NECROPHOBIC Parts Ways With Vocalist TOBIAS SIDEGÅRD

Cult Swedish black/death metal act NECROPHOBIC has officially parted ways with vocalist Tobias Sidegård.

A Swedish appeals court last month reduced the prison sentence for Sidegård, who was accused of beating his wife multiple times between September 2011 and April 2013.

Sidegård was originally sentenced to 18 months in prison for "gross violation of a woman's integrity," and offense that was first introduced into the Penal Code in 1998 dealing with repeated punishable acts directed by men against women who have or have had a close relationship with the perpetrator.

On September 20, the Svea appeals court found Sidegård guilty of simple assault — a less serious offense than "gross violation of a woman's integrity" — and reduced his prison sentence to six months. The musician was also ordered to pay his wife 16,000 Swedish kronor (approximately $2,500) in damages plus interest.

Said NECROPHOBIC in a statement: "Tobias is no longer a member of NECROPHOBIC. The verdict following his trial regrettably left us, the band, with no other choice.

"As stated before, NECROPHOBIC do not accept or tolerate domestic violence in any way.

"We will now search for a replacement.

"Tobias will make a statement of his own within the next couple of days, which he will publish on his Facebook page."

In addition to allegations of violence against his wife, Sidegård was suspected of physically abusing his daughters with a homemade bullwhip.

The Swedish-language document detailing the Svea appeals court's decision to reduce Tobias' sentence can be downloaded as a PDF file at this location.

Two separate Swedish media reports (in which Sidegård was not identified by name) from May 2013 regarding the allegations against the NECROPHOBIC frontman can be found by following these links:

* Aftonbladet.se
* Expressen.se

Sidegård previously denied all charges through his attorney, claiming that the injuries suffered by Tobias' wife that were described in the indictment occurred in "other ways" than through physical abuse perpetrated by the musician.

Tobias sent an e-mail to the Metal Insider and MetalSucks web sites last month insisting that he was "set free after second appeal in higher court." "I've been fucking innocently accused and never hit a woman in my life," he wrote.

NECROPHOBIC will release its seventh full-length album, "Womb Of Lilithu", on October 29 (four days earlier in Europe) via Season Of Mist. A digital single featuring the new song "Splendour Nigri Solis", taken from the forthcoming CD, was released exclusively through Spotify on August 19 (September 3 in North America).

"Womb Of Lilithu" track listing:

01. Womb Of Lilithu
02. Splendour Nigri Solis
03. Astaroth
04. Furfur
05. Black Night Raven
06. The Necromancer
07. Marquis Phenex
08. Asmodee
09. Marchosias
10. Matanbuchus
11. Paimon
12. Opium Black
13. Infinite Infernalis
14. Amdusias

The song "Asmodee" can now be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below (courtesy of RevolverMag.com).