Sweden’s Sabaton have introduced their new guitarist, after Thobbe Englund played his final gig with the band at their Sabaton Open Air festival. An update from the band follows:

“Thank you Thobbe, welcome Tommy!

“Our guitar player Thobbe did his final concert with us (at the) very emotional show at the Sabaton Open Air festival. Celebrating the release of our new album while saying goodbye to a great friend is lot of mixed feelings. But the future is bright since this was not nearly our last stand, from now on you will see Tommy Johansson playing guitars with Sabaton and we all look forward to see you on the road!”

Says Tommy Johansson: “For me to be a part of the Sabaton family is a huge honour and I couldn't be happier! The guys are awesome and among the nicest people you can meet. I've been following Sabaton since 2005 when I saw them live for the first time and I have loved the band ever since, so when they asked me to join there were no hesitation.

“Although, they did ask me already back in 2012 but for many personal reasons it was not a good time for me to hit the road and give everything that was needed to the band. So I declined, but we have stayed in touch since then. I also wanna say that Thobbe is a great guitarist and such a wonderful guy!! My job is not to replace him, it's to contribute to the band with my own style of guitar playing but of course also to keep his fans happy by playing his wonderful solos with pride. I look forward to meet you all on tour and to do what I love the most in life - to play heavy metal!"

Sabaton released their new album, The Last Stand, on August 19th via Nuclear Blast. The album can be ordered in various formats here, or digitally here.

“Shiroyama” lyric video:

"Blood Of Bannockburn" lyric video:

“The Lost Battalion” lyric video:

The Last Tour is the biggest tour of Sabaton yet and is scheduled to kick off January 7th at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. Very special guests are none other than heavy metal legends Accept. Find Sabaton’s complete tour itinerary at this location.

(Photo - Sabaton Facebook)