CANDLEMASS guitarist Mats "Mappe" Björkman was unable to join his bandmates this past Friday, June 1 at the Freak Valley Festival in Netphen, Germany after recently being diagnosed with with "severe infection" of "the balance center of the brain." He was replaced at the gig by Marcus Jidell (AVATARIUM, EVERGREY, ROYAL HUNT). On May 30, Björkman issued a statement explaining his absence from the Freak Valley gig. He wrote: "A few weeks ago I was rushed to the hospital with severe infection on the balance center of the brain. There is no direct treatment; still it's not really dangerous. "My balance is not back to 100% and my doctors said it was a bad idea to be on an airplane (plus playing a show) such a short time after the incident. "I really thought I would be able to do Freak Valley, but the decision to cancel was taken just a couple of days ago. "I am happy and proud to have our friend and producer Marcus Jidell to fill in for me with such short notice. It will be a great show and I will see you soon out there!" A new CANDLEMASS track, "House Of Doom", was released on May 25 as an EP with three bonus cuts via Napalm Records. The song is the soundtrack of the game with the same name, which was co-designed by the legendary Swedish doom metal band. The "House Of Doom" soundtrack was written by CANDLEMASS bassist Leif Edling, produced by Marcus Jidell, mixed by David Castillo and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.
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