Well, talk about clearing the air. That’s what former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody has just chosen to do in a rather dramatic fashion.

Fans of the mega-selling goth-pop unit will remember Moody walking away from the group—which he cofounded with singer Amy Lee—at the height of its popularity. They’ll also remember that he chose to say little about the circumstances surrounding his abrupt 2003 departure.

Although he hasn’t been totally out of the spotlight since then—he’s written songs for artists as varied as Avril Lavigne, Daughtry, and Céline Dion—Moody has managed to keep a low profile. And part of that has been refusing to get into the details of what caused him to bail on Evanescence. Lee, on the other hand, has publicly, if vaguely, stated that she grew tired of all the "bullshit" that went on between the one-time best friends.

One thing is for certain though: the split is something that has troubled Moody for the better part of a seven years, a large part of his obsession being the way that the band’s more-devoted-than-most fans labelled him a traitor for quitting.

Here’s betting that Moody feels much better now that he’s chosen to set the record straight. In an interview posted on a fan site, he states that, just before his departure, Lee finally told him to "Get on a plane, and never come back". He says that he did just that so the band could continue.

He also reveals that he gave up his 50 percent of the rights to Evanescence willingly and without a fight, going on to note:

Walking away meant forfeiting a winning lottery ticket. A dream so big it’s unfathomable it would even happen once in a lifetime. Millions of dollars. Years of security. And the one and only chance to truly realize the reward of of all my work, faith and dedication. My fucking identity. Less than one percent of the very few people throughout history to achieve such a dream could even fathom a sacrifice like this. Getting on that plane meant when I landed, every single thing my life was built upon was gone. And there was no delusion or hope that I would ever reach that pinnacle again. Try and imagine being in that position for a moment. It is remarkably rare that a person is ever faced with a decision like that in a lifetime. And to top it all off, I was just a fucking kid.

And that’s just a taster from Moody, who decided to open up after getting pissed at YouTube comments for his new project, We Are the Fallen. You can read his whole long and involved post on-line here.