Founding HATEBREED bassist Chris Beattie discussed his recent departure from the band in a new interview with The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!‘s Drew Stone. Beattie, who had transitioned to a real estate career, confirmed his February exit, which came shortly after HATEBREED announced Matt Bachand of SHADOWS FALL would be their bassist “for the foreseeable future.”
Chris said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “Obviously, the last year was the 30th anniversary of the band, so we had big stuff going on for that, which was all completely amazing. We had a great year. Tours, shows were successful, and then we jump to right now where I’m not in the band anymore.”
Chris stated his departure from HATEBREED was “completely unexpected,” especially considering, “We had just celebrated 30 years.”
“It was awesome. Successful tour. Left on a high note. We did great stuff. And like I said before publicly, it was not my decision to leave the band,” he continued. “Someone saw an opportunity to get me out of the picture, and that’s where I am now.”
“Everything went really well that year, but there was stuff going on behind the scenes, and it became a chore to get in touch with anyone. And I was the middle man, basically, for bandmembers and crew members, and that became a chore for me. And I had started asking a lot of questions, and it became problematic. I became a problem within the [organization].”
Chris then addressed his current status with HATEBREED, stating: “We’re trying to work it out. There’s attorneys involved now. They’re spending a lot of time having to deal with that and all the details of that. And I’ve gone back and forth.
When asked about the possibility of reconciliation and a return to HATEBREED, Beattie stated: “My time is done with HATEBREED… It’s done. My family comes first. I’ll leave it at that. I can’t go back to that. But there is a legacy. With all the time that I haven’t been in the band now, which, it’s weird to say, but people know me from that band everywhere I go. You can’t shake that kind of s**t. The identity is still there. So it’s good. It’s hard to talk about too, but here we are. New doors open.”
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