Official press release:
Swedish melodic metal legends Soilwork are thrilled to announce that they will join the NHL’s New York Islanders on Monday, November 14th (Military Appreciation Day) at the team’s home game at Barclays Center vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. While at Barclays Center, Soilwork vocalist and hockey enthusiast Bjorn “Speed” Strid and the band will take part in arena interviews, fan t-shirt toss and a fan hype video to be aired during the game. To get fans excited for the game, Soilwork music videos will also be aired in the arena between periods. This is an honor for any musician, let alone a heavy metal band on such a grand scale.
The game begins at 7:00pm. If you’re interested in purchasing tickets to see the game and witness SOILWORK in their element, get them here. Not able to attend? You can view the game on TVA Sports, MSG+, SUN Sports television channels.
Their visit to the New York Islanders game is an exciting experience for Soilwork and vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid, who is a lifelong hockey fan:
“I started playing hockey when I was six and stopped when I was sixteen. I played in a local team called Landskrona, which also featured current NHL athletes. I was chosen among three other players from my club to be a part of Skåne Team in 1994, which featured the best players from the southern region of Sweden. Slowly after that I picked up the guitar and was blown away by the kick playing music gave me. I left my hockey career behind me and focused 100 % on music but always looked back.
Hockey has always been a big part of my life and while living in Toronto for five years, I played a lot of ‘shinny’ – beer league hockey. I also got the chance to get to know Nikolay Kulemin.”