Finnish epic metallers WINTERSUN have recruited a new second guitarist, 27-year old Asim Searah. Asim, who was born in Pakistan and moved to Finland at the age of 18 to pursue a career in music, previously played in several bands and projects.

WINTERSUN's Jari Mäenpää commented: "We've known him for a long time and we knew he is a great singer, but we didn't realize how a talented and skillful guitar player he is. Asim was actually the first one who sent us an audition video, which surprised us very positively. After the video auditions and two rounds of live auditions, we realized he was exactly what we were looking for. He is very motivated and passionate with a good heavy metal attitude — a great guitar player and vocalist to improve the live sound of WINTERSUN even further!"

Asim commented: "It's an honour to be a part of a band that I have looked up to for many years. It's definitely a dream come true and I'm super excited to share the stage with WINTERSUN!"

WINTERSUN's third studio album, "The Forest Seasons", will be released in July through Nuclear Blast.

WINTERSUN's "Time I" was nominated in the "Metal Album Of The Year" category at the 2013 Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammy equivalent), which was held at Barona Areena in Espoo, Finland.

"Time I" sold nearly 4,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 109 on The Billboard 200 chart.

WINTERSUN's debut CD was released in September 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records.