Anders Björler was a part of At The Gates from 1990 to its breakup in 1996, and then again from 2010 until March of this year. At The Gates began demoing a new album as a quartet, its first without Björler, leaving fans to wonder if the new album would have anyone else playing guitar on it besides Martin Larsson.
In short, the answer is yes, the new album will have another guitarist! At The Gates has now announced that Jonas Stålhammar is the new fifth member of At The Gates and will play on the new album, though the statement doesn't make it sound like he's written any of the material. Stålhammar is currently a member of God Macabre and Crippled Black Phoenix, as well as plays with At The Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg and drummer Adrian Erlandsson in The Lurking Fear.
Check out the full statement below, which says the band will hit the studio this November, and get stoked on new At The Gates!
AT THE GATES – Announce new guitarist; Studio album update; First live-shows for 2018!
Swedish melodic Death Metal pioneers AT THE GATES are in the final stages of preparation for their upcoming new album, following up 2014’s acclaimed comeback release, “At War With Reality”.
After the departure announcement of founding guitarist Anders Björler in March, the group is now not only ready to give a comprehensive update on the new album’s status, but they can also announce the newest addition to their line-up ranks…
AT THE GATES are back!
“We have finally decided on a new guitar player, and we are ready to rip again! Actually he was our first choice, and we are happy to have him on board. Jonas Stålhammar has been a friend since the late eighties (Tomas used to tape trade with him back then!), and our paths have crossed many times during our careers.
We were looking for someone who had the same reference points as we do, someone from the same path, so to say, who understand the greatness of both Autopsy and King Crimson. Of course it was essential that our new member could fill the shoes of Anders' performance-wise as well, but that was never an issue with Jonas. We were looking for someone with a deep understanding of what AT THE GATES are about, someone who could contribute creatively to the band.
Jonas Stålhammar will be a full member from day one, and will play on the upcoming full length album, scheduled for recording in November 2017 – January 2018.
We currently have 11 songs ready for said album, and are more inspired than perhaps ever before. You can expect a full-on AT THE GATES record with all the classic elements of the band. It is by far the most comprehensive album of the band to date, and will span all the way across the different elements of the band's sound.
