amount of heart and soul into Bad Wolves, and owed it to our fans to make a third album that is the band’s best yet.
We are happy to share that we’ve accomplished that and we can’t wait for you to hear it.
The album is called Dear Monsters and it will be out Oct. 29. The first single, called ‘Lifeline,’ is coming out this Wednesday, Sept. 8, with a new music video. It will be the first taste of the next chapter with our new singer DL, who is an incredible talent and welcome addition to the band.
We think our fans will appreciate the renewed energy and range he brings to Bad Wolves.
It’s unfortunate we must bear witness to Tommy Vext’s never-ending temper tantrums on social media, filled with fraudulent claims and sad attempts to defame members of our band and our team. The truth is that Tommy was abusive – both emotionally and physically – while in the band, and he continues to be abusive since quitting the group. He has childishly asserted many falsehoods. Refuting them all would be a waste of time and divert our energy from making music, which is our priority. However, we will not stand for our artistic contributions to be diminished, so here are some points that we feel are important to clarify before we move ahead with the next chapter:
- Ten of the 13 songs on our first album Disobey were musically written and recorded before Tommy ever joined the band.
- “Killing Me Slowly” is an example of a song done in collaboration with outside writers. Tommy changed a few lyrics and the publicly claimed to be the mastermind behind the song. That is false, which is why others, including members from the band, are credited on the track.
- When we were shooting the video for “Better Off This Way (featuring Dorothy)” [a song co-written by Doc Coyle, John Boecklin and Brandon Sammons], Tommy refused to let any other members be in the video. Then, to make matters worse, he illegally leaked it after quitting the band.
Bad Wolves is and will remain a creative collective, where no one member, inside or outside the band, holds the key to the group’s success.
– Bad Wolves”
Tommy Vext responded to the statement with a video message on his Instagram account. You can watch that video below.
Since exiting Bad Wolves in January of this year, Vext has filed a lawsuit against former manager Allen Kovac alleging claims of racism. Kovac responded to the lawsuit and as of last month, Bad Wolves’ label Better Noise Music filed a lawsuit against Vext accusing him of infringing on intellectual property. Vext also recently began using the moniker B@D W8LV3S. We’re not sure where these lawsuits will end up but we will keep you posted as more information becomes available.
