Monuments and Vocalist Chris Barretto Have Parted Ways

British progressive metallers Monuments and longtime vocalist Chris Barretto have parted ways, citing the oft-used, seldom explained “personal reasons” as the motivation for the split.

Barretto was not the original vocalist for Monuments but was the longest-tenured and best known, joining in 2013 and singing on the band’s second and third albums. He was previously the vocalist for Periphery between 2008 and 2010, but was replaced by Spencer Sotelo before the band’s debut album came out (much to the consternation of many fans).

Andy Cizek of Makari will fill in live for Barretto in the immediate future, although the band stopped short of naming him a permanent replacement.

Monuments posted the following message on Facebook this afternoon:

“Today we announce the departure of Chris Barretto from Monuments due to personal reasons.

“We have travelled to every inhabited continent on Earth with Chris through the music of The Amanuensis and Phronesis. These memories that we created together; both positive and negative, will forever remain irreplaceable and at the highlights of our lives.

“For all remaining shows announced and unannounced, we have enlisted the vocal talents of ‘Andy Cizek’ of Makari as a fill in.

“Andy has many incredible voices and we are more than confident that he will smash the Monuments songs to the standard you have all come to expect.

“Andy’s debut performance will be at ‘The Haunt’ in Brighton on the 3rd July.

“Much love,
Browne, Olly, Swan, Lango.”

We’ve always been big fans of Barretto’s voice here at MetalSucks and we hope he finds another outlet for his musical passion soon.

[via Lambgoat]