Gel Break Up Over Ex-Guitarist’s ‘Heinous Acts,’ Statement Issued

New Jersey hardcore punk band Gel have called it a career after revealing a disturbing series of “heinous acts” by their former guitarist that the band claims has done “irreparable damage” to the group.

The band had been on an upward trajectory, lining up tours with Spiritbox and Volbeat this year after garnering some attention for their Persona EP last year and their 2023 debut full length, Only Constant. But after playing a final show in Tokyo this week, Gel announced their split on social media.

What Gel Had to Say About Their Split

Within the breakup announcement posted to their Instagram account, the band specifically called out former guitar player Anthony Webster for his actions that contributed to the group’s demise.

CONTENT WARNING: Details below may be triggering.

Among the infractions allegedly committed by Webster were using band funds to pay for rent, food, a number of OnlyFans purchases and mysterious CashApp transactions. They also claim he was the only member of the band to have access to their bank account and other band members had been rebuffed when trying to gain access. While speaking of Webster’s alleged financial infractions, the band claims to have the proof to back up their statement.

READ MORE: 9 Bands That Broke Up Onstage (Or Right After)

Webster was also accused of posting nude images of his fellow band members on Reddit and putting the band in multiple dangerous situations over the years as well.

The full statement from Gel can be read below:

Hey everyone, friends and fans – Gel is no longer a band, and therefore will not be playing any of our currently scheduled upcoming shows. The reason is pretty simple at its core; the former guitar player, Anthony Webster, has committed such heinous acts in trying to forward himself in his musical career that he’s done irreparable damage to the band in the process, and it’s affected us as human beings more than we can even attempt to explain, to the point of being completely unable to do the band anymore. Here are some examples of what he’s done:

He’s stolen tens of thousands of dollars from us, and the best part is that he left it all on record for us to eventually find. He spent it on his own rent, personal food orders, and really whatever else he wanted to, because for a long period of time, no one had access to the bank account (or any accounts for that matter) but him, despite numerous attempts to gain access, because you know, we’re a band, and we should have all had access to those things. Oh yeah, he also spent it on a truly unbelievable number of OnlyFans purchases and mysterious CashApp transactions, likely in the same lane.

He posted nude images of band members on Reddit for the world to see. Yup, just casually, for who knows what purpose. Let that one really sink in. He did that all while still in a band with us too, by the way. Luckily, he’s truly terrible at covering up his tracks, so we have the receipts to prove that one too.

He put us in physically dangerous situations numerous times. From talking shit on the band Twitter and getting our van window smashed in with a baseball bat, to regularly driving erratically like a psychopath because he was “upset” for again, who knows what reason (oh yeah….he wouldn’t let anyone else drive either by the way, so we just had to deal with it), and throwing things at us because he’s a little fucking baby and can’t handle himself like an adult, it was always the same with him. Absolute misery and inconsideration for anyone and everyone around him (well, except for the people who he wanted to impress and would feign being a nice quy to…LOL).

Now, I’m sure a lot of people are thinking, well why didn’t you just stop dealing with it? Why didn’t you just leave? If you’ve ever been in abusive relationship, emotionally and / or physically, you’ll probably understand this better. It’s like that, but with your life’s work and passion at the forefront as well. It’s not so easy to just give something up that you care so much about, especially with pressures from outside organizations, people, etc that are all counting on you in some way. We wish that this could have all been easier, and we wish that it didn’t have to end this way – we’re fighters though, and we saw it through to the very end, until it simply couldn’t go on anymore. And we’re proud of that.

On that note, we’d like to send our most sincere and deepest apologies to anyone who this is affecting on a personal level and beyond. We know so many people were counting on us, including Spiritbox, Volbeat, our good friends in Anxious – we are so sorry that we have to end it this way and we truly hope for the best for all of you. Thank you so much to the friends we’ve made over the years, and thank you so much to our fans for always being there for us and showing us how much you care. Take care of each other, and love your friends.

Love,

GEL

Gel’s Brief Career

Gel initially formed in New Jersey in 2018 as a side project of the band Sick Shit. Over the course of their career, they released one full-length album (Only Constant) along with a trio of EPs (self-titled, Violent Closure and Persona), a demo and one split-mini album (Shock Therapy with Cold Brats).

The group consisted of vocalist Sami Kaiser, bassist Matthew Bobko, guitarist Madison Nave and drummer Alex Salter. Webster had been a guitarist with the band since 2018, but the group went their separate ways with the musician in 2024. Drummer Zach Miller had also been a member of the band between 2018 and 2023.

As stated, the band was just starting to garner some traction with their five-song EP Persona released in August of 2024 through their new label Blue Grape Music. The band members have not revealed their next steps after making the decision to break up.