Swedish metallers IN FLAMES have recruited Håkan Skoger (PASSENGER, GARDENIAN) to play bass for the band on their current European tour with with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and DISTURBED. Skoger joined IN FLAMES as the replacement for the band's longtime bassist Peter Iwers, who issued a statement in November saying that he was leaving IN FLAMES at the end of the recent U.S. tour "to pursue other endeavors." Skoger made his live debut with IN FLAMES Tuesday night (January 10) at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. "Battles", IN FLAMES' twelfth studio album, was released on November 11 via Nuclear Blast in all territories excluding North America and Scandinavia and Eleven Seven Music Group in the U.S. IN FLAMES drummer Daniel Svensson announced in 2015 that he was leaving the band to focus on his family life. He has since been replaced by Joe Rickard, who played on "Battles" as a session musician. In a 2015 interview with Metal Insider, IN FLAMES singer Anders Fridén spoke about how the band's lineup changes over the years have affected the group's creative process and interpersonal relationships. He said: "I mean, to change a member today and get a brand new guy in the band, obviously, could be a struggle for us, I guess. Because we have a certain way we are, and we've known each other for a long, long time. Niclas [Engelin, IN FLAMES guitarist] came in at a time when we had problems for a while, and he kind of brought some new energy. And, I mean, I love Jesper [Strömblad, former IN FLAMES guitarist]; the times that we had together were fantastic. He was a great songwriter [and] a really, really good guy, but he wasn't really that happy in the end. And it started creating troubles within the machine, and we parted ways. And I think he's happier where he is right now, and we're happier where we are. So yeah, things change; people grow up, things happen to you, and so on."
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