Founding Emmure Guitarist Ben Lionetti: “Frank Palmeri is a Disgusting Human Being”
Lambgoat reports that founding Emmure guitarist Ben Lionetti, who left the band in 2009, has released the following statement:
“I feel a little need to speak out. Let’s get this straight … Emmure is MY blood sweat and tears ..MY band born from my thoughts and my hard work and writing (I’m sure you can see the change from early Emmure to now so if they say they wrote it you know it’s a lie; I was actually forced to say it was an even split wether it was money or writing credits) it will never be theirs as much as they can fake it that’s all it is .. fake. To see what Frank [Palmeri] is doing to me and my family’s hard work is absolutely disgusting. I love Mark [Davis], we hang all the time and have always been friends with Mike since the old Recon days and I still love seeing Jesse [Ketive]. But Frank is a disgusting human being and I’m also a little let down that the band members would even let that piece of garbage call a song ‘Bring a gun to school’ not to mention their management, But they just see dollar signs ..and you kids keep buying it, so sad… But I guess any publicity is good publicity .. Frank’s a demonic genius … ‘Ask your girl what my dick tastes like’ was one thing but this shit is just out of hand. To see me and my brother’s [Joe Lionetti, founding drummer] work and my family’s support over all those years be ripped from our hands and turned into this breaks my heart. I never said anything negative and never wanted to make it public or go after them for money owed to us, like the time they said they magically lost 10k and couldn’t pay me and Joe after we left the band. At least now I’ll have no regrets when I slam them, their management and Victory Records with lawsuits from now until the end of time. Whether I win or not, My mission is now to take what is rightfully mine. #lawyerup”
I almost don’t know what to make of this. On the one hand, if Lionetti is legitimately owed money, yeah, by all means, he should be paid what he’s due.
On the other hand, gloating that “Emmure is MY blood sweat and tears” is like gloating that you created cancer, and being worried that the band’s legacy is being tainted by Frankie Palmeri’s ongoing trolling (i.e., calling a song “Bring a Gun to School”) is like worrying that Milli Vanilli’s legacy will be tainted because one of them committed suicide (I think it was Vanilli). These are the kinds of acts for which one ought to repent, not relish.
And on the OTHER other hand, I don’t think anyone should freak out about “Bring a Gun to School” until we’ve actually had a chance to see the lyrics. I assume the song is meant to be satirical (although we may have to emphasize the “meant to be” element, given Palmeri’s total lack of comprehension of what satire is) or fantastical (like pretty much every death metal song ever). In which case you could argue that the track is tasteless, but you can’t argue that it’s “wrong.” To have no issue whatsoever with Cannibal Corpse’s “Stripped, Raped, and Strangled” but take issue with a song called “Bring a Gun to School” is hypocritical. Even if you wanted to argue that “Bring a Gun to School” is more offensive because it’s clearly referencing non-fictional events, your argument is basically invalidated if you’ve ever enjoyed Slayer’s “Angel of Death,” which, as far as I can tell, every metal fan in the history of ever has done.
And that’s really the worst part of this whole rotten deal: Ben Lionetti just put me in a position where I had to defend Frankie Palmeri. Motherfucker.
