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Opeth Parts With Keyboard Player Per Wiberg

posted Apr 6, 2011 at 10:56 AM by xFiruath.  (3 Comments)

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Keyboardist Per Wiberg has been relieved of his duties in Opeth as part of a mutual decision with the band. Keyboard duties on upcoming tours will be handled by a musician who is already rehearsing with the band, but has not yet been named. Vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt released the following statement about the matter:

“Well, it’s been somewhat of a revolving door of members during the last couple of years, and now, Per is no longer a member. Mendez, Axe and Fredrik and I came to the decision that we should find a replacement for Per right after the recordings of the new album, and this came as no surprise to Per. He had, in turn, been thinking about leaving, so you could say it was a mutual decision. There’s no bad blood, just a relationship that came to an end, and that’s that. We wish Per the best, and he did a splendid job recording keyboards for the last record, which stands as his final recording with Opeth.”

Opeth is currently working on the band's new album, which follows-up the 2008 release "Watershed." The upcoming album is due out this Fall on Roadrunner Records.

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3 Comments on "Opeth Parts With Keyboardist Per Wiberg"

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KickAssDuke's avatar

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1. KickAssDuke writes:

Hmmm, that's odd. Everything I read led me to believe that Mike and Per had a good working relationship. I wonder what went wrong. Looking forward to the new album.

# Apr 6, 2011 @ 12:54 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
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2. hewhoshallnotbenamed writes:

only thing i can think of is per is several years older than the other guys in opeth. he must have gotten worn down by opeth's relentless touring schedule. not to mention he plays in other bands as well.

# Apr 11, 2011 @ 1:03 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
TheRaper's avatar

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3. TheRaper writes:

That's a shame, at least it was mutual. For a keyboardist, he's got crazy energy when playing live. Can't wait for the new album.

# Apr 11, 2011 @ 8:56 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address

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