(antiMusic) The Offspring have officially parted ways with drummer Atom Willard. The veteran OC punks have recruited former Alkaline Trio, Face To Face, Saves the Day member Pete Parada to take his place, according to a post on their official website. Pete Parada will make his debut with the band when they hit Japan for the Summer Sonic festival on August 11, 12 and 14th. The news of the lineup change comes after a false start earlier this year when it was widely reported that Atom had left the group, only to be contradicted with reports that he was still very much a part the Offspring. There will be life after the Offspring for Atom as he'll reportedly focus all of his energy on his other band, Angels and Airwaves. But remains a friend of the band, according to their website.
Neither Parada or Willard will appear on the forthcoming Offspring album. According to their website Josh Freese (NIN, Vandals, Devo) has recorded all the drum tracks for the new record and they "are continuing to put the finishing touches on a new album, no release date yet."
The band once got into a tangle with Axl Rose after jokingly announcing an album title of Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze You Lose), a tongue in cheek reference to the Axl Rose led Guns N' Roses album that has been under development for over a decade now. Ironically, the Offspring are also taking their sweet time on this new album.
