Ola Frenning leaves Soilwork
February 16th, 2008 Brian
I just read that the main guitarist(Ola Frenning) of Soilwork is leaving the band. The official release can be read on their website Soilwork.org. This would be a sizable loss to Soilwork since they lost former guitarist Peter Wichers to a career in production after that last album Stabbing the Drama. They are going to continue touring and I’ll be going to see them play in Seattle in late March, so I’ll see how they sound after this change.
I have to say I was pretty disappointed by their last album Sworn to a Great Divide. It left much to be desired, but still had a lot of the elements from previous albums. It is not clear if they hit a wall creatively, with the label or are just milking the cow. We’ll have to see what the future rings since it seems like they have a full year of touring planned. stay tuned! The full quote from the band website is included below:
SOILWORK, who recently completed the Lamb Of God/Killswitch Engage U.S. tour in support of their new album Sworn To A Great Divide, have decided to part ways with guitarist Ola Frenning.
It was felt that Ola resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled.
Sworn To A Great Divide is SOILWORK’s fastest seller and the live demand for the band is growing. They intend to play everywhere and fulfill the album’s potential.
Vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid says: ‘It was a very difficult decision to make because Ola has been our friend and bandmate for a very long time’.
The decision will not affect any of SOILWORK’s plans. Guitarist David Andersson will fill in on their upcoming Finnish/Baltic tour as well as the “Scum Of The Earth” U.S. tour with Throwdown. The band will then tour Australia, Japan and South-East Asia before returning to Europe for festivals and a headlining U.S. tour in the Fall.
Ola Frenning comments: ‘After 10 years, 7 albums and several world wide tours, we’ve realised that we have developed in different directions and have a different set of values, profession wise. The disagreements have reached their peak and it has become an untenable situation. The band’s solution is that I part ways with them so that I won’t be in the way for the future plans of SOILWORK.
However, since I’m not gonna be on the road (at least for a while), I will now be able to continue with my songwriting and producing at another level. For further information, visit www.myspace.com/olafrenning. The page will be updated in the near future.
Cheers to ya all… And thanks for making these 10 years with the band memorable’.
-Ola Frenning
posted by: Soilwork (12 Feb 2008)
