Sometimes, a member leaves a band that’s such an integral part of the band that it’s impossible to imagine the band going on without them. Mike Portnoy comes to mind as an example. Or perhaps when John Bonham and Kurt Cobain selfishly broke up Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, respectively, by dying. All of this is leading up to something that’s hard to say, and that’s that the bagpipe and whistle player in Eluveitie has left the band. That’s right, Patrick “Pade” Kistler has left the Swiss folk-metal institution, and the world will never be the same again.

“With a heavy heart we have to share with you the news that Päde is no longer a part of Eluveitie. After six years and four albums, he leaves big shoes to fill. While we have no further comment at this time, we would like to wish him all the best for his future endeavours.

At the same time, we can announce that we have already found a very talented musician to step in and keep the show going: multi-instrumentalist Matteo Sisti, from our friends and colleagues at Krampus, has not hesitated to jump in and learn our full set in just a few days. A big THANK YOU goes out to Matteo and Krampus at this point – in the midst of the European leg of our Origins World Tour, their support is much appreciated. Matteo is joining us as a temporary session musician for the remainder of this tour. We can’t wait to rock the stages together for you!”

The fact that Eluveitie is continuing on without missing a date actually suggests that maybe the bagpipe and whistle player might not be the biggest position in the 10-person band. Either that, or Matteo from Krampus is a beast on the ‘pipes. But to put it into non-folk metal terms, it’s kind of like the other non-Clown percussionist in Slipknot left. Regardless, the band’s European tour will continue on through December 13th.