Chris Beattie Reflects on Split with HATEBREED: “There Are Attorneys Involved Now”

Former Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie has opened up about his departure from the band, offering his most detailed comments to date since being dismissed in November 2024. While the band announced his exit earlier this year—bringing in Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall) as a live replacement—Beattie is now shedding more light on the situation in a new appearance on ‘The New York Hardcore Chronicles Live!’

A co-founding member of the long-running Connecticut metalcore outfit, Beattie initially addressed his departure in February, stating it was “not my decision” but declined to share further details at the time. Now, he’s ready to speak a bit more candidly. He said:

“It was completely unexpected, we had just celebrated 30 years. It was awesome. Successful tour. Left on a high note. We did great stuff. And like I said before publicly, it was not my decision to leave the band. Someone saw an opportunity to get me out of the picture, and that’s where I am now.”

Expanding on the behind-the-scenes issues, he added:

“Everything went really well that year, but there was stuff going on behind the scenes, and it became a chore to get in touch with anyone. I was the middle man between band members and crew, and it became a chore for me. I started asking a lot of questions, and it became problematic. I became a problem within the organization.”

When asked about his current relationship with Hatebreed, Beattie admitted things are complicated:

“We’re trying to work it out. There’s attorneys involved now. They’re spending a lot of time having to deal with that and all the details of that. And I’ve gone back and forth. Obviously, when something like that happens, you’re upset. You go through all these crazy emotions. You put 30 years into something like that. But I don’t wanna shit on the legacy of what I did. And I could be that guy. I could come out here and I could talk all kinds of shit, but I don’t want to… I don’t wanna be that guy. We made good music. We had great times together. Things changed. Dynamics changed.”

He continued, reflecting on his motivation through the years:

“It’s hard to be away from your family when you’re touring. Everyone understands that. But the feedback from people—when you play, when you inspire them, when you touch their life—it keeps you going. That’s the realest shit you could possibly get. People would come up to us and say, ‘Man, I was ready to kill myself, and your music changed me.’ How do you respond to that? It’s real deep shit.”

Despite his hope for an amicable resolution, Beattie made it clear that he will not be returning to the band:

“My time is done with Hatebreed… It’s done. My family comes first. I’ll leave it at that. I can’t go back to that. But there is a legacy. Even now, being out of the band, people recognize me from it everywhere. You can’t shake that. The identity is still there. So it’s good. It’s hard to talk about, but here we are. New doors open.”

Among those new doors is a new band in the works, sparked by a call from Scott Vogel (Terror):

“Scott hits me up one day, and he’s, like, ‘Let’s do a band.’ I’m, like, ‘Are you fucking serious?’ I wasn’t even looking for anything. All this shit had just happened. And he’s, like, ‘Yeah, you get Sean Martin,’ and he’s gonna get Jamie Pushbutton, the drummer who played on ‘Satisfaction [Is The Death Of Desire]’. And I’m, like, ‘Get the fuck outta here.’”

Beattie confirmed that the project is moving forward, saying:

“I go to Sean Martin’s house every Friday. We’re working on music. It’s crazy, man. The door opened. It would’ve never been there. I can’t wait to jam with these dudes. It’s gonna be fucking awesome. I’m thrilled to announce that and to let everybody know.”

In addition, Beattie revealed a second project involving Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis), Anders Löwgren (Akani), and Jorge Rosado (Merauder). According to Beattie, the music is already written and only his bass parts remain to be recorded. He also mentioned the possibility of working with former Hatebreed drummer Dave Russo.

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