Suffocation have released an official statement addressing recent claims made by former drummer Eric Morotti, disputing his account and presenting their own perspective on the circumstances surrounding his exit.
Morotti, who spent close to a decade with the band, drew attention on April 10 after posting a series of strongly worded messages on social media, describing his departure as a personal choice influenced by what he called a toxic environment.
In one of those posts, he stated: “Thanks for the birthday wishes. My gift to myself is walking away from a toxic group, and knowing my worth. I’m choosing me from now on, I will be not teaming with addicts anymore. Peace and love, there’s a lot in store for me, keep your eyes peeled!”
He reinforced his stance in another post, explicitly naming the band: “There comes a point in your life where you pick YOU! You must choose to change, evolve, or be stuck in the same routines forever. Today. On my. Birthday. I have chosen to step away from @suffocationofficial to prolong my health, myself. My integrity. I will not work with toxic. Ab*sive dr*g addicts. Let alone allow them to boss me around. I’ve been belittled and stepped all over for too long.”
“That being said. I’ve been having an absolute BLAST with @sanguisugaboggband and have been shown what it’s like to be part of real FAMILY. no egos, no power trips. Just bros that love music and being together. Catch me on tour with them still on the @lambofgod tour around the USA!! I love you all, thank you very much to all my fans for supporting me over the years, keep your eyes open for what’s next!!”
Now, Suffocation have pushed back on those assertions, claiming Morotti’s exit was not by choice but stemmed from scheduling issues.
In their statement, the band explained: “To address Eric Morotti’s false claims made in his social media posts on April 10th and to the news outlets who picked it up, Suffocation would like to take a moment to set the record straight.”
“Last week, the decision was made by Suffocation to part ways with Eric Morotti due to his conflicting schedule with Sanguisugabogg, which affected Suffocation‘s schedule for the year. Eric was notified of his termination on April 8 by email, which is released with this statement. It is unfortunate that Eric decided to falsify claims and take this to a negative place forcing us to make this statement.”
“Regardless, we wish him nothing but the best of luck on his future endeavors.”
Suffocation also released an April 8 email from guitarist Terrance Hobbs, which they say was sent to notify Morotti of his removal from the band: “After a lot of communication with the band and all involved .,,,Eric,suffocation has made the decision to let you go from the band due to scheduling differences and touring obligations…it’s unfortunate as we had a good run last decade!!! So with that being said ,best of luck to you and your music career as well as your up and coming gigs !!!!! If you want you can have wes perhaps come and grab your gear here as i’d like to make space here in the garage before we start our next tours and gigs..”
The differing accounts present a much more complex view of Morotti’s departure. While the drummer portrayed his exit as a personal decision to step away from what he described as a toxic environment, Suffocation insist it was a professional move driven by scheduling conflicts—particularly his obligations to Sanguisugabogg.
Morotti continues to perform with Sanguisugabogg as well as the supergroup Ablation, while Suffocation have already filled the spot for upcoming shows, bringing in John Longstreth of Origin to take over drumming duties live.
