Following bassist Jim Riley being ousted from the band for his past use of a racial epithet, metalcore rockers The Ghost Inside have now said they believe the decision was made in haste and was “the wrong call”.

Back in June, The Ghost Inside parted ways with Riley after Bracewar drummer Rashod Jackson called out the bassist for reportedly calling a bus driver the N-word in 2015. However, the LA-based band have now said they regret acting on pressure from “fans, people on social media and even some peers.”

“We were just feeling the pressure from fans, people on social media and even some peers,” The Ghost Inside drummer Andrew Tkaczyk told the Defiance Podcast (via Lambgoat).

“We felt the pressure and we made a decision against the wishes of our management and label and as soon as we made that initial post about Jim not being in the band anymore… I think we all just saw something going on that was like a lose/lose and we just felt like that was the call to make at the time, and immediately felt bad and felt wrong.”

“We knew that. We never stopped talking to Jim or anything. We literally have chatted every day since.”

Guitarist Chris Davis added: “It felt that incident was going to take away the band again. It just felt so overwhelming that it’s like we have to… all five of us felt like we had to do something. Looking back now, we definitely acted hastily and definitely made the wrong call.”

Riley also commented, saying that he would “gladly step away from the band if that was going to be what it took for The Ghost Inside to move forward.”

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He added: “In the moment, it did definitely feel like that was the only decision that could be made. If it felt like there was some other way to navigate this, we would have done that instead. It just didn’t feel that way.”

At the time of the drama hitting its peak, Riley issued an apology to Jackson, though the muso refused to accept his statement.

Riley said: “Rashod called me out in 2015. I called him, he put the screws to me. I deserved it, and I apologised to him. He told me that wasn’t good enough and he was right. It’s shameful and fucking embarrassing. I present myself as someone who gives a shit about progressive movements and ideas, and I was not living up to that.”

“Because of that conversation I had to take a big fucking look in the mirror and recognise a lot of bullshit that I was selling myself. I made too many excuses for being brought up without exposure to the black experience, and I should have been better,” he continued.

He continued, “I make a conscious effort to purge stuff about myself that still sucks when I find it and to be mindful that I’m just a passenger on someone else’s ship in any movement related to black lives. I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough. I’m going to keep doing the work. That might still not be enough. I’m going to do it anyway.”

Check out ‘Engine 45’ by The Ghost Inside:

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