With a Top 10 album and a U.S. tour kicking off this week, Creed unexpectedly announced that it is parting company with bass player and founding member Brian Marshall on Wednesday.

Via a spokesperson, Creed and Marshall are calling the split a "friendly" one and cite "personal and professional differences" as the reasons for the move.

Creed says that it will not seek a permanent replacement for Marshall but notes that it is enlisting the aid of Brett Hestla (who also sings with the band Virgos) as a touring bassist for the upcoming tour. The move is not expected to affect Creed's tour schedule, and the band's Hestla-bolstered lineup will make its debut on Friday in Chicago when Creed launches its a 45-city trek.

Both Creed and Marshall are expected to continue to work with the same management company, and the two camps are said to be hammering out details about Marshall's involvement in any future releases of material that the band has already recorded with him.

"Creed wishes to thank Brian for his participation in their success and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors," the band said in a statement.

It's worth noting that Marshall stirred up a bit of controversy earlier this summer when (after much goading by a Seattle DJ) he dissed Pearl Jam and its frontman Eddie Vedder in a radio interview (see "Creed Bassist Disses Pearl Jam In Radio Interview"). Creed soon stepped up to apologize for the comments, saying, "There is no excuse for the arrogance and stupidity" (see "Creed Apologizes For Bassist's Anti-Pearl Jam Tirade").