SO, UH, WHEN DID NIKLAS ENGELIN BECOME THE NEW GUITAR PLAYER FOR IN FLAMES?

The reader known as “Fantasyoosh” e-mailed us yesterday to point out that Niklas Engelin is now listed as a member of In Flames on the band’s official Facebook page, which also features a band picture featuring the guitarist (above — Engelin is the second guy on the left).

Now, it’s not entirely shocking that Engelin got the gig — he’s toured with In Flames three times before, once from ’97-’98 after original guitarist Glenn Ljungström left the group, and again in both 2006 and 2009 while Jesper Strömblad took some time off (and then eventually a lot of time off) from the band.

What is surprising is that band never made a big announcement about Engelin officially joining the fold. I mean, it’s not like they aren’t aware that fans have been desperate to know who’d try and fill Strömblad’s shoes — they’ve been teasing us for months. Did it not occur to anyone that Engelin’s hiring should have warranted, like, a press release or something?

So, uh, yeah. Niklas Engelin, now an official member of In Flames. Congrats, Niklas!

-AR