Swedish metal masters Sabaton recently checked in with the the following announcement:

"After seven amazing years in the band, our guitarist, Tommy, has decided to leave Sabaton to pursue his own path. We wish him nothing but the best on his journey. We have been a close family and we will continue to support him in the adventures that await him in the future.

Tommy joined the band in 2016 but he has been a close friend of Sabaton ever since our first meeting at the end of a concert in 2005. As a valued member of the band, he has contributed to countless immortal memories. Tommy’s departure from Sabaton will not be effective immediately. He will stay on to ensure that all goes smoothly with the handover to our next guitarist.

While a small part of his large heart will always remain within Sabaton, we all know that he must follow his dreams.

Even though we will not wake up daily in the tour bus next to him, we are sure that our paths will cross again many times in the future, both on and off the stage.

Fly on your wings and strings brother!"

Pär, Chris, Hannes and Joakim

Now, the band has checked in with the following update:

"We are beyond excited to announce that our former guitarist, Thobbe Englund, is rejoining the band and taking Tommy’s place!

Thobbe originally joined us in April 2012 and decided to leave Sabaton in July 2016 to focus on his personal life and expand his creativity. We, of course, respected his decision and we parted ways amicably. Since then, we have been in constant contact with him over the years - he’s a really good friend to all of us! Eight years later, he’s back and ready to hit the global stage with us once more and we couldn’t be happier about it!

Thobbe recorded two studio albums with us, namely Heroes (2014) and The Last Stand (2016), and assisted with the songwriting of some of our very popular songs including 'Shiroyama' and 'Fields Of Verdun', among others.

As always thank you all for your unending support. It means the world to us. Here’s to a new era for Sabaton!"