Back in the month of March, when the news of the departure of Anders Björler from AT THE GATES surfaced, people were left shocked and appalled, questioning the motive behind it. The reaction was obvious as he was one of the founding members of the band. He later confirmed the news, stating the reason behind hanging up his boots in the band. He said the decision followed because, “The passion is just gone.” He also added, “This is a personal decision, and it has 100% to do with the music side of things.“, thus giving a possible insight of a different musical venture.
Jonas Stålhammar
Following the above news, Swedish melodic death metal tyrants AT THE GATES have just announced their new guitarist who will replace, Anders Björler, who had to leave the group after a whopping 27 years. New recruit, Jonas Stålhammar will be donning the guitars with AT THE GATES(pictured above). Jonas is currently a member of a handful of bands including The Lurking Fear, Crippled Black Phoenix, Bombs Of Hades and God Macabre. He has previously also played in Abhoth, Utumno and Macabre End.
The band quoted,
“We have finally decided on a new guitar player, and we are ready to rip again! Actually he was our first choice, and we are happy to have him on board. Jonas Stålhammar has been a friend since the late eighties (Tomas used to tape trade with him back then!), and our paths have crossed many times during our careers.
We were looking for someone who had the same reference points as we do, someone from the same path, so to say, who understand the greatness of both Autopsy and King Crimson. Of course it was essential that our new member could fill the shoes of Anders’ performance-wise as well, but that was never an issue with Jonas. We were looking for someone with a deep understanding of what AT THE GATES are about, someone who could contribute creatively to the band.
Jonas Stålhammar will be a full member from day one, and will play on the upcoming full length album, scheduled for recording in November 2017 – January 2018.
We currently have 11 songs ready for said album, and are more inspired than perhaps ever before. You can expect a full-on AT THE GATES record with all the classic elements of the band. It is by far the most comprehensive album of the band to date, and will span all the way across the different elements of the band’s sound.
We are super-excited for 2018. It will be a good year for AT THE GATES, and our fans, for sure.
The band also said that they are currently in the terminal stages of a new follow up album to 2014’s much acclaimed ‘At War With Reality‘ and that it should be out sometime next year. Long time former member Anders Björler held the responsibility of writing and contributing in the process of song writing. Now that he is gone, it will be interesting to see what Jonas Stålhammar brings to the table, if given the baton of song writing. I am excited about the new AT THE GATES upcoming album, as I am curious and am sure a lot of you are, in knowing what kind of new riffs Jonas can contribute. Is this a yay or nay move? Only time will tell!
On the other hand, the band has released the first batch of live shows for next year, 2018. Check them out below,
AT THE GATES – Live 2018
02.-04.03.2018 – Tilburg (The Netherlands) – Netherlands Deathfest
13.-15.07.2018 – Gävle (Sweden) – Gefle Metal Fest
Many more dates to be announced soon…
Get your copy of ‘At War With Reality‘ HERE, if you have been living under a rock!
