FROSTTIDE parts ways with Joni Snoro and Lauri Myllylä

Sad news - mainly when I know that you are many readers to enjoy this band.

FROSTTIDE announced that Joni Snoro and Lauri Myllylä are in the band no more :

We are saddened to inform that due to personal differences and motivation problems. FROSTTIDE has decided to part ways Joni Snoro and Lauri Myllylä. The band will continue working as a 3-piece on the follower of Blood Oath which will see the light somewhere next year. We thank Joni and Lauri for their time in Frosttide and wish them the best in their musical career with their new project. 

This situation does not affect the album making process neither the sound of the band. The only difference will be the vocals that will be done from now on by Juho Patinen.
Our show in Bäkkäri, Helsinki on 10.12.2016 will remain as planned. Guitars and bass stations will be covered by two session musicians which will be announced next month.
We thank you for your understanding. 

-Frosttide

Joni Snoro shared that statement then :

You might have seen the statement in Frosttide's Facebook page saying that me and Lauri are no longer in the band. Boys didn't wait for any of our words to the statement so I wrote my own. There wasn't any face to face meeting about this, no phone conversations and not even a chat together here in Facebook. 

Lauri and I got a notification that we were kicked out from this Facebook page and after that we realised the passwords for all social media accounts were changed behind our backs. After that we got one message from Joonas, Juho and Felipe in Facebook in English saying that we are out of the band. One day after that we also got a letter where it was stated that we were kicked out of the Frosttide co. 

How boys dealt with this was totally unacceptable, cowardly and it didn't show any respect to us. Surprise, surprise this ended our friendship and we're not going to be in touch with them after this.

I created Frosttide in 2009 and during these 7 years Frosttide released 2 EP's, 2 full length albums and had the chance to play shows in 10 different countries. During the time I met hundreds of great people, created life-long new friendships and got lots of great memories. So I want to thank all those people and especially all the fans who have been sharing this ride with me. Thank you! 

Believe it or not – every cloud has a silver lining! My story won't end here. I created a new band and we will continue with it together with Lauri from now on.

We will announce the band name, logo, members etc. when the time is right but already I can tell that song composing is on and the material will blow your mind. Stay tuned and follow our personal profiles so that when the time is right for a new coming, you will see the news!

And then, Juho, Joonas & Felipe from the band shared the following long message :

By now you may have seen Joni's response to the band's separation. We realize that the news regarding Frosttide's split with Joni and Lauri comes as a shock to many of you. Our desire was to inform everyone without casting any blame or hurting anyone's feelings. Sometimes things just do not work out between band members. However, at this point, we feel as though it is only fair to the fans to give our reasons for the split. Firstly, the members of Frosttide are not all located in the same city, so these Facebook messenger conversations have always been a convient way for us to discuss band-related matters immediately, when it can be impractical to meet in person.

Every band has a face. Yet this does not reflect the reality of the band itself. A band is a unit where every member's input is necessary to keep it alive one way or the other. During the last 3,5 years this has not been the case. Everybody (Except the ones who have a close interaction with the band) thinks that Joni Snoro has been the mastermind behind Frosttide, which in reality, is not the truth. Frosttide was formed by Joni together with Juho and Joonas. Making our first 2 full lengths, arranging and preparing for the tours were not an easy task. Every band member needs to put effort to get the best outcome from these since "we all have the same goal". When a member gets caught up in his own world and holds other matters more important than the wellbeing of the rest of the band, there is a problem... It is difficult to talk about someone you appreciated as a friend this way but this is the only way to tell the truth... 

This has been the case with Joni... Unfortunately his statement is not honest and does not tell things as they are. There was plenty of messages and discussion before coming to this decision (even yesterday we discussed about the statement). Joni sent a message on Tuesday 25.10.2016. telling that he and Lauri were not happy with Frosttide and suggested the idea to put the band on ice or end the saga of Frosttide after the coming show in Bäkkäri, Helsinki. He asked our opinion with the aim of releasing the final statement this week. This came as a shock to us as he said that he wants to focus on his new project that he has made together with Lauri, which is ready to go. We, of course disagreed with the idea as we have been already rehearsing material for the new album since spring this year. When they asked our opinion, we stated clearly that ending

Frosttide is out of question and we will continue as a 3-piece if needed. That we won't give up Frosttide and that want to continue making music. Yet, we have to acknowledge that the way how we tried to keep our social media channels from Joni after this discussion were not proper and we apologize for that. 

