"March marks the end of an era for Deathcrown, while April and our Spring Tour will mark the beginning of a new one," says guitarist Tommy Gunn, speaking exclusively to BraveWords.com 

"Our beloved brother Jake VanderBand has decided to step down as our guitarist. His life priorities are of a nature that leave little to no room for being in a full-time touring band. Deathcrown's March shows are Jake's final live appearances with us, although he will still be featured on our next release. Jake isn't just a band member. He's family and we will miss him in Deathcrown very much. His full-time replacement will be Kent Jung of Occultist (Primitive Ways). 'Jungle', as we affectionately refer to him, has filled in for Jake many times, including on our first tour last fall. We've already begun writing songs with him, and Jake is proud to have him as a replacement."

"In addition to welcoming Jungle to the band, we'd also like to officially welcome Robley Ball as our permanent drummer, and successor to Ryan Parrish (Iron Reagan, Mammoth Grinder). Following the writing and recording of the Living Hell EP we were forced to bring Robley in to play drums for us live. Ryan was just too busy with Iron Reagan and other projects. It should be noted that Robley is already the only drummer who's ever performed live with Deathcrown. He's also been involved in writing the new material for several months now, and is a huge asset to us as a band. Please join us in saying farewell to our brothers Jake and Ryan, while officially welcoming Kent and Robley into the fray. We have so much to look forward to this year. Lots of touring and recording ahead. We are all very excited about 2017, and we look forward to seeing so many of you before the year is out."

Catch Deathcrown live in concert:

April
7 - Roanoke, VA - The Coffee Pot
8 - Asheville, NC - The Odditorium
9 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern
10 - Augusta, GA - Soul Bar
11 - Gainesville, FL - Atlantic Nightspot
12 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
14 - New Orleans, LA - TBA
15 - Memphis, TN - High Cotton Brewery
16 - Dallas, TX - TBA
17 - Tulsa, OK - The Sound Pony
18 - Omaha, NE - Dr. Jack’s Drinkery
19 - De Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews
20 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
21 - Chicago, IL - The Fallout
22 - Lafayette, IN - The Doom Room
23 - Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class
24 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
25 - Pittsburgh, PA - TBA
26 - Baltimore, MD - Sidebar
27 - Harrisonburg, VA - TBA
28 - Charlotte, NC - The Milestone
29 - Raleigh, NC - The Maywood

Deathcrown is scheduled to return to The Ward Studios in Richmond, VA in May of this year. They plan to record new material for an upcoming split and very likely another EP. Guitarist Tommy Gunn will once again handle production duties, as well as helm the recording and the mix. The band plans to have at least one new release out before Fall 2017, when they intend to spend several weeks on the road for a full US tour.