SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, featuring ARCH ENEMY's Michael Amott (guitars) and Sharlee D'Angelo (bass) have officially parted ways with vocalist JB, and welcome their new singer, Apollo Papathanasio.

Amott comments: "This will be a surprise to most of you, but it's been mutually decided for some time now that JB would step down from his role as the singer in Spiritual Beggars to focus on his own band. We had a fantastic time working with JB. We remain great friends and we wish him the best of luck. We decided to make a new Spiritual Beggars record and to find a new voice - and we found a killer singer that lives in our hometown. Some of you will already be familiar with him as a singer in the Greek metal band FIREWIND.

We've had a blast in the studio and it's been highly satisfying on a creative level. We have already confirmed some shows in Japan later in the year and we are in the process of booking more concerts around the world. We are looking forward to getting the new music out to the fans and playing live again."

A short sample of new song featuring Apollo Papathanasio on vocals is available now at the Spiritual Beggars' official Myspace page here.

The band is currently mixing its first new studio album in five years for a late summer/early fall 2010 release. The CD was recorded at Sweetspot Studio with producer Rickard Bengtsson.

Amott recently commented on the new album: "To describe the music itself, we feel the songs are strong and melodic with a lot of '70s and early '80s hard rock atmosphere. If you are a fan of our albums On Fire and Demons, we are pretty sure you will also enjoy this next chapter…"

Spiritual Beggars 2010:

Michael Amott (ARCH ENEMY, CARCASS) – Guitars

Ludwig Witt (FIREBIRD) – Drums

Per Wiberg (OPETH) - Keyboards

Sharlee D'Angelo (ARCH ENEMY, MERCYFUL FATE) – Bass

Apollo Papathanasio (FIREWIND) – Vocals