{"id":618930,"date":"2026-03-03T11:15:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/?p=618930"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:33:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:33:32","slug":"vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations","title":{"rendered":"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>South African deathcore outfit <strong>Vulvodynia<\/strong> have officially parted ways with their recently appointed vocalist <strong>Zion Bittenbender<\/strong>. <strong>Bittenbender<\/strong> joined the band in the fall of last year, but days after his appointment, allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against him resurfaced online. While <strong>Bittenbender<\/strong> denied the claims, he stepped down in November to address the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a period of silence, <strong>Vulvodynia<\/strong> had also withdrawn from <strong>Defeated Sanity&#039;<\/strong>s spring North American tour, sparking speculation about further lineup instability. The band confirmed the separation in a statement issued March 3: &#034;We would like to apologize for the delay in addressing this situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#034;We took time to step back and carefully consider the appropriate course of action. After serious internal discussion, we have decided to part ways with <strong>Zion<\/strong>. We will also no longer be participating in the upcoming US tour with <strong>Defeated Sanity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#034;We take allegations of sexual misconduct extremely seriously. Our priority is maintaining an environment that reflects our values and respects our fans, peers, and the wider community. After careful consideration of the circumstances, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the band moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#034;We also acknowledge that aspects of how this was initially handled were not managed in the way they should have been, and we sincerely apologize. We will now begin the process of finding a new vocalist. Details regarding auditions will be shared soon. In the meantime, <strong>Lwandile<\/strong> will be handling vocal duties for our remaining shows this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#034;We appreciate the patience of our fans and remain committed to moving forward with focus and integrity.&#034;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bittenbender<\/strong> had been slated to take over the role permanently after guitarist <strong>Lwandile Prusent<\/strong> temporarily filled in following the firing of previous vocalist <strong>Duncan Bentley<\/strong> in 2023, which <a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodyina-fires-vocalist-after-he-allegedly-tried-to-kill-their-drummer\" type=\"post\" id=\"356339\">came after a violent altercation with another band member<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African deathcore band confirm lineup change, prioritize community values, and announce interim vocal arrangements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3242,"featured_media":600061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mo_disable_npp":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"18862,65058,2128,83580,205071,36947","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1313],"tags":[9546,100206],"class_list":["post-618930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breakups","tag-vulvodynia","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations - Metal Injection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South African deathcore band confirm lineup change, prioritize community values, and announce interim vocal arrangements.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Kennelty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Kennelty\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80\"},\"headline\":\"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-03T16:15:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-03T17:33:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\"},\"wordCount\":309,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Vulvodynia\",\"featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Breakups &amp; Shakeups\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\",\"name\":\"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations - Metal Injection\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-03T16:15:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-03T17:33:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80\"},\"description\":\"South African deathcore band confirm lineup change, prioritize community values, and announce interim vocal arrangements.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1366},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/\",\"name\":\"Metal Injection\",\"description\":\"Heavy metal news, metal music videos, tour dates, live footage, exclusive documentaries, funny clips and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80\",\"name\":\"Greg Kennelty\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e46fb424e07e0b8451af183190c5dee006b8b1b521945fe34e93e43f8a8a71c7?s=96&d=blank&r=x\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e46fb424e07e0b8451af183190c5dee006b8b1b521945fe34e93e43f8a8a71c7?s=96&d=blank&r=x\",\"caption\":\"Greg Kennelty\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheGregKennelty\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/author\/kennelty\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations - Metal Injection","description":"South African deathcore band confirm lineup change, prioritize community values, and announce interim vocal arrangements.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Kennelty","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations"},"author":{"name":"Greg Kennelty","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80"},"headline":"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations","datePublished":"2026-03-03T16:15:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-03T17:33:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations"},"wordCount":309,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg","keywords":["Vulvodynia","featured"],"articleSection":["Breakups &amp; Shakeups"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations","url":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations","name":"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations - Metal Injection","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-03T16:15:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-03T17:33:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80"},"description":"South African deathcore band confirm lineup change, prioritize community values, and announce interim vocal arrangements.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia.jpg","width":2048,"height":1366},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/news\/breakups\/vulvodynia-part-ways-with-vocalist-zion-bittenbender-amid-misconduct-allegations#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"VULVODYNIA Part Ways With Vocalist ZION BITTENBENDER Amid Misconduct Allegations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/","name":"Metal Injection","description":"Heavy metal news, metal music videos, tour dates, live footage, exclusive documentaries, funny clips and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/fa13a7b54281d1bd3c20982c57cefe80","name":"Greg Kennelty","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e46fb424e07e0b8451af183190c5dee006b8b1b521945fe34e93e43f8a8a71c7?s=96&d=blank&r=x","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e46fb424e07e0b8451af183190c5dee006b8b1b521945fe34e93e43f8a8a71c7?s=96&d=blank&r=x","caption":"Greg Kennelty"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheGregKennelty"],"url":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/author\/kennelty"}]}},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Greg Kennelty","author_link":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/author\/kennelty"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/cdn-p.smehost.net\/sites\/7f9737f2506941499994d771a29ad47a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vulvodynia-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/category\/news\/breakups\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Breakups &amp; Shakeups<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Breakups &amp; Shakeups<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/category\/news\/breakups\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Vulvodynia<\/a>","<a href=\"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/category\/news\/breakups\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">featured<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Vulvodynia<\/span>","<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">featured<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 days ago","modified":"Updated 3 days ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on March 3, 2026","modified":"Updated on March 3, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on March 3, 2026 11:15 am","modified":"Updated on March 3, 2026 12:33 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":618936,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618930\/revisions\/618936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalinjection.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}