SOILWORK’s Musical Vision Charges Forward
 
Drummer Bastian Thusgaard Currently Filling In on Tour
With their full support behind him, SOILWORK announces the departure of longtime drummer Dirk Verbeuren as he joins heavy metal legends MEGADETH as their new full-time drummer. Verbeuren has been performing with MEGADETH for months – his first show with the band was at Rock on The Range festival in May, where he performed to a crowd of 40,000 concertgoers.
 
SOILWORK vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid offers up his encouragement, “In regards to the statement MEGADETH released yesterday, confirming that Dirk will join them as their full time drummer, I just want to take the time to wish Dirk good luck on this new venture and thank him for 12 great years together. Together we have created a beast of a band and have pushed the limits musically further than we ever could have imagined.” 
 
Strid continues to state that SOILWORK is charging forward, continually progressing their performance but not straying too far from their defining, signature sound, “In the recent years SOILWORK have found new ways of expressing ourselves and as much as of a cliché it is, I strongly believe that this is very much of a new era for us and that we still have so much left to say, whether it being with or without Dirk. This band has grown to be quite a metal collective and an institution that paves the way creatively and we hope that you, the fans, can feel the presence and the heart in our music still to this day. Believe me, it’s there. I can assure that you will forever get 100% SOILWORK, as long as we release albums. We aim to surprise ourselves and the listeners by constantly developing our sound and songwriting, something I believe we have succeeded in doing and yet remained true to our roots. That is something to be proud of and we are. We appreciate all our loyal fans and are excited that so many of you share our musical vision.
 
Touring drummer Bastian Thusgaard is more-than-worthily filling in the ranks behind the kit this summer. 
 
Strid adds, “Meanwhile, I’m sure many of you have seen us at a festival in Europe this summer with our friend, Bastian Thusgaard filling in on drums and I’m sure we can all agree on what a monster he is. Thank you Bastian, you are absolutely killing it. Check out the remaining festival dates and come see us. We’ll be there. Thank you.”
 
Departing drummer Dirk Verbeuren has this to say, “They say the biggest decisions in life are the hardest to make. This decision falls under that category. As a drummer I’ve always enjoyed the evolution of my path. The past twelve years with Soilwork have been incredible, a portion of my life I honor with pride. When I was approached to join MEGADETH– a childhood dream come true and something I never anticipated- I was beyond excited to even consider the realm of possibility. But truth be told, I couldn’t have rightfully made this step without the support and blessing of my SOILWORK family. For that I owe a huge thank you to Bjorn, Sven, David, Sylvain and Markus. You have allowed me to see what lies ahead, and you’re my brothers in metal. Chris Adler, thank you for introducing me to MEGADETH and for your encouragement and support. Dave, David and Kiko, I’m thankful for your warm welcome and thrilled to perform and create badass music with you guys. To the fans, this is a new chapter for us; I hope we can enjoy this ride together!”
 
Stay tuned for more news on upcoming SOILWORK tour dates, music and more – the ride continues!
 
Pre-order SOILWORK‘s new rarities collection Death Resonance in CD digipak or clear vinyl formats here: http://nblast.de/SoilworkDResonanceNB
 
SOILWORK is currently touring in support of their current album The Ride Majestic. The Ride Majestic is available to order now in CD, vinyl, or digital formats.  
 
See below for all current SOILWORK tour dates. Visit www.soilwork.org for tickets and more information.
 
SOILWORK 2016 International Festivals and Headliners:
8.14.2016 Rasnov, Romania – Rockstadt Extreme Fest
8.19.2016 Dinkelsbuhl, Germany – SummerBreeze Open Air
8.20.2016 Saint-Nolff, France – Motocultor Festival
 
SOILWORK August 2016 UK Tour with ARCH ENEMY:
Tickets available from seetickets.com
 
8.21.2016 Norwich, UK -Waterfront w/ ARCH ENEMY
8.22.2016 Sheffield, UK – Corporation w/ ARCH ENEMY
8.23.2016 Cardiff, UK -Tramshed w/ ARCH ENEMY
8.24.2016 Southampton, UK – Engine Rooms w/ ARCH ENEMY
8.25.2016London, UK – The Underworld (tickets) (headline – NO ARCH ENEMY)
 
SOILWORK in South America:
9.9.2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Treato Odisseia
9.10.2016 Sao Paulo, Brazil – Clash Club
9.11.2016 Curitiba, Brazil – Music Hall
9.13.2016 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Uniclub
9.14.2016 Montevideo, Uruguay – MM Box
9.16.2016 Santiago, Chile – Blondie
9.17.2016 Lima, Peru – The Blood
9.18.2016 Bogota, Columbia – Auditorio Lumiere
9.20.2016 Guadalupe Inn, Mexico – Lunario 
 
KREATOR, SEPULTURA, SOILWORK, ABORTED European Tour:
Presented by: EMP, ESP, Meinl, Metal.de, Metal Hammer, Metal + Wine, Metalnews.de, Musix, Nuclear Blast, Peta, Piranha, RTN-Touring, Tätowiermagazin, Visions.
 
2.1.2017 Metz, France – B.A.M.
2.2.2017 Tilburg, Netherlands – 013
2.3.2017 Munich, Germany – Tonhalle
2.4.2017 Hamburg, Germany – Mehr! Theater
2.6.2017 Copenhagen, Denmark – Amager Bio
2.7.2017 Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller
2.10.2017 Helsinki, Finland – Black Box
2.11.2017 Tampere, Finland – Pakkahuone
2.12.2017 Tallinn, Estonia – Rock Cafe
2.13.2017 Vilnius, Lithuania – Siemens Arena
2.15.2017 Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
2.16.2017 Wien, Austria – Gasometer
2.17.2017 Wiesbaden, Germany – Schlachthof
2.18.2017 Berlin, Germany – Columbia-Halle
2.19.2017 Pratteln, Switzerland – Z 7
2.21.2017 Trezzo, Italy – Live Club
2.22.2017 Grenoble, France – Summum
2.23.2017 Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
2.24.2017 Madrid, Spain – Riviera
2.25.2017 Toulouse, France – Bikini
2.26.2017 Paris, France – Bataclan
2.28.2017 Manchester, UK – Academy
3.1.2017 Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
3.2.2017 London, Uk – O2 Forum
3.3.2017 Balen, Belgium – Torhout
3.4.2017 Essen, Germany – Grugahalle
 
More on SOILWORK:
“Death In General” music video: https://youtu.be/kme-sxY2pAQ
“Enemies In Fidelity” music video: https://youtu.be/5aCvJWyeGnA
“The Ride Majestic” song stream: https://youtu.be/0wLXeWKGRpM  
 
Visit SOILWORK online at www.soilwork.org.