Martin Axenrot er ute av Opeth

Foto: Jonas Åkerlund

De svenske progressive metal-veteranene i Opeth har annonsert at de har skilt lag med trommeslager Martin «Axe» Axenrot. Sami Karppinen fra Therion vil steppe inn istedenfor i den nærmeste fremtiden. En uttalelse fra bandet lyder som følger:

"Due to conflict of interests, Martin Axenrot is no longer part of the Opeth collective. His replacement for the North American tour with Mastodon and Zeal & Ardor will be powerhouse drummer Sami Karppinen. His first show takes place today (November 16) at Harrah's Cherokee center in Ashville, NC.

However sad it is not to have Axe in the band anymore, we're not in a position to linger on anything that is going to hold us back. We need to soldier on. Needless to say, we're incredibly thankful that Sami is helping us out, making this tour possible at all. On top of that, he's quite outstanding, really!

All of us wish the best for Axe in all and any of his future endeavors. He has been an incredibly important part of the band for many years now, and we're all heartbroken it didn't work out in the end. But that's life I guess...'"