According to an update on the band website, Finnish melodic death metallers Before The Dawn will break up after their performance on June 25th at the Nummirock Festival, only to re-group for 1 month and come back on stage stronger than ever at the Tuska Open Air afterparty on July 24th.

Formed in 1999, Before The Dawn has reached a crossroad after 6 full-lengths, numerous tours and gigs in over 20 countries and several label changes that lead the band under the mighty wings of Nuclear Blast at the end of 2010. The past few years have been difficult for the band in many ways and in the end there were only 2 ways to go; bury the band or continue thru big changes in line-up and eventually in the music too.

With mutual decision in the band Lars Eikind (bass/clean vocals) and Atte Palokangas (drums) will no longer be members of Before The Dawn after the gig at Nummirock Festival. The decision with Lars was mainly personal and with Atte purely musical. The new style will bring the band closer to melodic death metal and the gothic influences will be part of the bands history.

Band leader and the sole songwriter Tuomas Saukkonen and lead guitarist Juho Räihä have been the key members of the bands sound since the Deadlight album with Tuomas delivering the music and production and Juho working behind the mixing desk in the studio with recordings and also mixing the two latest releases (Decade of Darkness and Deathstar Rising). Their teamwork will be a guarantee of a top quality in music and production in the future also when the band returns to the studio in winter 2011. BTD will also return the stages of Europe in winter 2011 and before that the new line-up will release a digital single and music video "Phoenix Rising" from the forthcoming 7th album.

In the words of Tuomas Saukkonen: "Current changes were difficult and unfortunate but still inevitable and necessary so that the band could continue and release 7th album stronger than ever".

Source:	beforethedawn.com
Band profile:	Before The Dawn