DEAD BY APRIL Parts Ways With Singer, Announces Replacement

Swedish "pop/metal" band DEAD BY APRIL has released the following statement:

"We're deeply sorry to inform you that Jimmie Strimell [vocals] no longer will be a part of DEAD BY APRIL. The reason we had to make this decision is because of Jimmie's personal problems. His problems has affected the band for many years and we have basically tried everything we could to make this work. We have even gone through group therapy lately to get honesty and sincerity into the group. As nothing changed, we had to realize that if we want to move forward with this band, there's, unfortunately, no other way but to continue without Jimmie. We're sick of not knowing whether he'll turn up for shows, recordings and sick of having such bad environment within the band — at all times. It came to a point where we could not be in the same vehicle. We also want to strongly declare that DEAD BY APRIL is against drugs — an important statement for us to make in a time were we know a lot of our fans are young.

"With unforgettable memories and great times together, we'd like to thank Jimmie for these years. We hope for your support and understanding about this; That we would never announce this decision unless it was absolutely necessary and our only choice.

"With that said, we also have some good news to announce. We have found our replacement and we want to introduce you to Christoffer 'Stoffe' Andersson, whom previously been performing as replacer in SONIC SYNDICATE and been in Markus' [bass] other band BY NIGHT. He's live and kicking and it's been years since we've been this excited. He's absolutely awesome! Stoffe is a firm member of the band and will obviously be a part of the live shows to come and the record we're currently recording.

"DEAD BY APRIL is here to stay and the forthcoming tour is happening and we're currently recording to what will become our third album to date. We'll release an EP of tracks by May to support the extensive European tour we'll be on. We hope to see you all there."

A photo of the new DEAD BY APRIL lineup can be seen below.

DEAD BY APRIL's second studio album, "Incomparable", was released in Sweden on September 21, 2011 through Universal Music. Produced by Swedish studio-meister Jacob Hellner (RAMMSTEIN) in his own Big Island Studio in Stockholm, the CD was mixed by fellow RAMMSTEIN regular Stefan Glaumann and features session guitar work from Pontus Hjelm, who left DEAD BY APRIL in 2010 to focus more on the writing and production side; his songs (including "More Than Yesterday", a demo version of which was included on the compilation mini-album "Stronger", released via Spinefarm) also feature, providing the all-important continuity with the self-titled debut, a Top 2 outing in Sweden.