108 Vocalist Robert Fish has officially announced his departure from hardcore act 108. Their new album “18.61” will still be released April 13 through Deathwish Inc. and as of right now there will not be any final shows or shows in support of the new album.

Robert Fish released the following statement:

“Aside from the practical side of being in a band with members spread throughout different continents I have found myself struggling to find my place within 108 due to the personal evolution I have gone through. I still find myself, at my core, aligned to the spirit of 108 but I am no longer comfortable with what 108 represents to most people and how that aligns to who I am. Over the years I have tried my best to disregard that aspect of being in 108 but I am tired of answering the questions about it and, more importantly, wrestling with how I address it personally without misrepresenting the rest of the band. We are a band with meaning but not a band defined by a meaning. What does that mean exactly?“

Throw out what you think 108’s purpose is/was because there was no specific purpose other than to explore who we are and how we relate to the world around us. That was it; plain and simple.In the beginning we all held a common interest in Gaudiya Vaisnavism (i.e. Hare Krsna) but even then it wasn’t about being a Hare Krishna rather it was about the personal journey to navigate through all we experience as individuals in a world we can barely understand. People never got that which is understandable as sometimes I think it became blurry to us. When we got back together in 2006 we wanted to focus on who we are today and start redefining how people understood 108. In my eyes it never really happened and it has been a constant source of frustration for me. Here is what I know:

While I adore the lila of Radha and Krishna and find their love for one another to be very inspirational the fact is I am not a Hare Krishna. I do not believe in God and even the question itself seems unimportant, and at times ridiculous, to me. At one point in my life I needed a sense of something greater to keep myself together and the concept of karma gave me a sense of sanity and hope I needed to stay alive. I have have lost interest in even the questions what to speak of the multitude of answers offered by others. I don’t claimed to have “truth” at my beckon call and to be perfectly honest it has never interested me. I am what I am and who I am and will embrace that which brings me hope and happiness and leave the rest for others to wrestle with and debate over. 108 will always be tied to Hare Krishna and I just don’t have the energy to swimagainst that current anymore.

108 has been a critical part of my life and helped me navigate many personal traumas and crises. Triv and Vic are two of the most honest, sincere and heartfelt people I have ever had the honor of knowing and creating music with. They are two of my best friends and I hope to always have them as a part of my life. We wrote some songs that will always be at the core of my being and for that I am grateful. Many other people played a role in what 108 was and all that we created and to those people I will always be grateful. It is just time. In my heart I hope that in the near future we have the opportunity to play those songs again, at least one last time, and honor what the band and the songs have meant to us. Only time will tell if that happens. If it does great, if not I will have many amazing memories.

Thank you for caring.

With love…
Robert Fish

Direct Expression. Bypass mind. Bypass intellect. Self to Sound. Against the dead trend. The robot me. The modern social entity stripped of color and vibrancy. Not philosophy. Not religion. True self expressed in sound.”