THE HUMAN ABSTRACT’S NATHAN ELLS: WAS HE FIRED OR DID HE QUIT?
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 11:00am by Vince Neilstein
It always comes down to that when a band loses a member, doesn’t it? And usually there’s a long, drawn-out battle — graciously conducted via the media — in which each side explains their version of the story.
So, it seems The Human Abstract and singer Nathan Ells have parted ways. The band released a statement via their MySpace blog at 3:22pm on Friday afternoon simply stating “The Human Abstract will no longer be working with Nathan Ells. We want to wish Nathan the very best in his future endeavors. With that being said, we are now looking for our new lead singer.” 48 minutes later, Ells fired back from his own MySpace blog thusly: “I want it to be known that the decision made by my band was not mutual, and I was fired.”
Was he fired or did he quit?
My initial instinct would be to say that someone isn’t telling the truth here. But if you look at the band’s statement, all it really says it that the band “will no longer be working with” Ells; it doesn’t say he quit. So it would appear that Ells was, in fact, fired. I’m sure the band will come back — either now or in an interview weeks or months from now — with anecdotal support about why Ells was dismissed (i.e. “Drug problems!” “Emotionally unstable!” “Different artistic direction!” “Used his hair iron too much!”) but for now let’s just call a spade and spade and recognize that Ells was given the boot.
In the same blog post, the band announced that former guitarist AJ Minette has returned to the band, albeit not in a full-time member role:
We want to formally announce greater news! We are working hand in hand with A.J. Minette on this next record which is well in the works. A.J. was the original guitarist alongside Dean for the band. Mr. Minette will be part of the writing force and will serve as producer for the third album. We are tremendously excited to be working together again. A.J. wanted to add, “Let me be the first to say…FIRST POST. NO ONE CARES. VAN FLIP”.
It’d be easy to assume that Minette’s return in some way affected the band’s relationship with Ells, but let’s not get carried away here and make assumptions. Aww shit, fuck it, let’s! These two events are probably related at least a little bit, right?
I know a lot of Human Abstract fans were super bummed when Minette left the band so this should come as good news to many. Fans seemed to blame AJ’s departure for the band’s softer sound on Midheaven, but when I interviewed Ells after the album’s release he claimed that AJ was actually the one who wanted to go even softer. So who knows. Human Abstract fans should definitely read that interview, by the way… it’s one of the best I ever conducted for this site. Ells was definitely an interesting man, a true artist… I’ll give him that. It’ll be interesting to hear how his departure and Minette’s return manifest themselves in the band’s next record.
-VN
Who the fuck are those guys ?
the singer was on acid 24.7 he recorded both records vox all fucked up on shit….
I wouldn’t blame them for kicking that hippie out of there band….
Seriously? Fucking kids.
You can’t be on Acid 24/7, you’re tolerance builds up incredibly quickly. Using it 1x a week
is maxing. So stop making shit up.
I think he was using a figure of speech professor. Besides, anyone over the age of 16 that still takes acid is a fucking retard.
He got arrested for indecent exposure and drug charges while on acid at some point in the last year or two… also, the dude was an egocentric pretentious prick, so i don’t blame the rest of them for wanting to get rid of them. In my opinion, he was also the weakest member of the band. Maybe this is good.
um… actually, anyone who takes acid under the age of 18 is a fucking retard. retard.
acid is where it’s at, greatest drug EVER
Who cares?
I suspect that MS make up bands from time to time to test us.
their first record was great, Midheaven blew ass. completely collapsed under the weight of its own pretension. Nathan was a pretty good vocalist, but his lyrics were terrible. I’m curious about the new album though since AJ is helping to write it.
man, i could not agree with you more, horrible lyrics! saw these guys in concert when they were touring the Nocturne. The singer was horrible, he couldn’t produce the same notes/sounds and was greatly disappointing.
totally agree man…First record was awesome, loved these guys, told everyone i knew about them… Then Midheaven came out.. I tried to give it enough listens hoping it would grow on me but to no avail….also i talked to Nathan a couple of times seeing them supporting the firsy album and he was super nice
I have to say I wasn’t much for Nathan’s voice even in the first album. After I heard a bit from their second album I just couldn’t do it. It had the feel of Nathan taking over. The vocal tracks were far too loud and often overpowered the guitars and bass in my opinion.
they were a good band but Nathan definitely made them stick out from the pack, will be mildly interesting to see if a new vocalist will make them more generic or better?
thanks god they booted that guy. Midheaven sucked compared to Nocturne.
I remember last year when these guys opened for Dir en Grey, and I was telling my friends who hadn’t heard of them how good they were. Then they proved me wrong. Fuck this band.
CLEAN VOCALS SUCK IN METAL MUSIC.
…just saying.
What kind of mental disorder do you have?
…just asking.
None, I find it common that vocalists in the metal industry are not actually very talented when it comes to clean vocals (singing). The ones that do sing cleanly are definitely using effects/pitch matching etc.
It is not that it would not be possible for clean vocals to sound good in metal, actually…that too.
Please provide examples of bands you like with clean vocals so I can tell you how your opinions suck.
RONNIE. JAMES. DIO.
three words:
MOTHER. FUCKING. PRIEST
Opeth much?
Warrel Dane is living proof that clean vocals in metal can be fucking awesome.
Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, Fall of Troy, SikTh
Yes, they usually suck but… Woods of Ypres and Agalloch.
Bunch of hipsters, this band.
LOOK AT ME IM USING A BUZZ WORD
Talented band, but I was never too impressed with their singer anyway so maybe this is a chance for them to get a little better.
FIRST POST NO ONE CARES VAN FLIP indeed.
like anyone cares about this sissypants sideways parted emo hairass band
yeah parting your hair is for phagzz real metal heads just walk around blind with hair in their eyes
The vocals are what separate this band from so many other metal bands. I personally love Ells and will be extremely apprehensive in buying their next album.
And Chimp-O-Neg, thats possibly the dumbest response on any story, on any blog I’ve ever. Next time just form a serious statement before piping up with those retarded gems!
Agree completely. When I sing, I fucking practice to these guys!
Why is it that every time somebody on the internet decides to call someone else stupid, they end up making huge, ridiculous typos?
This band will never be the same and in that sense what Im trying to say is that without Nathan Ells THA will suck balls. sad but True
This should be an improvement. Ells’ vocals on Midheaven were just awful. Nocturne was masterful, glad to see A.J. back at work.
Who gives a fuck? Their last album was a piece of shit anyways. Bunch of pussy ass bullshit.
Nocturne truly is a masterpiece.
I interviewed Dean (the other guitarist) a while back and he also said that even with AJ in the band, the Midheaven album would’ve sounded like that.
Also, I’ll be interviewing Nathan shortly here about his being fired. So, there’s that. When I approched him, because he had owed me an interview for quite some time now (long story) his reaction was pretty much like “I’ve got a lot to say and I’m gonna have some free time.” So this will be interesting.
What??? AJ is going to be back with them on the next album?! Hallelujah!
This band wasn’t exactly amazing. I don’t see what the fuss is.