SOILWORK introduces NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA guitarist David Andersson to the band. Whaaat? Peter Witchers ditched the band for the second time over “creative differences.” SOILWORK is none too surprised by the departure, and welcome David into the band gladly. Bjorn Strid who also does vocals in NFO had this to say of their new guitar player:
“He’s a blast to be around and a kick ass guitarist. Plus, we’ve known him for so many years, from all the touring together, we just know he’s a perfect fit for us.”
As for Witchers departure, drummer Dirk Verbeuren had no idea what Andersson meant by the creative differences, but Witchers had forced the band to cancel some commitments last year. Dirk gave more light on the situation saying:
“It was mutual. Peter couldn’t be a part of our 2011 U.S. run with Symphony X. That was maybe six or seven months after The Panic Broadcast came out. We were on a roll then, but out of solidarity and respect for our bandmate and friend, and because we really felt like we had the ultimate line-up, we cancelled that tour. The whole idea back then was that Peter would tour with us again soon. But then the summer festivals came along, and he progressively said “no” to those too. We couldn’t just keep cancelling stuff, so we hired David Andersson who had filled in for us before.
After that, touring kind of came to a grinding halt. The rest of us didn’t know what to do. It was just kind of rough to be in this position all of a sudden, with a great album and no tours to support it and a shaky line-up. Less than a year earlier, we were all stoked about our future together, you know? We talked and tried to figure things out, and in the end, long story short, Peter couldn’t commit to what the rest of us feel is mandatory for Soilwork. Here’s the thing: whether we like it or not, we have to tour. There’s just no two ways about it. Playing shows, a lot of shows, is vital if we wanna have the slightest chance to survive as a band. That’s why moving on was really our only option.”
