STEVE JONES STEPS OUT OF THE FACELESS, WES HAUCH STEPS IN

Michael Keene is quickly earning his stripes in the Jon Leon Club of Stinky Farts: The Faceless have now lost their third band member in under a year. Vocalist Derek Rydquist was the first to leave last May, bassist and founding member Brandon Giffin followed in October and now it seems second guitarist Steve Jones, who’d been with the band since 2004, is out too. Keene announced the news, including the name of Jones’ replacement, via Twitter:

Farewell Steve Jones. We had a long ride my brother. Welcome the amazing @WesHauch to The Faceless. He is a shredder.

It sucks that all these dudes keep leaving The Faceless (their Wiki page now counts 11 former band members), but it’s always seemed as if Keene is THE dude in the band anyway, ala Trent Reznor, Misha Mansoor, etc. But one’s got to wonder, why does this band keep going through so many members? Unfortunate coincidence? Tough times to be in a touring band? Unfavorable financial terms? Is Keene difficult to work with? Do his farts really smell that horrible?

Drummer Lyle Cooper is now the sole remaining member from the lineup that recorded The Faceless’ last album, Planetary Duality; either the dude is hard of smelling or he and Keene get off on locking themselves in their rehearsal room and seeing who can withstand the other’s ass fumes the longest without puking.

I’ve never heard of Hauch, but he’s got the blessing of Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and he’s been tasked with playing The Faceless’ demanding material, so he’s certainly no slouch. Meanwhile, there’s still no official word on when the follow-up to 2008’s Planetary Duality will drop (although now we’ve gotten one studio update). Whether Hauch was involved in the writing and recording process is unclear. More news as we get it.

-VN