Against Me!'s Tom Gabel To Undergo Sex Change

Tom Gabel, frontman for the acclaimed punk band Against Me!, has come out as transgender in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.

Revealed on the magazine's website, they report that Gabel has been dealing with gender dysphoria privately for years, and, having told only close friends and family previously.

He will take the name Laura Jane Grace after the gender transition process - which includes hormones and electrolysis treatments - and remain married to his wife Heather.

"For me, the most terrifying thing about this was how she would accept the news," Gabel said. "But she's been super-amazing and understanding."

As the first rock star to undergo such a process, he decided to publically announce the news.

"I'm going to have embarrassing moments, and that won't be fun. But that's part of what talking to you is about – is hoping people will understand, and hoping they'll be fairly kind."

Based in Florida, Against Me! generated a cult, but worldwide, following with early albums Against Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose, Against Me! As The Eternal Cowboy and Searching For A Former Clarity. They were praised for their raw intensity and had the live show to match.

The band, which was originally a solo project for Gabel, courted controversy with their decision to move away from punk indie label Fat Wreck Chords and sign with major label imprint Sire for their fourth album New Wave, having previously vowed never to do so. Their last two albums, New Wave and White Crosses have ushered in a far more polished - and dare we say pop-leaning - sound, which split opinions of the band's long-serving fan base.

In The Ocean, the final track on New Wave, Gabel sings, "If I could have chosen I would have been born a woman/My mother once told me she would've named me Laura/I'd grow up to be strong and beautiful like her/One day I'd find an honest man to make my husband.”

The Rolling Stone article is expected to reveal Gabel's future plans for the band and what the sex change means for her as a musician.