It has been confirmed that Niclas Engelin has become the permanent second guitarist for In Flames. In addition to playing in bands like Passenger and Engal, Engelin has actually been in and out of In Flames since 1997. He was added in 1997 as Glenn Ljungström’s replacement, but left the group shortly after. Since then, he’s helped the band out on many occasions, most recently filling in for Jesper Strömblad, who after taking a break from the road to go to rehab officially left the group in February 2010. While apparently Engelin was just planning to help the band out until they found a permanent replacement, it now appears that Engelin himself is Strömblad’s successor.

It’s safe to imagine that Engelin will make his recording debut with In Flames on their new album Sounds Of A Playground Fading, which is expected to be released in May of this year. You can check out a new group picture featuring Engelin in the back left below.