36 CRAZYFISTS

Drummer Thomas Noonan has left the the Alaskan metal band 36 CRAZYFISTS due to personal and family matters. He explained in an online post, "I just lost my passion for [playing heavy music] and drumming for that matter. I'm not saying I will never play again, it's just that I'm ready for something different, and more challenging for me that will not take me far away from home to do it. I love what we have built as a band and with friends, but after years and years of dealing with the in and outs of the industry, I'm just over it for now. I'm not a person that can do two things at once, and I feel I want to put everything I have into pencil art. I know that sounds crazy, but it's something I fell in love with and strive every day to excel at. So it was a very hard decision for me to decide between the two for this year, but I choose art. I choose being happy and spending time with my family and not touring."

36 CRAZYFISTS's latest album, "Collisions And Castaways", sold around 3,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 161 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at No. 3 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Collisions And Castaways" was written and recorded between October 2009 and May 2010. It follows on the heels of 2009's DVD, "Underneath a Northern Sky", and is the band's second straight effort to feature Steve Holt in the producer's chair and Andy Sneap handling the final mix.