Guitarist Mitch Harris Taking Indefinite Hiatus from Napalm Death Due to Family Illness

Prepare to be depressed: Napalm Death are undergoing a (temporary, knock on wood) line-up change for the first time in nearly twenty-five years (not counting Jesse Pintado, who passed away in 2006). Says the band via Facebook:

Due to illness within his family, we would like to announce that Mitch Harris will unfortunately not be performing with us for the near future. We stress that this is not a permanent arrangement, although we are unsure exactly when Mitch will return under the circumstances.

Naturally, we sympathise and wish Mitch all the best for now. In the
meantime we will be joined by guitarists who we know can grind it out in his absence.

Thanks for your understanding
Napalm Death

Which would really suck under any circumstances, but sucks a heckuva lot harder due to the fact that the band just announced a new album and tour. Obviously the whole situation is nobody’s fault — it’s just one of those times when life gets shitty.

It also begs the question: who will step in for Harris? It would be completely fucking mind-blowing if they got Bill Steer or Justin Broadrick for the gig, but that will probably happen right around the time Rick Allen’s arm grows back. They could try to get one or more of the guitarists from the other bands they’re touring with to pull double duty. Or they could just outright hire someone… although I imagine it’s tough to find a good musician whose schedule is more or less completely up in the air.

Fingers crossed, this won’t really be an issue for very long. Let’s all send good thoughts to Harris and his family and hope he’s back where he belongs real soon.