Die Apokalyptischen Reiter will be supported by Lady Cat-Man on guitar from now on. She will replace guitarist Pitrone, who the band split up with.

A statement of the band on http://www.reitermania.de reads as follows: "Hello Maniacs. There was a line up change. Pitrone is no longer part of the band. His job as guitarist will be taken over by Lady Cat-Man this instant. We hesitated for a long time to take this step, but there were many reasons to let Pitrone go and look for a replacement.

Not many of you know that Pitrone himself wanted to leave in May 2006. That hit us like a ten ton hammer back then since "Riders On The Storm" was about to be released and the Riders-tour in autumn was threatened. After a week of looking desperately for a replacement we got a surprise call from Pitrone, saying that he wanted to continue after all. So hold your horses? Since the schedule was so tight we hardly had the time to think it over. Still, the bitter aftertaste lingered. Not on tour, not during backstage parties, but being home alone with all the sudden silence there was the feeling that something wasn't working, somehow everything felt tainted.

In the past few months the impression got stronger that it was no longer five guys standing on the same side of things. Small things cumulated, the anger was rising, different views on the sound of the band became obvious. For a long time it was unthinkable to continue without Pitrone, but the harder we were working on the new album the more we got unsatisfied with him. We talked with him many times about what should be improved and about the fact that we were unhappy with the situation. We have been waiting for a sign from his side for a long time - until we couldn´t wait any longer.

This wasn't a decision against Pitrone as a person. We have had lots of awesome months, weeks and days together since 2002. We would like to thank him for all the unforgettable moments. But in the end we had a decision to make. A decision against Pitrone, but in favour of the band. This is not about having a bad phase. We´re all just human beings and nobody can be hypercreative all of the time. But we simply had the feeling that Pitrone couldn't invest much enthusiasm in the band in the last couple of months. So we consider this step inevitable.

We´re currently housed in the Principal studio (where also "Riders On The Storm" was recorded) to record our new album. This one will be released end of summer. Don´t expect anything less than an absolute killer record! The sound is damn heavy, melodic and chock full of surprises. Lady Cat-Man may look like an angel, but she's playing like the devil! Treat our Metal sister real nice, she is part of the family now."

A picture of the new line up can be found here.

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Die Apokalyptischen Reiter