Swedish death metal act Grave have undergone some significant lineup changes. Bassist Tobias Cristiansson and guitarist Mika Lagrén have left the group ahead of this years Maryland Deathfest. In a statement, guitarist/vocalist Ola Lindgren made the official announcement of the lineup change. This resulted in in a halt to live appearances for 2024. The band’s focus is to restructure and work on a long-awaited new studio album. 

Following the changeup, Maryland Deathfest organizers have revealed Grave’s replacement for the fest and post-shows. Soilent Green are now set to play on Saturday, May 25th and Severe Torture will join the post MDF shows with Bloodbath, Primordial, and Archgoat. 

Grave issued the following statement:

“The past months have been quite overwhelming in the Grave camp. Two of our long-time members Mika Lagrén and Tobias Cristiansson have jumped ship and are no longer in the band. There is no bad blood between us and we wish them all the luck in their future endeavors.

However this puts an enormous strain on the band and it’s hard to see what the future holds and  if there even is a future. At this moment nothing is for sure and nothing is taken for granted.

A decision has been made to halt all live activities for 2024 since there really is no line up which makes necessary preparations impossible.

The main focus for this year will be to restructure the band if possible and to hopefully write/record and release a long awaited new studio album.

Into the darkness – Into the…

/Ola”

Maryland Deathfest organizers added:

We recently had the news dropped on us that Grave are cancelling all live shows in 2024. If you’d like to read the statement that was sent to us, please see below. Needless to say, this situation is beyond our control.

SOILENT GREEN have confirmed to play on Saturday, May 25th at MDF XIX.

SEVERE TORTURE are now joining the post-MDF shows with Bloodbath, Primordial, and Archgoat in Chicago, Seattle, Mesa, and Los Angeles. For what it’s worth, Bloodbath, Primordial, and Severe Torture already have their US visas secured, and based on the timeline of approvals that we’ve been seeing recently, Archgoat is one of the next in line for approval.”

It’s been nearly nine years since Grave’s latest full-length effort with 2015’s Out of Respect for the Dead. As the group goes through these changes, we will soon see how things unfold and showcase through their long-awaited next record.