Marduk recently parted ways with bassist Joel Lindholm after Lindholm blatantly threw a Nazi salute during a set at Incineration Fest. At the time, Marduk only commented that "following a variety of intolerable stage antics by a very drunk Joel at Incineration Fest last week, he has vacated his position in the band. Our old friend and bass player Devo has agreed to step in on a temporary basis, so this is unlikely to affect any of upcoming shows."
Now Marduk has offered a slightly longer explanation, saying that Lindholm was drunk and had made "multiple attempts" over the years to get away with drinking under the radar. Marduk said they were unaware of what Lindholm was doing on stage, and that bassist Simon Wizén will also be stepping in alongside Devo to fill the gap in their lineup.
Marduk also mentions a "striptease" on stage, which I think is when Lindholm took off his shirt during the show? That, or there's a whole different video from that night that we're not aware of.
"Slight change of plans: Simon Wizén (Valkyrja) is handling bass for us at Thronefest this coming weekend. Devo will likely play the remaining festival shows, except for Brutal Assault.
"The recent developments have sparked mixed opinions, which is fair enough. Nevertheless, it bears mentioning that Joel's escapades in London were the culmination of a string of questionable behaviour.
"Despite repeated promises to respect the alcohol ban he received shortly after joining the band, Joel made multiple attempts to circumvent this by drinking covertly. Famously, Incineration Fest being the most recent example.
"We were unaware of his various provocations between songs – as well as the concluding striptease – until that video surfaced the morning of Steelfest. Watching the first ten minutes was quite enough for everyone involved to conclude that Joel's time with Marduk had come to an end.
"#herewegoagain"
