SKYND are tackling the monsters hiding in plain sight on Chapter VIII of their investigation, as the true-crime nu-industrial duo look to wrap up this latest round of wretched souls. Today, they've announced that the final subject in a chapter that has included Jimmy Savile and Johnny Kitagawa is Danny Masterson, the disgraced actor turned Scientologist and convicted multiple rapist.
Masterson is best known for his role as Steven Hyde on the sitcom That 70's Show. It was during his time in the Church of Scientology that he raped three women between 2001 and 2003, with the victims urged by employees of the Church not to report Masterson to the authorities. An investigation began in 2017, and after several years, a retrial, and interference from the Church, Masterson was sentenced in 2023 to thirty years to life in prison, with his first chance of parole coming after 25.5 years.
This makes for one of the most recent cases that SKYND have taken on. Before this, their 2023 song "Bianca Devins" took on the murder which occurred in 2019, just four years prior. While Masterson's crimes occurred in the early Aughts, his sentencing was more recent, with now-Linkin Park frontwoman Emily Armstrong's one-time defense of Masterson being a point of controversy when Armstrong was announced as the new co-vocalist for the band in 2024.
SKYND's new song, and with it, the closing of Chapter VIII: The Open Secret, will release this Friday, October 9th. Pre-save the EP here.
