REFLEXION: Changes in the line-up

REFLEXION has issued the following update:

"As the result of many discussions, tears and beers, we have come to the decision that we need a new drummer for Reflexion. This was the biggest and hardest decision in our band’s history, but it was made in good spirit and without bad blood.

The root cause of all of this dates back to a year and a half ago. Since then, our long-term drummer and dear friend Ari-Matti “Reiska” Pohjola has been suffering from a still undiagnosed injury in his back and right hand.

About one year ago we decided that we would start to record our third album on summer 2009. At that point everything seemed to be fine. During the year, we played a couple of gigs and we already got signs that Reiska’s hand was not working properly, although it still didn’t prevent him from playing. In the spring, when we started to rehearse new songs and record demos, Reiska’s hand still wasn’t right.

We moved the studio session ahead for three weeks but during that time Reiska’s hand only got worse and we had to find another solution. We discussed possible solutions and came to a decision to use a session drummer for the studio and try to put Reiska back on the line one way or another. Juha suggested that maybe we should contact his friend and old colleague Tonmi Lillman. We had very good luck in that we managed to get Tonmi to play the drums for the album.

After the album recordings, Reiska’s hand and back were still in a bad shape. We had already had some gigs confirmed for next year and we should start to rehearse soon. It was quite a confusing situation and we thought about every possible solution. As an outcome, we came to a decision that we cannot continue in such an uncertain state and all agreed that the best thing for the future of the band is to find a new drummer for Reflexion.

This didn’t come easily but we are very happy that we still remain friends. We’re all looking forward to see Reiska’s hand in a shape that he could continue to play the drums and as well do the other things that are important to him.

Yours sincerely,
Juha, Juhani, Ilkka, Reiska and Mikko"