And the New Drummer for Soilwork is…
…Bastian Thusgaard!
The news isn’t all that surprising: the twenty-five-year old drummer has been performing with Soilwork since Dirk Verbeuren left to join Megadeth last year. In addition to having played for The Arcane Order, Thusgaard was a student of Verbeuren’s.
So, basically, the past ten months have been a prolonged trial period for Thusgaard, and now he’s officially in the band.
Here’s a statement from Soilwork…
“We are super stoked to announce Bastian Thusgaard as our permanent drummer. He’s been touring with us for quite a while and has been nothing short of amazing to work with, both on a musical level and on a personal level. Taking over after Dirk must have been pretty hard, but he has proven, time and time again, through our tours through North America, South America and Europe, that he is the perfect man for the job. Bastian is only 25 years old and already possesses such great groove and fantastic technique. We can’t wait to see, how his ability will take us to the next level while we write our next album. It will be a beast, there’s no doubt about it. We have so much left to say musically and Bastian will be the perfect drummer, to help the band evolve on our constant musical journey. Give Bastian a warm welcome everyone!”
…and here’s a statement from Thusgaard himself:
“First and foremost, I would like to thank Björn, Sven, David, Sylvain, Markus and everyone else involved in the Soilwork team for their very warm welcome. I want to thank Dirk for his guidance, support and ability to inspire young drummers like myself, to put in the hours needed in order to make it to this level. He is the reason that I’ve had my life’s best musical experiences during these past ten months. To the fans that I’ve already met around the world and all the wonderful people surrounding me, thank you for your great support and positive feedback. It has truly been overwhelming.
“I am truly honoured to be given the opportunity to continuously work with Soilwork, a band that I grew up listening to and one of the key elements of my musical education. I am 100% committed to Soilwork and am looking forward to create music with my childhood heroes and to see what the future will bring. See you all on the road.”
Thusgaard will make his debut as Soilwork’s official new for really real drummer at a series of festivals starting next month. Dates are at the bottom of this post. In the meantime, here’s some video of Thusgaard performing Soilwork’s “Stabbing the Drama,” lest you doubt his abilities:
Confirmed SOILWORK Festival Dates:
May 21-22 Radio Rock Risteily Cruise from Helsinki to Tallinn
Jun 10 Brétigny-Sur-Orge, France @ Download FR
Jun 17 Clisson, France @ Hellfest
Jun 23 Gräfenhainichen, Germany @ With Full Force
Jul 01 Helsinki, Finland @ Tuska Open Air Metal Festival
Aug 05 Wacken, Germany @ Wacken Open Air
Aug 11 Catton on Hall, United Kingdom @ Bloodstock Open Air
Aug 25 Woerrstadt, Germany @ Neuborn Open Air Festival
Additional confirmed dates:
Nov 10 Malmö, Sweden @ KB
Nov 11 Gårda, Sweden @ Brewhouse
Nov 12 Oslo, Norway @ John Dee
Nov 13 Linkoping, Sweden @ Pitchers/The Crypt
Nov 14 Uppsala, Sweden @ Katalin
