Anthony Esposito, an original member of Lynch Mob, has publicly criticized guitarist George Lynch over the remastering of the band’s debut album Wicked Sensation. Esposito alleges that Lynch misrepresented his role in the decision to remove band photos from the reissue. His claims were laid out during an interview with The Hair Metal Guru.
Esposito’s comments came in response to a question about the circumstances that ultimately ended his relationship with Lynch, specifically after discovering that his images had been removed from the remastered album artwork.
“Well, to me, it ended in ’92. I mean a lot of stuff happened from 2001 when he [George] came back from vacation and it was me, him, Robert and Chaz and that was it and he called it a day with that,” Esposito explained. “A lot of stuff happened from that moment to the present. That made it more difficult to reunite. I’ve made attempts to try to, you know, contact him and it hasn’t been reciprocated. So, whatever.”
The bassist recalled learning about the remaster while attending a VIP meet-and-greet in Tokyo, where a fan handed him the album booklet to sign.
“And it’s like, you know, we wrote all the songs together and Max didn’t even know it got remastered. If anybody’s should be notified that a remastering is going to happen, it should be the producer, you know, and none of us knew about it,” he said. “And I looked at the booklet and I started looking and my picture wasn’t in there. It still had my name that I played bass and my writing credits and stuff, but like the pictures were removed.”
Esposito admitted that he immediately contacted Lynch after the discovery and acknowledged that his reaction was emotional.
“And I kind of picked up my cell phone from Tokyo and called George in that moment of shock, disbelief, and I said some stuff that I regret. I shouldn’t have put I shouldn’t have worded it the way I worded it,” he continued. “But George was on Eddie Trunk and they made it all sound like I was b*tching about publishing or advanced money, which it wasn’t.”
He then directly challenged Lynch’s public claim that he had no control over the album’s artwork.
“George said he had no control over the artwork and which is BS because George sticks his nose on everything,” Esposito stated. “Like he’s always involved in the artwork, so I know he approved the artwork for the remaster.”
The dispute unfolds amid major changes surrounding the Lynch Mob name. Lynch recently announced that he would retire the band’s name entirely, citing its problematic associations. In explaining the decision, he acknowledged that while he had given himself “a pass” on the name for decades, he no longer felt it was acceptable to continue using it.
The remaster at the center of the controversy, Wicked Sensation Reimagined, was promoted as the band’s final release under the Lynch Mob banner. The project reworked roughly half of the original tracks with new arrangements and tempos, which Lynch described as a creative reinterpretation rather than a straightforward re-recording.
Despite those intentions, the release sparked backlash from fans who objected to changes made to the 1990 classic. Esposito’s claim that he was excluded from the artwork adds another layer of controversy to what was intended as a celebratory anniversary project, underscoring the lingering tensions between original members and Lynch’s control over the band’s legacy.
