Kat Katz, vocalist of Salome, has decided to leave the band. “I’m no longer in Salome because of personal conflicts within the band,” she said in a statement on Facebook. “I wish them well if hey decide to continue on, and I hope they’re successful with all their projects. I’m continiung with Agoraphobic Nosebleed and will hopefully be forming another project in the future. Thanks for everyone’s support over the years. I greatly appreciate it.”

This is a huge setback for Salome. Not to take away from the other guys in the band (Aaron Deal and Rob Moore), but Katz, who had been with the band since their formation in 2006, made the band. We first became aware of them at the inaugural Scion Rock Fest in 2009. On first glance, the petite, unassuming blonde appeared more likely to be performing poetry at a coffee shop, but once she opened her mouth, her guttural vocals perfectly complemented the sludgy doom the band backed up. The band’s most recent album, Terminal, topped a lot of best-of lists last year, and it sucks that it’s their last work with Katz. We hope she winds up in another project aside from Agoraphobic, and wish the rest of Salome well.