Ex-Vulvodynia Vocalist Duncan Bentley Speaks Out About Drummer’s Injuries

A new statement has emerged from the former Vulvodynia vocalist Duncan Bentley after the South African death metal band fired him earlier this week when he allegedly injured and, in the band's own words, "tried to kill" their drummer, Tom Hughes.

However, Bentley has now broken his silence, saying he did not try to kill Hughes. Last year, Vulvodynia performed in America on a tour with Archspire. Vulvodynia, which included Bentley as lead vocalist since their 2014 inception, are named after the medical term for chronic pain around the vagina.

See the photos of Hughes' injuries below.

Duncan Bentley Says He Didn't Try to Kill Vulvodynia Drummer - May 10

Bentley says, "I owe the band, our crew, and Tom an apology. An apology seems so small in the face of what happened, but I need to offer it. I'm so sorry for what happened. … We've shared so many stages, so many good times, and I never wanted our story to end on a night like that. I regret that our disagreement turned physical, and I take full responsibility for my part."

However, "to clear up any misconceptions," Bentley continues, "I've been sober since March 30th. I never 'tried to kill' Tom. … The reason our argument started that night was because I was wrongly accused of drinking while I was actually sober, taking care of my bandmates, who were themselves drinking."

The vocalist's statement continues at length. Read the full text in the carousel post above.

In their own statement alongside the injury photos on May 7, Vulvodynia said, "Due to recent events and recurring uncontrollable violence from Duncan Bentley. We can no longer have him in the band."

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They continued, "This has been something we have been considering even before this tour but had to just continue and try our best because the financial losses would have been too devastating."

Vulvodynia Say Vocalist "Tried to Kill" Their Drummer, Tom Hughes - May 7

Vulvodynia said that Bentley "threatened and tried to kill our drummer Tom. Tom ended in hospital and sustained various injuries including a badly broken nose. This is also not the first time he's attacked Tom and displayed this type of violence. Its been a recurring problem for a while. We thought it was alcohol related but we now know its just who he is."

They added, "We will be continuing [our current] tour without him. We are going to try make plans to get some friends who are vocalists to help us out on the way and still bring you the best show possible."

Response From Tom Hughes

Hughes issued a separate response on his personal Facebook page. "I'm doing ok other than being in a little pain and we just want to try to continue … and make the best of this awful situation," he said.

He explained that he and Bentley were "not in any sort of drunken brawl. We had an amazing night out with friends after the show and towards the end of the night started noticing changes in his behavior with him becoming [erratic] and irritable and unnecessarily mean about people and towards homeless people around so when we got back to the hotel I asked him if he had been drinking at all and he absolutely snapped. I literally said 'Duncan as a friend I need to know if you have been drinking tonight' and he absolutely lost it."

Hughes added, "This is not the first time this has happened at all, had to deal with a very similar situation in the Philippines just over a month ago when he was late for lobby call for our flight and I went to his room to wake him and when I did he snapped and attacked me punching me multiple times, breaking my ribs."

Vulvodynia's latest album is 2021's Praenuntius Infiniti. They released "Eulogy of Ashes" last month.

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Tom Hughes Statement - May 7