The former Morbid Angel bandmates have ended their revived working relationship, with Sandoval saying professional differences had caused them to clash repeatedly.
Pete Sandoval has left I Am Morbid and says Terrorizer will continue without David Vincent, bringing the former Morbid Angel bandmates’ revived working relationship to an abrupt end.
Sandoval announced his departure from I Am Morbid on Wednesday, confirming he will not take part in the band’s forthcoming European tour.
The drummer initially said he had stopped feeling the same connection to the material I Am Morbid performs, which centres on Morbid Angel’s first four albums: Altars of Madness, Blessed Are the Sick, Covenant and Domination.
Sandoval played on all four records, but remained with Morbid Angel beyond Domination and said a significant part of his musical history was not represented through I Am Morbid.
“I feel that I’ve given the fans everything I could through I Am Morbid over these past years, and now I need to take a break from this chapter and move forward,” Sandoval wrote on Instagram via @pete_commandosandoval.
Sandoval later clarified that his departure from the upcoming tour was not entirely straightforward.
He said he had already told the band before his previous tour that he expected it to be his last and needed a break. After becoming seriously ill with the flu during that run, he returned home focused on recovering.
Messages from European fans eventually led him to reconsider.
Sandoval said he planned to begin rehearsing again and assess whether he could perform at the level he expected of himself before approaching the band about returning for the tour.
Before that happened, however, Sandoval said he was informed that “another drummer had already been hired”.
I Am Morbid have not publicly announced Sandoval’s replacement.
Terrorizer will continue after David Vincent split
Several hours after confirming his I Am Morbid departure, Sandoval issued another statement addressing Terrorizer and his working relationship with Vincent.
“Terrorizer will continue, with some changes,” Sandoval wrote in a separate Instagram post.
He said he did not yet want to discuss the band’s full plans, but confirmed that he no longer believed he and Vincent could continue working together professionally.
According to Sandoval, differences in their personalities and approaches to working had caused them to clash repeatedly.
He was equally clear that he does not consider the split personal, stressing there was “no hate, no hard feelings” and wishing Vincent well.
The development ends a renewed partnership between two musicians whose history stretches back to the earliest years of Morbid Angel and Terrorizer.
Vincent played bass on Terrorizer’s 1989 debut World Downfall, while he and Sandoval also performed together through Morbid Angel’s classic early period.
The pair returned to the stage together with I Am Morbid in 2022, marking their first performances together in 12 years.
Vincent later became part of Terrorizer’s reactivated touring line-up, which returned to the stage in 2024. Those shows marked the first time he had toured with the band despite appearing on World Downfall decades earlier.
The latest change also leaves questions around Terrorizer’s next phase.
Vincent said in November 2025 that Terrorizer already had new material in development, although no release has been formally announced.
Earache Records’ Al Dawson told BLUNT that Terrorizer is not signed to the label for new recordings and that Earache’s involvement with the band is limited to World Downfall. He also confirmed the new material Vincent discussed is not intended for release through Earache.
It remains unclear whether Vincent contributed to that material, whether it is still intended for release elsewhere or who will take his place in Terrorizer.
The band had already undergone another line-up change in July when vocalist Brian Werner announced his departure, citing commitments to his business.
Sandoval has offered no further details on Terrorizer’s revised line-up, saying he will reveal more “when the time is right”.
For now, one thing is settled: the split extends beyond I Am Morbid. After four years back onstage together, Sandoval and Vincent are once again heading down separate professional paths.
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