on december 17, 2008, michael lundquist andersen, niels thøgersen, claus b. gnudtzmann and martin kielland-brandt announced they had left the band because of different opinions on how to run a band and how the music should sound. the band's whistler, stewart lewis, is currently on a hiatus due to the continuing state of his wife’s ill health. on february 22, 2009, svartsot had announced their new band lineup is complete. stewart lewis was replaced for live shows, but was still considered a member of the band for some time.