Doc Coyle Talks God Forbid Exit on Danko Jones' Podcast

Toronto rock singer and podcaster Danko Jones tapped former God Forbid guitarist Doc Coyle for a half-hour interview about a range of topics, including why he left the metal band earlier this month and if he plans on forming a new group to fill the void left by his old outfit.

On Aug. 16, Coyle announced on his personal Facebook he was quitting the band. As Jones puts it before starting the interview, “If you’re currently in a similar situation, I hope this conversation with Doc inspires, hearing someone handle his personal crossroads with class and control.”

Coyle explained he reached out to Jones a while back on Twitter because he was contemplating a solo record in the vein of Slash and Santana where he writes the songs and gets his favorite singers on them. He said he’ll still probably do it. That is how he and Jones became buddies. Jones actually talked a lot about their instant bond in a six-minute lead up to the interview, but he wastes no time cutting to the chase, asking about his departure from God Forbid.

“In a way the crossroads already happened,” Coyle responds. “The band has basically been inactive for six months. I don’t wanna drag anyone through the mud -- I love all the dudes in my band; I’m not mad at anyone -- but with that said, it was still dysfunctional enough where I wanted the band to be active and do things and be proactive, and certain elements of the band made it impossible to do that with any amount of professional manner…”

Coyle added that he was “at the forefront of the operation” and was giving 100 percent but not getting that back. Instead of fighting, he said he decided to “remove himself from the situation.” Drummer Corey Pierce then posted on his Facebook page that God Forbid is over.

Coyle said his life won’t change, as the band had not been working for many months, and he is already well into a new project that he began dabbling with while he was still touring. He had leftover material from a side project he started with Tommy Vext, ex of Snot, and then was introduced to a singer named Ravi who goes by Phyllotaxis. He calls him “a brilliant singer-songwriter” and “not a metal singer” who likes Pink Floyd and Radiohead. The two have been exchanging music files and jamming at his house on acoustic.

“Now that I’ve gotten off the road, I want to make it a priority to put a real band together, then capture that in the studio,” Coyle told Jones.

Listen to the Danko Jones Podcast With Former God Forbid Guitarist Doc Coyle