Crossfaith Parts Ways With Bassist Hiroki Ikegawa
Japanese metalcore icons Crossfaith have announced that they are parting ways with longtime bassist Hiroki Ikegawa. The sudden, but mutual decision comes in the midst of their Departure Japan tour. In the official announcement, the band expressed their gratitude for the years they spent with Ikegawa and wished him well in his future endeavors.
"We want to thank him for journey he took with us and wish him luck with everything in the future.
In the meantime, we continue to work on current Japan tour as well as new music."
The band’s full statement can be seen below or click here.
Ikegawa joined Crossfaith in 2008 and has appeared on all four studio albums. Ikegawa has not been seen with the band since their last show before going on hiatus on August 28th, 2022 in Fukuoka, Japan and while he did not go into the specifics that led to his departure, Ikegawa shared his own statement thanking both the fans and the band for his 16-year tenure and stated that “every gig was its own odyssey.”
You can read Ikegawa’s full statement here.
Members of Crossfaith have expressed their support to their former bandmate and thanked him for the wonderful years of music and friendship. Frontman Kenta Koie lamented on how difficult the decision was but assured fans that Ikegawa will always be a part of the Crossfaith family. Drummer Tatsuya Amano apologized to fans who felt disappointed by the sudden announcement but asked that fans understand why both parties have led to this decision and that they should continue to support both Ikegawa and Crossfaith as they both move forward.
Crossfaith is in the middle of their Departure Japan headlining tour which is set to wrap up on February 18th in Ebisu, Japan. After that, the band is set to embark on a headlining tour in Australia from February 22nd to February 28th.
In addition to this, Crossfaith is currently working on new music so stay tuned for more info on that and more.
