Nachdem Leadgitarrist Thobbe Englund beim Sabaton Open Air Festival 2016 sein letztes Konzert spielte, haben sich SABATON nach einem neuen Gitarristen umgesehen und ihn gefunden:
Tommy Johansson, Gitarrist und Sänger der Symphonic Power Metal Band REINXEED und bekannt für seine Powermetal-Covers schwedischer Hits,wird Thobbe ersetzen.
SABATON schreiben dazu:
Thank you Thobbe, Welcome Tommy!
Our guitarplayer Thobbe did his final concert with us on the last nights very emotional show at the Sabaton Open Air festival. Celebrating the release of our new album while saying goodbye to a great friend is lot of mixed feelings.
But the future is bright since this was not nearly our last stand, from now on you will see Tommy Johansson playing guitars with Sabaton and we all look forward to see you on the road!
"For me to be a part of the Sabaton family is a huge honour and I couldn't be happier! The guys are awesome and among the nicest people you can meet. I've been following Sabaton since 2005 when I saw them live for the first time and I have loved the band ever since, so when they asked me to join there were no hesitation.
Alhough, they did ask me already back in 2012 but for many personal reasons it was not a good time for me to hit the road and give everything that was needed to the band. So I declined, but we have stayed in touch since then. I also wanna say that Thobbe is a great guitarist and such a wonderful guy!! My job is not to replace him, it's to contribute to the band with my own style of guitarplaying but of course also to keep his fans happy by playing his wonderful solos with pride. I look foward to meet you all on tour and to do what I love the most in life - to play heavy metal!"
