Mighty Music has shared "The Challenge (Live)", taken from Danish thrash legends Artillery's upcoming album, Raw Live (At Copenhell), to be released on February 2nd, 2024 on LP, CD and digital.
Artillery and their guitarist since 2017, Kræn Meier, recently decided to go their separate ways. Kræn Meier started in the band in 2017 as a replacement for the then ill Morten Stützer and became permanent guitarist in 2019 when Morten Stützer passed away.
In a short statement, Kræn Meier states: "It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce my departure from Artillery. Personal differences have made it impossible to move forward together, and I am taking the consequence of that. I am still in music for the love of it, and am now free and more than ready for other bands and projects that need a guitarist with a professional attitude towards playing music.”
Kræn Meier was a big part of Artillery's latest album, the critically acclaimed X (Metal Blade, 2021), for which he wrote 4 songs "In Thrash We Trust", "Beggars In Black Suits", "The Force Indifference" and "Mors Onthologia" and co-wrote the song "Silver Cross" with longtime bass player Peter Thorslund.
Since 2017, time has been dedicated to Artillery, but Kræn Meier has figured on the scene for many years and has played with Sacrificial (Denmark), Nominom (Sweden), Thorium (Denmark), Atomkraft (England), Perracide (Sweden) and shared stage with Michael Denner and Mantas on special occasions.
Kræn adds: "Growing up in Ribe Jutland, one of my favourite bands was Danish Artillery, who together with Metallica, Exodus, Slayer and Testament, to name a few, really spurred my journey into playing guitar. I've travelled the world with Artillery, visiting New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Columbia, Ukraine, Hungary, Spain and The Philippines and many other countries. There has been a lot of good times travelling, and I aim to keep up the traveling and playing as much as I possibly can in the future.”