Since it was clear that he and Lauri were not interested in continuing with Frosttide, it seemed only logical for us to part ways. The three of us discussed the situation and decided that, given the circumstances, we would like to keep the existing Frosttide together, and let the other two go so that they would be free to work on their own project, while we could keep Frosttide alive. 

This decision was unavoidable as well due to other disagreements... His participation and input when making the two records was minimal. Not participating fully in the composition process, not attending the mixing sessions, leaving the correction of his lyrics to us 3, among other things (read the album credits in the booklet), he was not committed to rehearsals. For him was more important to focus on his personal leisure activities meanwhile the rest of the band was stuck in the rehearsal place/studio working. That is just not right. 

Similar problems have occurred while touring. It is your duty and responsibility as a musician to be able to make these show happen. Joni did not take care of his health even when the band requested him to do so. Still it seemed for him that partying while being sick was more important which particularly ended with him losing his voice in the middle of the tour, which resulted in weak performances and even in the close cancellation of the last two remaining dates of the Paganfest tour where Juho Patinen had to step in and take care of the vocals to make these shows happen. It is not fair for the fans, neither for the band... 

Joni has provided a lot of positive things to the band and has been a huge part of it, no doubt about that. By the use of social media and contacts, he managed to obtain sponsor deals and arrange shows together with promoters. We wouldn’t be here without him, that’s for sure. But could have been this possible without the hard work from the rest of the band to make the music happen? Does this entitle him to behave the way he has done towards the other band members? Surely not. 

During these years we had several meetings in order to fix things up and keep the band with the same line up. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. Still we all have changed in order grow stronger as band. Each of us learnt to give up from our ideas and be more open minded, encouraging the other band members to contribute with their vision. Yet despite all the conversations, the situation with Joni became worse till the point, that he suggested ending Frosttide after our show in Bäkkäri, Helsinki so he can start his new project together with Lauri that have been on the works for few months already. 

Juho, Felipe and Joonas have always been working hard to make these albums happen and always took care of upgrading the band's gear in order to get a better sound quality during the shows. We have put so much effort into this band to go forward that it’s heartbreaking to see that because two members do not feel comfortable decide to end it all instead of finding a solution. We have the fire burning inside and we want to continue working with our 3rd album. We still want to share our music with you! 

For respect to our history together, we didn't want to divide fans and start placing blame. However, we also cannot accept the lies have been spread regarding the circumstances. It is a fact that Joni and Lauri were not holding their weight in the band and it was clear by Joni's desire to disband that he was not interested in being a part of Frosttide anymore.

We are sorry that the situation has devolved this way and we hope that the fans will respect everyone's decisions here and understand that there are two sides to every story. Thank you for your support over the years, and we hope that you'll give both bands a chance in the future! We are sorry for the people disappointed by this situation and thank you for your understanding. 

Juho, Joonas & Felipe

UPDATE from November 1st, 2016 : Joni Snoro replied that long message from the band :

We have yet to see how low and nasty means you are willing to use to make me look like the quilty party. You know how you forced me and Lauri out of Frosttide. The story is in my statement and you know how easy it is for us to stand behind it.  

But now you have crossed the line. The case starts to develop traits of a legal matter. You went to tell stories about my personal features and deeds. A public defamation is a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual person. A public defamation is a crime.  

I admit that I have made mistakes in Frosttide but we have talked those things through - some of them many times - a long time ago. Any way, you decided to – yet again, like you always do when the situation calls for it – use my misdemeanors against me telling your view of the events and leaving out important details. Also worth mentioning is that while I was sketching my raport, it did not cross my mind, EVEN ONCE, to reveal any of your mistakes prior to the latest. How would have it felt if I told to all my followers – many of whom are avid Frosttide fans – about the mistakes of yours. 

Did my statement really make you so insecure that you are willing to act against criminal law? Do you think that I should make a move in your filthy game and unveil all the wrongdoings of individuals? No. This is not the right way of solving conflicts. How you treated me and Lauri is something people need to know about; how you make me look like a tippling, responsibility-avoiding, in every way worthless human, isn't.
From my side too, no futher comment will be made. I wish you all the best in your musical aspirations!

As I told to FROSTTIDE and Joni Snoro, 

SWORD CHANT is neutral to their situation and so, has none opinion on that matter.

And as I told to Joni Snoro, this only update here is the last one about that case. I won't share more.
This website is NOT to be used for bands conflicts. I shared their messages as band and artist news only.

Then people will judge as they want.