ALL THAT REMAINS Singer Says New Guitarist JASON RICHARDSON Is 'His Own Man, With His Own Style'

ALL THAT REMAINS singer Phil Labonte says that he is “extremely happy” about guitarist Jason Richardson‘s addition to the band.

Richardson joined ALL THAT REMAINS as the replacement for Oliver “Oli” Herbert, who passed away in October.

Last night, Labonte — who co-founded ALL THAT REMAINS with Herbert in 1998 — took to his Instagram account to praise his newest bandmate. He wrote: “Jason is a full member of ALL THAT REMAINS and we couldn’t be happier.

“When Oli passed away, once the shock and denial had subsided, I was scared. Like, ‘Who can do what Oli did? How do you fill his shoes? What is going to happen to ALL THAT REMAINS?’ And then we saw Jason put up a video tribute to Oli where he played the solo to ‘Chiron’. Of course he nailed it. We had toured with him when he was in BORN OF OSIRIS and Oli said more than one time, ‘Jason is the best guitarist I’ve ever seen.’ Now, when Oli Herbert says something like that, you sit up and pay fucking attention. So when he said he would fill in, it gave us a second to take a breath and mourn our friend and bandmate.

“When Jason came out and we hung out for a bit, the guys and I were, like, ‘This dude fits right in.’ He’s funny as hell, gets all our inside jokes, and is a monster on guitar. So, naturally, the conversation started about what he’s got going on.

“I said this to Jason and I’ll say it here. ALL THAT REMAINS is 100% supportive of Jason‘s solo career. He has a solo record he is doing right now and we are committed to helping in any way we can to make sure it is completed and you guys can hear it as soon as he is ready to release it. That being said, we are also super excited that he has joined us and we can’t wait to write an ALL THAT REMAINS record with him. I’m sure it will be a little different without Oli, but we’re ALL THAT REMAINS, so you guys are used to ‘something different’ from us.

“No one can ever replace Oli Herbert. He was my friend and bandmate for just shy of two decades. We didn’t want to replace him. We want you to remember Oli and what he did for ALL THAT REMAINS and the metal community as a whole. Because of that, we wanted someone who wasn’t going to try to be Oli. We felt it would be a disservice to his legacy. Jason is his own man, with his own style, and he is every bit the kind of guy we were looking for to play lead guitar after Oli passed. We are extremely happy to welcome him into ALL THAT REMAINS.”

Oli was found dead on October 16, 2018 at the edge of the pond on his Stafford Springs, Connecticut property. He was reported missing by his wife about 3 p.m., and his body was found by police face down at the edge of the pond where the water was only a few inches deep.

The Connecticut State Police Eastern District Crime Squad is investigating Herbert‘s death, which is being treated as suspicious. They are looking at his 11-page will — which was signed only a week before his passing — as well as a life insurance policy mentioned in the will.

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So there was a little confusion about Jason Richardson due to the natural delay time between when an interview takes place and it’s publication. So just to make sure it’s clear, Jason is a full member of All That Remains and we couldn’t be happier. When Oli passed away, once the shock and denial had subsided, I was scared. Like, “who can do what Oli did? How do you fill his shoes? What is going to happen to All That Remains?” And then we saw Jason put up a video tribute to Oli where he played the solo to Chiron. Of course he nailed it. We had toured with him when he was in Born Of Osiris and Oli said more than one time “Jason is the best guitarists I’ve ever seen.” Now, when Oli Herbert says something like that you sit up n pay fucking attention. So when he said he would fill in it gave us a second to take a breath and mourn our friend and band mate. When Jason came out n we hung out for a bit the guys n I were like “this dude fits right in.” He’s funny as hell, gets all our inside jokes, and is a monster on guitar. So naturally the conversation started about what he’s got going on. I said this to Jason and I’ll say it here. All That Remains is 100% supportive of Jason’s solo career. He has a solo record he is doing right now and we are committed to helping in any way we can to make sure it is completed and you guys can hear it as soon as he is ready to release it. That being said, we are also super excited that he has joined us and we can’t wait to write an All That Remains record with him. I’m sure it will be a little different without Oli, but we’re All That Remains, so you guys are used to “something different” from us. No one can ever replace Oli Herbert. He was my friend and bandmate for just shy of two decades. We didn’t want to replace him, we want you to remember Oli and what he did for All That Remains and the Metal community as a whole. Because of that we wanted someone who wasn’t going to try to be Oli. We felt It would be a disservice to his legacy. Jason is his own man, with his own style, and he is every bit the kind of guy we were looking for to play lead guitar after Oli passed. We are extremely happy to welcome him into All That Remains.

A post shared by Philip Labonte (@philthatremains) on Feb 5, 2019 at 10:13pm PST