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Music

Aussie Grinders Blood Duster Oust Half Their Lineup Over "Interest in the Heavy Metal Band Anthrax"

Guitarist Scott (AKA Beltsy or Belt Thrower) and drummer Dave Haley (AKA Dive Taxation Forms) are outta here.

Photo courtesy of Blood Duster

Blood Duster, the lovably depraved granddaddies of the Australian grindcore scene, has just ousted half of its lineup, citing "musical differences." While an earlier version of the band's official press release circulated earlier today, the band has issued an updated version which was shared by former guitarist Scott Pritchard (alias Beltsy, alias Belt Thrower) on his personal Facebook page. Pritchard commented sadly, "Truth is out now…"

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Apparently, both he and former drummer Dave Haley (alias Dive Taxation Forms) were given the boot, not in order to concentrate on family in Pritchard's case or for Haley to focus on his band Psycroptic, but simply because the pair's combined taste in music was shitting all over everything that the Northcote creatives stand for. Yes, the band that burst onto the scene with 1992's Menstrual Soup demo and went on to record such stirring odes as "Blood Fart" and "Fisting the Dead" was positively horrified to learn that their longtime axe-slinger had sworn allegience to most dreadful, despicable, unsconscionable musical abomination imaginable…ANTHRAX.

As per Blood Duster's official press release:

"It is with a heavy heart that Blood Duster have to announce that Scott (AKA Beltsy or Belt Thrower) has been asked to leave the band.

He may say that he left because of family commitments, but we can assure you that he was asked in no uncertain terms to leave Blood Duster after numerous warnings from the rest of the band.

We would love to say the differences were musical but they were not as they pertained to his interest in the heavy metal band Anthrax, the most unmusical band ever. The 12” single released by Anthrax “I’m the Man” was found to be playing at his house on more than one occasion and he had been warned about listening to them and especially to their later output (with later output determined as anything after “Fistful of Metal”). He was warned that listening to Anthrax could undermine his ability to judge music with any objective sense of good or bad.

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“It got to the point where he was coming to rehearsals in big shorts and saying “not” well after it was amusing (which was of course a few hours after it was first said in the mid-80s)… and it’s not just that his riffs turned to shit, he was trying to introduce rap into Blood Duster and growing really stupid goatees - I have no faith that the new Mindsnare recording will be any good either, I imagine he will just introduce those metal-raps into their new stuff”
- Jason P.C.

Despite these repeated warnings he continued to be caught in a mosh.

Scott also often made for odd conversation during Blood Duster rehearsals often making these bold proclamations;

1- Suggesting that the big four of thrash metal should be expanded to 5 so it could include Flotsam and Jetsam.
2- That Dave Mustaine singing into the mirror during the “Sweating Bullets” clip is “like, totally awesome”.
3- He claimed that Christian metal is an actual real and proper thing that people like himself can enjoy.
4- That Metallica only really hit their stride after “Reload” and that Lulu was a masterpiece.

“I was like ‘fuck you dude’, and he was all like ‘no man fuck you’”
- Matt Rizzo

Following these incidents Scott has been dismissed from the ranks of Blood Duster effective immediately.

“I reiterated the band’s view that former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz is not someone to be looked up to but he simply put more ninja turtles stickers on his guitar and ignored us”.
- Tonebone

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We really do wish Scott the best of luck with his future little endeavours and we don’t want to sound too bitter about US deciding to give HIM the boot.

Last we heard he will be starting a hardcore band with just about anyone."

Pritchard isn't the only Blood Duster-er to have been deposed. The band has also shaken up their lauded rhythmn section, saying sayonara to drummer Matt Rizzo. They really had no choice, though; the man had been listening to modern black metal, for pete's sake. What kind of morally bankrupt individual would admit to such a thing? The press release forged on…

"Recently we also were forced to ask Drummer Dave Haley (AKA Dive Taxation Forms) to step aside from Blood Duster. This was because he said he really liked the sound of all black metal that was released after Darkthrone’s A Blaze in the Northern Sky.
He is currently getting by in his little side project “Psycroptic”, a band with a name that is completely made up. Its not even a word seriously… look it up.
oh, that’s right you cant."

It's true. You can't.

It seems that, hearts heavy, the band has elected to continue grinding forward, aided by the as yet unproven talents of new members M-Lo ("guitarz") and Matt Rizzo ("drumbs").

Godspeed, gentlemen. Godspeed.

Blood Duster Australian tour dates:

Fri 6th Feb - Sydney - @ Factory Theatre w/ Summonus, Bastardizer & Fat Guy Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt.
Fri 13th Feb - Brisbane - @The Underdog w/ Bloodgin, Coffin Birth, Bitter Lungs, Wartooth, Decapitated Mum, Malakyte.
Fri 20st Feb - Melbourne - @ The Tote w/ The Blacklist, Chaingun and Blunt Shovel

Kim Kelly is blasting "I Love When Joe Pesci Swears" on Twitter and also knows that this whole thing was a joke.