No More JB in Spiritual Beggars; Per Wiberg Deals with Grief by Growing Awesome Moustache
While to the untrained eye it might seem the story here is that Swedish stoner legends Spiritual Beggars have parted ways with vocalist JB (also of the increasingly mighty Grand Magus) and replaced him with Apollo IhaveasuperGreeksoundingnameopolis of Firewind — whose guitarist, Gus G., can currently be found in Ozzy‘s band — The Obelisk knows the actual news comes in the form of keyboardist Per Wiberg‘s moustache/goatee combo, which has gone to plaid in terms of ’50s beat excellence. Check out the lineup picture:
Per is far left, in case the radiating awesomeness of his ‘stache didn’t reveal itself immediately to you. Even guitarist Michael Amott (second from left) can’t help but grin at it, and though Apollo (middle) seems clueless about it, drummer Ludwig Witt (far right) looks terrified of its prowess. It’s true, you don’t cross a moustache like that. Sharlee D’Angelo (second from right) has already tasted its wrath and is none too happy about it. You better believe that moustache is getting a solo when Spiritual Beggars finally put out their new album later this year.
Amott made a statement on the band’s MySpace page about Apollo joining. Curiously, Per‘s moustache wasn’t mentioned. To wit:
Michael Amott comments: “This will be a surprise to most of you, but it’s been mutually decided for some time now that JB would step down from his role as the singer in Spiritual Beggars to focus on his own band. We had a fantastic time working with JB. We remain great friends and we wish him the best of luck!
“We decided to make a new Spiritual Beggars record and to find a new voice — and we found a killer singer that lives in our hometown. Some of you will already be familiar with him as a singer in the Greek metal band Firewind.
“We’ve had a blast in the studio and it’s been highly satisfying on a creative level. We have already confirmed some shows in Japan later in the year and we are in the process of booking more concerts around the world. We are looking forward to getting the new music out to the fans and playing live again”
A short sample of new song featuring Apollo Papathanasio on vocals is available now at the Spiritual Beggars MySpace.
Spiritual Beggars 2010:
Michael Amott (Arch Enemy, Carcass): Guitars
Ludwig Witt (Firebird): Drums
Per Wiberg (Opeth): Keyboards
Sharlee D’Angelo (Arch Enemy, Mercyful Fate): Bass
Apollo Papathanasio (Firewind): Vocals
