La nouvelle vient de tomber : le batteur historique du groupe, l'allemand Jörg Michael, va quitter Stratovarius après plus de 15 ans de bons et loyaux services.
Les raisons de ce départ ne sont pas précisées, uniquement le traditionnel "raisons personnelles" a été avancé dans la communiqué.
Il faut cependant rappeler que Jörg est tombé malade l'an passé mais a su revenir en guérissant un cancer de la thyroïde. Espérons qu'il n'y ait aucune rechute et que le batteur allemand ait simplement décidé de tourner la page ou de passer plus de temps avec sa famille...
Aucun remplacement n'est pour l'instant annoncé, Jörg terminera la tournée actuelle (jusqu'à fin janvier 2012). Un "Farewell Jörg" Tour se tiendra même en Finlande entre le 18 et 26 novembre.
Rappelons que Stratovarius a sorti en début d'année le très bon Elysium chez earMusic, le vidéo clip de la chanson "Under Flaming Skies" vient d'ailleurs tout juste de sortir :
Communiqué officiel :
STRATOVARIUS SAYS FAREWELL TO DRUMMER JÖRG MICHAEL
Stratovarius, one of the most successful Finnish acts with over 2.5 million
albums sold, says farewell to longtime drummer Mr. Jörg Michael who will
leave the band after 15 years for personal reasons. Jörg will play all the
remaining tour dates until the end of January, and will celebrate with a
special Finnish "Farewell Jörg" tour in Finland November 18th - 26th.
Jörg joined the band in 1995 and the first Stratovarius album he played on
was Episode (1996). He played on nine albums and nearly 1000 shows with the
band.
"The rest of us just has to accept Jörg's decision with a lot of sadness
and wish him all the best for the future. But we can also assure that the
band will still go on", says the singer Mr. Timo Kotipelto.
The band and Jörg are not going completely separate ways though, since Jörg
will still be working for the band with his booking agency Twisted Talent
Concerts. "Our long journey of over fifteen years together has not ended
yet, as Jörg remains among our background forces - and we couldn't be more
happy about that. Not only has he been a great drummer but also a close
friend and a true professional. We're honoured to have Jörg by our side for
this farewell Tour. We can't wait to rock with our 'German Steamroller' one
last time! These shows will be unforgettable for all of us", Kotipelto
continues.
Stratovarius released their latest studio album "Elysium" in the beginning
of the year. The brand new video for the second single "Under Flaming
Skies" can be checked on earMUSIC official Channel.
