I Built The Sky's Rohan Stevenson Joins Sunk Loto

Melbourne progressive metal guitarist Rohan Stevenson (aka I Built The Sky) is officially a full-time member of Sunk Loto, replacing former guitarist Luke McDonald.

Making the announcement yesterday (4 September), Sunk Loto revealed that they’ve already written two songs with Stevenson, with the first of the two coming in the coming weeks. Stevenson will also join the band for their upcoming Between Birth & Death 20th anniversary tour this October and November.

“We are very happy to share the news that our friend Rohan Stevenson of I Built The Sky has joined Sunk Loto as full-time guitarist,” the band wrote on Facebook yesterday.

“We are really excited for this new phase with Ro and together have already written 2 songs, the first of which is set to be released in the coming weeks. Ro’s experience behind the guitar is renowned worldwide, and we are confident our next chapter is going to be something very special.”

The Melbourne post-hardcore outfit thanked their fans for their unwavering support in the last few weeks. They added, “We are sincerely grateful to you all, and we are stoked to be moving forward with newfound energy and excitement for the future of Sunk Loto”.

In late August, founding Sunk Loto guitarist Luke McDonald said he’d been “fired by the band through an email”. His (former) bandmates then confirmed the news. However, they claimed the blame lay squarely on McDonald.

According to the band, they found themselves “in a very volatile situation where we had to make one of two choices”, being to either “allow the band to break up again for the exact same reasons as we did 16 years ago” or “stand up against abusive and controlling behaviour and move on with a new member”. 

Sunk Loto will play Between Birth & Death in its entirety at Adelaide’s Froth & Fury festival after summoning anything but 5 Years Of Silence at Freo Social in Fremantle on Friday, 20 October.

The band then heads to The Tivoli in Brisbane on Saturday, 4 November, the Metro Theatre in Sydney on Friday, 10 November, and ends the tour at Melbourne’s Max Watt’s on Friday, 17 November. Sunk Loto will be joined by special guests Ocean Sleeper, Red Bee and Amberdown.

You can find tickets to the upcoming shows here.

Sunk Loto reunited after a 15-year hiatus in May 2022.

SUNK LOTO

BETWEEN BIRTH & DEATH 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR

TOUR DATES:

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER - FREO SOCIAL, FREMANTLE

SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER - THE TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE

FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER - THE METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY

FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER - MAX WATTS, MELBOURNE

SATURDAY 18 NOVEMBER – FROTH & FURY FEST, ADELAIDE (Tickets here)