THE HELLACOPTERS announce permanent split with founding guitarist DREGEN due to his hand injury
17-09-2026
Swedish rock veterans THE HELLACOPTERS have announced a permanent split with their founding guitarist Dregen (real name: Andreas Tyrone Svensson).
THE HELLACOPTERS released the following statement — also shared by Dregen — via social media: “As most of you know, Dregen hasn’t been playing with us for roughly three years now, due to his hand injury. All of us have been hoping that he would fully recover and return to the band at some point, but the tremendously sad fact is that the damage to his fingers is permanent. While he can still play some rhythm guitar most of our songs are just not doable anymore.
“As a founding member of the band, Dregen will always be a huge part of the family and he will continue to be with us in spirit. He has always had many cards up his sleeve and there is no doubt that he will pull out a few in the near future. LG Valeta, who has been filling in for him since the injury, will carry on with us going forward.”
THE HELLACOPTERS were formed in 1994 by ENTOMBED drummer Nicke Andersson and BACKYARD BABIES guitarist Dregen.
THE HELLACOPTERS‘ second album, 1997’s “Payin’ The Dues”, was the band’s last studio effort to feature Dregen before his departure to focus full-time on BACKYARD BABIES.
In October 2007, THE HELLACOPTERS announced that they would be breaking up after the release of their seventh full-length album, “Head Off”, a collection of cover songs. Eight years later, the band reunited, initially for an exclusive performance at the Sweden Rock Festival to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut album, “Supershitty To The Max!”
Robert “Strängen” Dahlqvist, who played guitar for THE HELLACOPTERS for nearly a decade, died in February 2017 at the age of 40.
Dahlqvist was a member of THE HELLACOPTERS from 1999 until the group disbanded in 2008.
THE HELLACOPTERS released their comeback studio album, “Eyes Of Oblivion”, in April 2022 via Nuclear Blast. It marked their first full-length collection of new material since “Head Off”. Less than three years later, they released “Overdriver” in January 2025.
“Overdriver” track listing:
01. Token Apologies
02. Don’t Let Me Bring You Down
03. (I Don’t Wanna Be) Just A Memory
04. Wrong Face On
05. Soldier On
06. Doomsday Daydreams
07. Faraway Looks
08. Coming Down
09. Do You Feel Normal
10. The Stench
11. Leave A Mark
AVAILABLE FORMATS:
You can pre-order Overdriver on LP as well as CD. On top of the regular editions there’s a Ltd. Digipak, incl. a patch, and a Ltd. Deluxe LP with a bonus 12”. Both special products contain two bonus tracks.
– Ltd Edition Digipak CD /w Patch & 2 Bonus Tracks * (3.500)
– Ltd. Deluxe LP (Apricot & Black Marbled)
+ Bonus Maxi 12” * (via NB Mailorder & band store US) (1.200)
– Ltd. Deluxe LP (Magenta Transparent)
+ Bonus Maxi 12” * (only via band store EU) (1.000)
* Bonus Tracks: Wild Night (Van Morrison Cover), What’s Going On? (Al Stewart Cover)
– Black LP (unlimited)
– Brick Red LP (unlimited)
– Apricot + Purple Black Splatter LP (1.500)
– Apricot LP (only in Nordic countries) (1.000)
– Yellow Transparent LP (only in Sweden) (1.000)
– Oxblood LP (via Sound Pollution) (500)
– Red Gold LP (via Sweden Rock) (500)
– Picture LP (only via band) (1.000)
– Cassette (only via band) (200)
– CD Jewelcase
– Digital Album
THE HELLACOPTERS released their eighth studio album, “Eyes Of Oblivion”, on April 1, 2022. It marked the first full-length since the release of their temporary farewell record “Head Off” in 2008, which Nuclear Blast Records reissued in October 2024. “Eyes Of Oblivion” was met with massive acclaim from fans and media alike. Charting at No. 1 in Sweden, No. 3 in Germany, No. 6 in Finland, the band celebrated a triumphant return culminating in a show with the mighty IRON MAIDEN in Gothenburg in July 2022, and apart from their own string of shows, gigs with GHOST in Germany in June 2023. Eager to keep the rock flowing, February 16, 2024 saw THE HELLACOPTERS release not one, but two stunning versions of their classic “Grande Rock” album, which was originally released in 1999. “Grande Rock Revisited” included a remastered original version and a remixed and partially re-recorded version showing how the album could have sounded in a parallel universe with guitarist Dregen being in the band at the time. After making rock grande again, the group set sights on new material, debuting the phenomenal single “Stay With You” in May 2024 and releasing it as a limited seven-inch single via Lightning Records.
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