Battle Beast split with Kabanen

Battle Beast have split with guitarist Anton Kabanen, they’ve announced.

The band report the move is a result of “musical disagreements and various other unsolvable issues.”

They say in a statement: “After long and heavy consideration, Battle Beast has decided to go their separate ways with Anton Kabanen.

“Kabanen has stated he will continue making music with other projects. The band will not be giving interviews concerning the topic.

“It’s a sad day for everybody involved. Battle Beast wishes Anton all the best in his future projects.”

The guitarist tells Rumba magazine: “This has been brewing for quite some time. I didn’t want to leave. The initiative came from the rest of the band – and now I am forced to leave.

“The Battle Beast company owns the name, not me. There were five guys against me in this company. There was nothing I could do.”

The Finish outfit’s third album Unholy Saviour last month and have lined up a six-date tour in their homeland starting on March 6. They’ll then play two shows in Russia before embarking on a road trip across mainland Europe.

The concerts are set to go ahead with a temporary replacement for Kabanen, who’ll be named in due course.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.