Evergrey parts ways with bassist

[Prog Maiden]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/Just saw this on blabbermouth:

EVERGREY Parts Ways With Bassist, Announces Replacement - July 25, 2006
Swedish metallers EVERGREY have parted ways with bassist Michael Håkansson. Replacing him in the group's lineup is former HAMMERFALL bassist Fredrik Larsson, the band's manager has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. An official statement from Michael announcing his departure from EVERGREY will be released shortly.

As previously reported, EVERGREY has been booked for one of Scandinavia's biggest festivals, Storsjöyran</B> in Östersund. They will take the stage at 00.15 (quarter past midnight) on Friday, July 28, playing right after THE CARDIGANS. More information is available at www.storsjoyran.se.

EVERGREY's latest album, "Monday Morning Apocalypse", was released in April via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to 2004's "The Inner Circle" was recorded at Division One Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden by the experienced production team of Sanken Sandquist and Stefan Glaumann, who have previously worked with such artists as RAMMSTEIN, BON JOVI, BRITNEY SPEARS and DEF LEPPARD.

 

[AngraRULES]

Oh man, that's such a bummer! Michael was an awesome bassist and a great guy, I'll miss him in the band!

Do you think he'll join another band or something?

 

[eaeolian]

What? Damn...

 

[BlindPanzer]

This is unexpected.

 

[Prog Maiden]

Oh man, that's such a bummer! Michael was an awesome bassist and a great guy, I'll miss him in the band!

Do you think he'll join another band or something?

Not sure. Someone on the Evergrey forum said they spoke with Tom after a show and he said he was just tired of playing bass, so who knows?

 

[Dustro25]

this is the worst news...he was so key to the Evergrey look...and he is the one guy in the band that I would expect to reconize me...pissed...

 

[AngraRULES]

this is the worst news...he was so key to the Evergrey look...and he is the one guy in the band that I would expect to reconize me...pissed...

Chill out. I recognized you in the middle of the streets in New York City. Come on, that deserves a bit of credit.

 

[Dustro25]

ha! but you arnt in one of my favorite bands!

 

[AngraRULES]

ha! but you arnt in one of my favorite bands!

Cuz you haven't heard my band yet. Just wait another couple of months. That goes for all of you.

 

[Ascension]

I remember when the dude jumped on stage with Reading Zero. He looked so out of place...they were so stoic & he was jumping around all over the place. Hhmm...maybe they were out of place. His bass didn't work though...that didn't stop him...lol.

 

[sccaldwell]

Just saw this on blabbermouth:

EVERGREY Parts Ways With Bassist, Announces Replacement - July 25, 2006
Swedish metallers EVERGREY have parted ways with bassist Michael Håkansson. Replacing him in the group's lineup is former HAMMERFALL bassist Fredrik Larsson, the band's manager has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. An official statement from Michael announcing his departure from EVERGREY will be released shortly.

Sorry to hear that, Mike's a good bassist, and a heckuva fun guy to party with...hopefully we'll see him show up in another good band.

 

[Troy the nomad]

DAMN! I was pissed when Patrick left, but this really sucks!

 

[Rakosh]

Wow, this is becoming the "scab" year of Progpower...first Nevermore as whole drops, then Mercenary, Savage Circus & Evergrey all drop a member. Did I miss anyone? What is going on??

Regardless, I'm still stoked for this year's show!!

:Smokin:

 

[7thSaviour]

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/Just saw this on blabbermouth:

EVERGREY Parts Ways With Bassist, Announces Replacement - July 25, 2006
Swedish metallers EVERGREY have parted ways with bassist Michael Håkansson. Replacing him in the group's lineup is former HAMMERFALL bassist Fredrik Larsson, the band's manager has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET. An official statement from Michael announcing his departure from EVERGREY will be released shortly.

As previously reported, EVERGREY has been booked for one of Scandinavia's biggest festivals, Storsjöyran</B> in Östersund. They will take the stage at 00.15 (quarter past midnight) on Friday, July 28, playing right after THE CARDIGANS. More information is available at www.storsjoyran.se.

EVERGREY's latest album, "Monday Morning Apocalypse", was released in April via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to 2004's "The Inner Circle" was recorded at Division One Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden by the experienced production team of Sanken Sandquist and Stefan Glaumann, who have previously worked with such artists as RAMMSTEIN, BON JOVI, BRITNEY SPEARS and DEF LEPPARD.

He was one of my favorites in the band. Too bad. The new guy should be OK, though.

 

[Sumeet]

Damn. He was a fun guy to hang with. Oh well...

 

[BABS]

I can't believe this is even happening. He is such a great player and he always projected the feeling that he loved what he was doing. Not to mention, he was the most outgoing member of that band.

Now who are they gonna find to wear the leather kilt? (Bad joke)

 

[General Zod]

Wow, this is becoming the "scab" year of Progpower...first Nevermore as whole drops, then Mercenary, Savage Circus & Evergrey all drop a member. Did I miss anyone? What is going on??/quote]I think it underscores just how unstable band lineups are in this day and age. It's one thing to keep on keeping on, when you're making huge dollars (ala the stability of 80s lineups). Nowadays, musicians often succumb to the pressures of everyday life. To that point, I don’t believe that this dramatic turnover is unique to ProgPower. If you charted any ten Metal acts, over the course of a year, you’d see similar turnover.

As for Mike leaving Evergrey, it's a shame. He was a good bass player and a nice guy. Hopefully the split was amicable. That said, it's rare that this band records back to back discs with the same lineup.

Zod

 

[Rakosh]

I think it underscores just how unstable band lineups are in this day and age. It's one thing to keep on keeping on, when you're making huge dollars (ala the stability of 80s lineups). Nowadays, musicians often succumb to the pressures of everyday life. To that point, I don’t believe that this dramatic turnover is unique to ProgPower. If you charted any ten Metal acts, over the course of a year, you’d see similar turnover.

Zod

Oh yeah, I completely agree with you on this point. It's not unique to ProgPower as a whole, but this year just seemed to have more than its share when compared to previous years. Or maybe I've just been more aware of it this year...

Of course, the instability of bands can be a positive, also. Just look at all the different combinations of great players we've seen as a result. This genre seems to have quite the incestuous bent.

:Smokin:

 

[Cheiron]

I'm trying to think of 70s/80s bands with stable lineups. Many of them had somebody come or go, guitarists changing all over, band starts up and ends within a few years, members die, etc.

It seems to happen in Metal a bit more than a lot of 'pop culture' bands though. And yeah, that probably has a lot to do with money/lifestyle.

 

[Thorn23TX]

From the woman assistant in the VW commercial: "It's definitely sucking"

This is indeed rotten news. Although I have yet to meet any of the band members, the behind the scenes footage that included Michael on the DVD was some of the funniest on the whole disc. You could certainly tell that he was a nice guy and seemed like someone you'd want to party with.

I agree with Zod, though... it's just another Evergrey line-up change in the grand scheme of things, and who knows, perhaps Fredrik will follow in Michaels footsteps.