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Exhorder is heading into a new chapter — and doing it without the drummer who helped define their modern era.

The New Orleans groove-metal legends announced this week that Sasha Horn has parted ways with the band after more than eight years behind the kit, citing a desire to step back from life on the road and focus on his personal life. Stepping in as his temporary road replacement is Corey Pierce of God Forbid fame, who will join the band for "The Tour of Unsound Minds" next month.

The split appears entirely amicable. In a statement, the band praised Horn warmly: "All of our best to Sasha in his journey, and we thank him for the time, contributions, and sacrifices he made alongside us for all of these years. Best of luck and nothing but love from us moving forward."

Horn himself addressed fans directly, striking a tone that was reflective rather than bitter. "After eight and a half years, two albums, and countless touring cycles, it is time for me to permanently step away from my position at Exhorder," he wrote. "All things have come to that split in the path." He noted that he's seeking more time with family, continuing his education, and pursuing his own creative projects — and he was careful to leave the door open. "This is not a farewell," he said. "This is a time-out."

The timing comes as the band wraps up a two-year touring cycle behind their 2024 Nuclear Blast album Defectum Omnium — a natural breaking point if there ever was one. With that cycle now complete, Exhorder says their creative canvas is clear and the writing process for their fifth album is already underway. The search for a permanent drummer is ongoing.

In the meantime, Pierce is more than a capable placeholder. The God Forbid veteran brings serious heavy metal credibility to the fill-in role, and the band sounds genuinely excited about the pairing. "We are excited to jam with Corey," they said, "and to bring our live show back to the eastern states for the first time in 2026."

Horn's departure marks yet another significant lineup shift for a band that has navigated considerable turbulence since their 2018 reformation. Guitarist Vinnie LaBella — who co-wrote much of Mourn the Southern Skies — exited in early 2020. Guitarist Marzi Montazeri followed in 2022, replaced by former Cannibal Corpse axeman Pat O'Brien. That leaves vocalist Kyle Thomas as the band's sole remaining founding member, a distinction that carries a lot of weight for a group widely credited as a primary architect of the riff-heavy power-groove style that Pantera would go on to popularize worldwide.

Through all of it, Exhorder keeps moving forward — leaner, hungrier, and apparently ready to write the next chapter. Album five is on the horizon. The drum throne is open. Stay tuned.

Ten years. A global pandemic. Thousands of miles of touring. Countless hours in the studio. Anthrax's new album has been a long time coming — and if the band's own barely-contained excitement is any indication, thrash metal fans are about to be rewarded in a big way.

Drummer Charlie Benante confirmed in a recent interview that the album has been pushed back to September 2026, with the first single and music video set to drop in May. "The record is not coming out till September. We pushed it back a little bit. We just had to do a couple of other things to it," Benante explained. "It's coming out in September, but the first song and video will be out in May."

The band has already been teasing snippets of new material during recent live performances — including their Canadian run alongside Megadeth and Exodus — and Benante made clear that holding back has been genuinely painful. "It's become so hard to just contain this, because I'm so excited about it," he said. "I'm so happy about it. This record is really, really good."

Guitarist Scott Ian echoed that sentiment with an enthusiasm that's hard to fake after four decades in the business. "It's like having just the most powerful weapon in the world at your disposal, but you're missing this one little thing and you can't use it," he said with a laugh. "I can't wait for people to hear it. Eight people have heard this album. I'm so excited."

As for the decade-long gap since 2016's For All Kings — Ian is quick to push back on that framing. The touring cycle for that album ran all the way through late 2019, and just as the band was gearing up to write again, COVID-19 derailed everything. "If you look at actual time we spent writing and recording the record, it's probably about three years," Ian said — a timeline he considers pretty standard for a band of Anthrax's caliber.

The album was recorded and mixed at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, with longtime producer Jay Ruston — who also helmed For All Kings and Worship Music — back at the helm. Benante has compared Ruston's growing role in the band's creative process to that of a George Martin-level collaborator.

Bassist Frank Bello has been equally effusive, calling the record "so heavy" and singling out vocalist Joey Belladonna's performance as some of the best singing of his career. "I think everybody's gonna be happy," Bello said. "It's been 10 years. So we made sure it's worthwhile."

What's remarkable is how unanimously the band speaks about this record — not with the polished language of a PR campaign, but with the barely-suppressed energy of musicians who genuinely can't believe what they've made. Benante put it plainly: "When one song finishes and the next one comes up, it's just, like, 'Holy shit. This one's just as good as the last.'"

The album's artwork was designed by Benante in collaboration with illustrator Mark Stutzman, whose work Benante discovered while watching a David Blaine documentary. "It's so trippy," Benante said of the final cover. "I'm really happy about that."

The first single lands in May. The album follows in September. After ten years, the wait is almost over — and Anthrax wants you to feel every second of it.