In Flamer In Rehab

02/04/09 3:08pm

In Flames founder and guitarist Jesper Stromblad will miss the Swedish death metal group's shows in Mexico, South America, Australia and Japan while he's in a rehabilitation clinic trying to overcome his alcoholism.

"Jesper has struggled for some time with alcohol abuse, and decided to sit this out in order to seek help and focus on rehabilitation and all that comes with it," the band said in a media statement. "We all talked about it and, together with Jesper, we chose to ask our longtime friend Niclas Engelin, who helped us before, to complete the tour.

"We are all sad that it needed to come to this, but health comes first. This is something Jesper needed to do for himself and we wish Jesper all the best with his recovery and hope to have him back on the road with us again very, very soon."

Stromblad is expected back for In Flames' European dates, which begin on March 25.

In Flames singer Anders Friden will play his favourite songs from his record collection when he co-hosts a show on Swedish radio station 106.3 Bandit Rock at 6 p.m. CET on Sunday. You can listen to it live on the internet.

In Flames were named best Swedish band and best Swedish live band, and also took the top Swedish album prize for last year's A Sense Of Purpose at the Bandit Rock Awards on Jan. 30. They also received the best hard rock award at the Swedish Grammis ceremony on Jan. 7. Even better, they got it from Europe singer Joey Tempest.

That can only mean one thing: It's "The Final Countdown."

Here are In Flames' tour dates:

Feb. 7 Monterrey, Mexico @ Cafe Iguana
Feb. 8 Mexico City, Mexico @ Circo Volador
Feb. 10 Bogota, Colombia @ Teatro Metro
Feb. 12 Santiago, Chile @ Blondie Discotheque
Feb. 13-14 Buenos Aires, Argentina @ The End
Feb. 15 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Santana Hall
Feb. 21 Brisbane, Australia @ RNA Showgrounds (Soundwave Festival)
Feb. 22 Sydney, Australia @ Easter Creek Raceway (Soundwave Festival)
Feb. 23 Sydney, Australia @ The Forum w/Lamb Of God and Unearth
Feb. 24 Melbourne, Australia @ Billboard w/Lamb Of God and Unearth
Feb. 27 Melbourne, Australia @ Melbourne Showgrounds (Soundwave Festival)
Feb. 28 Adelaide, Australia @ Bonython Park (Soundwave Festival)
March 2 Perth, Australia @ Steel Blue Oval (Soundwave Festival)
March 4-5 Tokyo, Japan @ Blitz w/Lamb Of God and Unearth
March 6 Osaka, Japan @ Namba Hatch w/Lamb Of God and Unearth
March 25 Zagreb, Croatia @ Tvornica Club
March 26 Vienna, Austria @ Arena
March 27 Maribor, Slovenia @ STUCK Sporthall
March 28 Belgrade, Serbia @ Studenski Kulturni Centar Belograd
March 29 Sofia, Bulgaria @ TBC
March 30 Bucharest, Romania @ Arenele Romane
April 1 Budapest, Hungary @ Petofi Csarnok
April 2 Kosice, Slovakia @ Jumbo Hall
April 3 Zlin, Czech Republic @ Masters Of Rock Cafe
April 4 Prague, Czech Republic @ Retro Music Hall
April 6 Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja
April 15 Norwich, England @ The Waterfront (University Of East Anglia)
April 16 Colchester, England @ Colchester Arts Centre
April 17 Brighton, England @ Concorde 2
April 18 Oxford, England @ O2 Academy Oxford
April 19 Leeds, England @ The Cockpit
April 21 Newcastle, England @ Academy 2
April 22 Dundee, Scotland @ Fat Sam's
April 23 Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Mandela Hall
April 24 Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy Dublin
April 25 Cork, Ireland @ The Pavillion Bar & Live Music Venue
April 27 Exeter, England @ Lemon Grove (University Of Exeter)
April 28 Cardiff, Wales @ Cardiff University Students Union
April 29 Cambridge, England @ The Junction
April 30 Sheffield, England @ Corporation
May 1 Liverpool, England @ Academy 2
May 2 Northampton, England @ Roadmender
June 5 Norje, Sweden @ Sweden Rock Festival
June 9 Kvinesdal, Norway @ Norway Rock Festival
July 31 Wacken, Germany @ Wacken Open Air Festival