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Venomin James Part Ways with Vocalist Jim Meador

Cleveland doomers Venomin James announced today that vocalist Jim Meador is out of the band. In the press release below, they cite a desire for a new direction, and considering they had more or less nailed down their sound before, I can’t help but wonder what that might mean. Could be 2013 has a surprise in store from these guys.

While we speculate, here’s the official word from the band regarding Meador‘s exit:

Cleveland doom metal band Venomin James parts ways with vocalist Jim Meador

Cleveland-based doom rockers Venomin James are parting ways with original vocalist Jim Meador. The band cites a change in vocal direction and Meador’s availability as the reasons, and will continue to record and perform live as an instrumental group until a replacement is found. Venomin James’ third album “Unholy Mountain”, which was completed this fall, will be released Q1 2013 on Auburn Records with Meador’s last vocal contributions, marking the end of his tenure in the band.

“We felt like a new direction was needed”, said Joe Fortunato, guitarist and founding member. “There is no ill-will towards Jim, he’s a natural talent and a genuinely good guy. It’s not an easy thing to make this big of a change after 6 years, but we feel like this is the right thing for Venomin James at this point in time. This decision wasn’t taken lightly”

The band completed their third full length album, “Unholy Mountain”, in the fall of 2012, after more than two years of tracking and mixing. This new release is also the last album to feature the drum tracks of original drummer, Jared Koston, who succumbed to cancer in June 2010.

In the near future, the band plans to continue to play instrumental live shows, after overwhelming positive response to a series of instrumental shows performed throughout 2012. Booking will continue as normal until a new vocalist is named. Writing for their fourth album has been underway since Summer 2012, and the band has been performing the material at recent shows.

Meador plans to continue making music, and will be seeking or forming a new project in the near future.

“The last six years have been a very positive and exciting experience with Venomin James, but sometimes good things must come to an end,” said Jim Meador. “ I treasure the memories, relationships and experiences I have shared with Joe, Tom, Erin, Jared, Bill, and most recently Eric. We created three rocking albums to be very proud of, most recently “Unholy Mountain”. I will be moving on, writing songs and exploring new opportunities. Thank you to everyone, family and friends that have supported myself and Venomin James through the years, I am very grateful. The guys will move on and I wish them success in achieving their goals, I will remain one of their biggest fans.”

Venomin James, founded in 2006, is a doom metal band, known for heavy riffs and intricate musical arrangements in the vein of Black Sabbath and “desert rock” bands like Kyuss and Unida. They have released 2 full length albums, and are currently signed to Auburn Records, owned and operated by legendary college radio DJ, Bill Peters.

To find out more, visit: venominjames.com, facebook.com/venominjames, twitter.com/venominjames.

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One Response to “Venomin James Part Ways with Vocalist Jim Meador”

  1. Henry Mossberg says:

    It’s now May 2014 and 18 months since Jim Meador was removed from the band. VJ has since released two singles, Sailor’s Grave, and 33rd Degree, with Mike Martini on vocals and the difference is striking.

    Striking, as in gruesomely painful. The new music is as intense and bluesy as LHM and CVB, but Martini sounds like Tommy Chong, and his lyrics offer nothing beyond the worst of the old MTV hair bands. If the intent is to go full-in for the stoner market, its going to be an opportunity and career loss for VJ.

    Meador is missed. Am looking ahead to whenever the entire Unholy Mountain disc get released to get one more chance to hear what was a great combination of music, vocals, and lyric. Something VJ lacks today.

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