Guitarist Thobbe Englund is rejoining SABATON following the recent split with Tommy Johansson.
Band says in a statement: “We are beyond excited to announce that our former guitarist, Thobbe Englund, is rejoining the band and taking Tommy’s place!
“Thobbe originally joined us in April 2012 and decided to leave SABATON in July 2016 to focus on his personal life and expand his creativity. We, of course, respected his decision and we parted ways amicably. Since then, we have been in constant contact with him over the years – he’s a really good friend to all of us! Eight years later, he’s back and ready to hit the global stage with us once more and we couldn’t be happier about it!
“Thobbe recorded two studio albums with us, namely Heroes (2014) and The Last Stand (2016), and assisted with the songwriting of some of our very popular songs including ‘“’Shiroyama‘”’ and ‘“’Fields Of Verdun‘”’, among others.”
Johansson comments: “Words can’t express how ready and how excited I am to jump back into SABATON. It feels like I was on a short holiday. The time is right, love is in the air and the best is yet to come!”
Bassist Pär Sundström added: “This is a full circle moment for SABATON and we are beyond excited to have Thobbe rejoin the band. He’s a talented guitarist, songwriter and a kind guy who we have a lot of fun with. We didn’t even need to hold auditions with other guitar players. All that was needed was to spend New Year’s Eve together to know that the time was right for Thobbe´s return.”
Band’s frontman Joakim Brodén said: “This decision was a no-brainer for us as a band and for Thobbe. He knows the drill and is the perfect fit. This is a great outcome, and we think everyone is going to be psyched about the news! The time is right. Welcome back brother!”
