Yeah, I have spoken to Manny a couple times.
Always seemed like a good guy.
My knee jerk reaction to all this is this:
If you join a band who has a long history like Pagan Altar, you ARE going to be a hired gun. You will be asked to do things that may differ with how you operate previously in different bands (IE - asked to make eye contact with the drummer, etc). Also, Manny seemed to slam Terry for not supporting metal and paying to get into pre-shows for festivals they play. You know what? Terry from Pagan Altar doesn't give a rat's ass about the current metal scene. Most members of long running bands don't. They don't all keep up with the current scene. Many don't know of new bands nor care to pay to see them or buy their CDs. Its really cool that Manny does want to support metal and the current scene, but to slam Terry and the others for "getting in free" seems a bit off mark. Just my opinion. Things dont work out with newer members in long running bands ALL the time. An opportunity to play with a band like PAGAN ALTAR doesn't come along everyday. Quite frankly, considering he hasn't appeared on any recording with them yet (we'll see if they ever release the new one now), its not like his departure even had to be announced. He should have been still more appreciative of the opportunity. If it didn't work out for him or didn't like the way they operate, and he wanted to leave, then more power to them! He made it more personal than it needed to be. Sure, it didn't help that Terry got extremely defensive and resorted to personal slams as well.
Yet other reasons why I never want to meet members of bands I have been a fan of for many years. It would kill me to be sitting around with Lemmy and hear him say, "Yeah, that Mikee Dee is a real wanker. He's a crappy drummer, but we needed someone who didn't look as old as me, and was a name" Granted, I don't think someone like Lemmy would say that, but you get the point.
