Well this sucks... Per is one of my absolute favorite key men.
From their Facebook page today...
Keyboardist Per Wiberg has been relieved of his duties in Opeth as part of a mutual decision with the band. Keyboard duties on upcoming tours will be handled by a musician who is already rehearsing with the band. Said musicians identity will be released at a later date.
Vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt released the following statement about the matter: Well, its been somewhat of a revolving door of members during the last couple of years, and now, Per is no longer a member. Mendez, Axe and Fredrik and I came to the decision that we should find a replacement for Per right after the recordings of the new album, and this came as no surprise to Per. He had, in turn, been thinking about leaving, so you could say it was a mutual decision. Theres no bad blood, just a relationship that came to an end, and thats that. We wish Per the best, and he did a splendid job recording keyboards for the last record, which stands as his final recording with Opeth.
Opeth remain hard at work on their next album, which follows up 2008s critically acclaimed Watershed. The album is due out this Fall on Roadrunner Records.
From their Facebook page today...
Keyboardist Per Wiberg has been relieved of his duties in Opeth as part of a mutual decision with the band. Keyboard duties on upcoming tours will be handled by a musician who is already rehearsing with the band. Said musicians identity will be released at a later date.
Vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt released the following statement about the matter: Well, its been somewhat of a revolving door of members during the last couple of years, and now, Per is no longer a member. Mendez, Axe and Fredrik and I came to the decision that we should find a replacement for Per right after the recordings of the new album, and this came as no surprise to Per. He had, in turn, been thinking about leaving, so you could say it was a mutual decision. Theres no bad blood, just a relationship that came to an end, and thats that. We wish Per the best, and he did a splendid job recording keyboards for the last record, which stands as his final recording with Opeth.
Opeth remain hard at work on their next album, which follows up 2008s critically acclaimed Watershed. The album is due out this Fall on Roadrunner Records.