Ex-AMON AMARTH drummer Fredrik Andersson has blasted his former bandmates for allegedly being "perfectly fine erasing" his 17-year stint with the group and preventing him from getting his "rightful share of the rights and publishing" to the AMON AMARTH recordings he appears on. Andersson was fired from AMON AMARTH in March 2015, just as the band was preparing to enter the studio to begin work on its 2016 album "Jomsviking". AMON AMARTH opted to enlist a session drummer, Tobias Gustafsson (VOMITORY, CUT UP), during the recording sessions for the disc, but hired Jocke Wallgren to join them on the road. Wallgren was named a permanent member of AMON AMARTH in September 2016. Earlier today, Andersson took to his social to share screenshots of an e-mail exchange he had with a member of AMON AMARTH's management company, 5B Artist Management, over his belief that he was "wronged" in the negotiated settlement he signed for his exit. In one of the e-mails, the management representative pointed out to Andersson that he settled for more money up front in exchange for giving up his claim to some other things, including publishing, to which Fredrik responded that he "wasn't 'keen' to settle for more up front" and was merely "fighting to get" his "equal share." Along with sharing his correspondence with AMON AMARTH's management, Andersson posted the following comment on Twitter: "I've seen a lot of comments like 'there's always 2 sides'. Well, here it is: they did nothing wrong. We fought, they won. Meaning, they're perfectly fine erasing my 17 years and as I couldn't defend my share they have no problem ripping me off. Done." Last year, Andersson spoke to Greece's The Gallery about the circumstances that led to his departure from AMON AMARTH, Fredrik said: "There had been some friction between me and the other members for quite some time. It seemed to me like they were ganging up on me, even if they never really truly let me in to be 'one of them,' not even in the early years. But at least back then we could hang out together and we called each other friends. In later years, and I can only guess, but perhaps they started to feel that since we were splitting all money equally, either I should be more grateful and do what they told me to or they simply started to think it was wrong that I should get equally paid. I don't know. But in the end, whatever I did or say — it was wrong." He continued: "I specifically remember one of the last times I played in Greece. It was the last day of the tour, and we were flying home the next day. While I was warming up for the show, Olli [Olavi Mikkonen, guitar] came up to me and said my snare hits were not consistent enough. He said I played too soft during soundcheck and too loud during the show, or more specifically, he said the individual hits were either low or loud. Since I know for a fact this is bullshit, I got really pissed off. I might not be the most technical drummer, but if something, at least I'm consistent. I thought it was really untactical to come with these complaints five minutes before show, and it ruined the whole show for me. And there were lots of other occasions like this where they would just say I'm wrong about something, that my opinion were wrong or simply silly. It got very frustrating, and it built up to really strong friction." In a 2016 interview with Brazil's "Wikimetal" podcast, Mikkonen stated about AMON AMARTH's split with Andersson: "I don't really wanna go into details regarding Fredrik, but, basically, we just separated. It's kind of like a marriage that doesn't work, and you get divorced. And that's kind of what happened to our band." AMON AMARTH bassist Ted Lundström described Wallgren as "a super-solid drummer" who is "very professional" and "very on-the-spot all the time." He added: "It is much easier to play if you have a drummer who is [tight]. It makes our lives easier."
I’ve seen a lot of comments like ”there’s always 2 sides” Well, here it is: they did nothing wrong. We fought, they won. Meaning, they’re perfectly fine erasing my 17 years and as I couldn’t defend my share they have no problem ripping me off. Done. https://t.co/G3VOibPjig pic.twitter.com/1TulZGgqgd
— Fredrik Andersson (@DrummerFredrik) October 3, 2020
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I’ve seen a lot of comments like ”there’s always 2 sides” Well, here it is: they did nothing wrong. We fought, they won. Meaning, they’re perfectly fine erasing my 17 years and as I couldn’t defend my share they have no problem ripping me off. Done. https://t.co/G3VOibPjig pic.twitter.com/1TulZGgqgd
— Fredrik Andersson (@DrummerFredrik) October 3, 2020
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