Things are kinda of crazy in the Chrome Division camp right now. The band, featuring Dimmu Borgir vocalist Shagrath on rhythm guitar -- and ironically, Dimmu just booted two members rather dramatically from their ranks, so there's lot of unrest in the general Dimmu world right now, too -- has announced that longtime singer Eddie Guz is no longer fronting the band. The band issued a forthright, pull-no-punches statement, saying Guz was gone due to "lack of commitment and dedication," and that his disinterest was essentially hampering the band's forward progress.

Susperia's Athera -- who suffered a heart attack earlier this year -- is replacing Guz and going by the moniker 'Shady Blue' in Chrome Division. Bassist Bjorn Luna told Noisecreep that Shady will remain with his other band, saying, "They are very active at the moment with a new album and all, so good luck to them with that. Shady will do this in parallel to Chrome Division, a situation we're very used to," given the fact that Shagrath fronts one of the biggest black metal bands out there.

Luna also said the new album, which is the band's third, "will follow in the same style as on 'Booze, Broads, Beelzebub,' which is rock, metal and punk with a solid part in raw rock 'n' roll. We're talking about making it sound more dirty and authentic this time. We'll see when we hit the studio." Lyrically, however, it will obviously differ somewhat.

Luna continued, "Eddie hasn't written anything on the new songs, so [guitarist] Ricky [Black], Shady and myself are currently working on that. I believe it will get a bit tougher and more varied than before." Overall, the remaining Chrome contingent is happy with their choice of vocal replacement, with Luna finishing, "Shady is a person who's calm and sophisticated off stage and a raging lunatic on stage. Luckily, it's not the other way around. He also got a good range on his vocals. That will come in handy with Chrome Division."

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