Trapt went through a dramatic change last year, parting ways with guitarist Robb Torres and replacing him with Atreyu veteran Travis Miguel -- but the group is getting along just fine now, according to frontman Chris Taylor Brown.

Brown -- who played many of the guitar parts on the California group's new "Reborn" album -- tells us that the band "just couldn't handle" Torres anymore.

"He wanted to do things his way, and we didn't see eye to eye," explains Brown, who also co-produced the album. "He had to go, and there were some problems he had with...just certain things I don't want to go too much into, just out of respect for him."

Miguel, meanwhile, was an easy choice, Brown says. "We've known him from Atreyu for a while, and he came along and we asked him, 'Do you want to play guitar for us,' and he was like, 'Yeah!' He comes from a total thrash metal background; when the riffs come, he just slays it. I think he makes the songs even harder than they were before. It's pretty cool."

Trapt is currently touring to promote "Reborn," which came out January 22 and debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. It's the group's first release for its own label, though it's being distributed by EMI.

CLICK HERE to learn out more about Gary Graff and his award-winning music journalism including the books he has written on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.