In 1984, a Seattle band took hardcore and thrash, smashed them together, and called it splatter rock. If you’ve ever screamed along to “Inherit the Earth” or thrown down to Martha Splatterhead’s Maddest Stories Ever Told, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

We are the The Accused AD/afterdeath and we’ve never claimed to be anything else. We’ve always been upfront and specific about that name.

Despite that, guitarist Tommy Niemeyer — the sole consistent member of a current lineup billed as The Accused, which has cycled through various singers, drummers, and bass players over the years (currently featuring Josh Sinder and Brookelle Sinder, alongside Tommy) — has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against us. Also named in the suit are Chris Gohde and Eric Thomas, who perform alongside us in The Accused AD. Notably, current Accused singer Brad Mowen is not named in the suit. We believe this suit is without merit, and at worst, retaliatory. Fighting it has already cost us tens of thousands of dollars, and the case is ongoing.

We’re asking for help covering legal fees for everyone named in this suit. None of us chose this fight — Tommy is the one who started it — but we still have to defend ourselves, and we don’t want to be forced to give up simply because we’ve run out of money to do that.

Some background

The Accused started in the early ’80s, but the band’s original incarnation didn’t sound anything like the splatter/thrash act it became known for. It wasn’t until Blaine joined that the music changed direction — shaping the sound, the songwriting, and the identity that put this band on the map. We believe it’s fair to say that without that shift, The Accused would not have become what it was.

Over time, our working relationship with Tommy became toxic and lacked any real sense of solidarity or partnership. Eventually, we made the decision to stop playing with him. We believe that under the umbrella of these trademark claims, Tommy has worked to consolidate ownership of rights that were built by all members of the band, not just him. In fact, Tommy has stated publicly in past interviews that he registered The Accused trademark solely in his own name years ago, saying at the time it was meant to be a temporary, practical fix with the intention of adding us later. That never happened.

The original liner notes for “Inherit the Earth,” from the 1988 album Martha Splatterhead’s Maddest Stories Ever Told, tell a different story than the one being told today — the back cover credits all songs collectively to the band (“All songs by The Accused: Collins, Cook, Niemeyer, Sibbald”), with the lyric sheet specifically crediting Blaine for the lyrics. Yet when Lamb of God covered “Inherit the Earth” in 2018 as the lead single on their covers album Legion: XX, the single’s sleeve credits the song as “written by Thomas Joseph Niemeyer” — no mention of Cook, Collins, or Sibbald at all.

Side by side, these two pieces of official packaging tell two very different stories about who wrote this song, thirty years apart.

This is merely one example of Tommy exploiting intellectual property that he solely, does not own.

We were aware of the trademark situation and chose not to pursue legal action at the time — even though we believe Tommy has personally profited from music and a name that were never his alone to claim.

When we continued performing, we did so as The Accused AD — a name we chose specifically to be transparent about who we are and to distinguish ourselves from the current lineup. We have never misrepresented ourselves as “The Accused” outright, and we don’t believe there’s a genuine likelihood of consumer confusion that would justify a trademark claim.

Instead of resolving this directly, we were served with a lawsuit. We believe it’s designed less to protect a trademark and more to pressure us into stepping away from performing the music we helped create — and to further cement a version of the band’s history that leaves us out.

Why we’re fighting it

This isn’t just about a name. It’s about:

– Our right to perform music we helped create, under a name that clearly identifies us as a distinct act.

– Being able to tell our own story, rather than have decades of contribution erased.

– Standing up to a lawsuit we believe is frivolous, so it doesn’t set a precedent that longtime members and collaborators can be legally pushed out of their own history.

– Supporting everyone named in this suit — Blaine, Alex, Chris Gohde, and Eric Thomas are all facing real legal costs over this.

– Legal defense is costly, and this has already put a real financial strain on all of us. Every dollar raised goes directly toward attorney’s fees and court costs for this case.

How you can help

Chip in what you can. Any amount helps us keep this fight going.

Share this campaign. The more people who know about this, the better our chances.

Come to a show or buy merch — if you’d rather support us that way, that helps too.

Thank you for standing with us. We’ve never hidden who we are, and we’re not going to let a lawsuit rewrite that.

— Blaine, Alex, Chris and Eric, The Accused AD/afterdeath