Soilwork recruit bassist Markus Wibom

Soilwork have recruited former Hearts Alive bassist Markus Wibom, the band have confirmed.

He’s toured with the group previously and has been brought in to replace long-time member Ola Flink, who’s left the Swedish outfit to concentrate on other projects.

Vocalist Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid says: “We all sooner or later come to a crossroad in our lives when our focus of being fuelled by the past is just as strong as our visions of the future and we have to make that incredibly hard decision. Where do I go now?

“Flink will forever be a symbol for Soilwork and of all we were and still are about. That said, we could sense he eventually would come to the above mentioned crossroad. He understandably and respectfully chose to step down.”

The frontman calls Wibom an “amazing musician” and adds: “As much as I will miss Flink, I’m just as excited to tour the world with one of my absolute best friends. Thank you Flink, you will forever rule. Thank you Markus for taking this on.”

Wibon adds: “It’s a great honour and a true pleasure to play with such skilled musicians and amazing people! It’s going to be awesome to share the stage with those guys after all these years on the road together.”

The band will release their 10th studio album entitled The Ride Majestic on August 28 via Nuclear Blast. It’s currently available to pre-order.

Soilwork head out on a world tour next month, kicking off in Germany on July 25:

Jul 25: Essen Nord Open Air, Germany

Jul 30: Budapest Fezen Festival, Hungary

Aug 01: Bollnas Karlslundfestivalen, Sweden

Aug 07: Mikkeli Jurassic Rock Fest, Finland

Sep 30: Los Angeles Fonda Theater, CA, US

Oct 01: San Francisco Regency Ballroom, CA, US

Oct 02: Portland Hawthorne Theater, OR, US

Oct 03: Seattle Studio Seven, WA, US

Oct 04: Vancouver Rickshaw Theatre, Canada

Oct 06: Kelowna Level Nightclub, Canada

Oct 07: Edmonton Starlite Room, Canada

Oct 08: Saskatoon O’Brian’s Event Centre, Canada

Oct 09: Winnipeg The Park Theatre, Canada

Oct 10: Minneapolis Amserdam, MN, US

Oct 11: Joliet Mojoes, IL, US

Oct 12: Des Moines Val Air Ballroom, IA, US

Oct 13: Cleveland Agora Theater, OH, US

Oct 14: Toronto The Opera House, Canada

Oct 15: Montreal Corona Theater, Canada

Oct 18: Columbus Northland Performing Arts Center, OH, US

Oct 19: Pontiac Crofoot Ballroom, MI, US

Oct 20: New York Gramercy Theater, NY, US

Oct 21: Baltimore Ottobar, MD, US

Oct 22: Knoxville The International, TN, US

Oct 23: Atlanta The Masquerade, GA, US

Oct 24: Fort Lauderdale Culture Room, FL, US

Oct 25: St Petersburg State Theater, FL, US

Oct 27: Houston Scout Bar, TX, US

Oct 28: Austin Empire Control Room, TX, US

Oct 29: Dallas Gas Monkey, TX, US

Oct 30: Albuquerque Sunshine Theater, NM, US

Oct 31: Mesa Club Red, AZ, US

Nov 01: San Diego Brick By Brick, CA, US

Nov 27: Malmo KB, Sweden

Nov 28: Herford X-Herford, Germany

Nov 29: Lyss Kufa, Switzerland

Nov 30: Sion Port Franc, Switzerland

Dec 01: Brescia Colony, Italy

Dec 02: Munich Backstage, Germany

Dec 04: Leipzing Hellraiser, Germany

Dec 05: Pilsen Winter Basinfire Fest, Czech Republic

Dec 07: Hamburg Logo, Germany

Dec 08: Cologne Luxor, Germany

Dec 10: Tilburg 013, Netherlands

Dec 11: Vosselaar Biebob, Belgium

Dec 12: Metz Les Trinitaires, France

Dec 13: Dunkirk 4 Ecluses, France

Dec 14: Paris Le Trabendo, France

Dec 15: Rennes Antipode MJC, France

Dec 16: Cenon Le Rocher De Palmer, France

Dec 17: Blois Chato’do, France

Dec 18: Limoges Centre Culturel John Lennon, France

Dec 19: Villeurbanne Centre Culturel Oecumenique

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.