Looks like there's a new album on the way from Bloodbath, the classic-style Swedish death-metal group featuring Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, October Tide) and Dan Swanö (Nightingale, Edge of Sanity, etc). They've booked studio time for late spring and hope to have a record ready for a late summer release. However, there have been some lineup changes in the group. Vocalist Mike Åkerfeldt of Opeth is out (I assume he's probably too busy) and they say they have replaced him with "one of the biggest names in the scene." My guess would be LG Petrov, but who knows? Maybe Tompa is taking on yet another new project. Anyhow, Dan has also switched over from drums to guitar and taking his place his "yet another big, big name." Look for details to be announced soon.

Karmageddon Media (nee Hammerheart Records) is launching a new sublabel for more "underground"-styled metal acts called New Aeon Media and has announced their first three signings. First is Finland's Final Dawn who are described as a mix of Rotting Christ, Sentenced and older Megadeth. Second is the old-school Swedish death metal band Ribspreader who happen to feature producer/musician Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath, etc.) in their ranks. And lastly, there's the brutal death band Judgement Day from the Netherlands. I'm not seeing release dates yet, but I assume it won't be far away. Usigned acts are also encouraged to send promotional materials:

NEW AEON MEDIA
P.O. BOX 277
6300 AG Valkenburg
The Netherlands

Famed metal producer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, Moontower, Bloodbath, etc.) will be launching his new personal website tomorrow at the start of the new year. The scope of the site will cover all of his projects and is said to include 285 mp3s and 55 videos for free download.

Special feature today on Carpet People! The new album "More Bad Weather Coming Out of the Rain" was released yesterday and I got an mp3 of the first single "A Road Leading into the Sun" for you. Great melancholic pop as only the Swedes can do. Fans of artists such as Hederos & Hellberg should take note - I think you'll dig it. But that's not all! I also have a photo album of pics taken from the record release show last Friday at Scharinska Villan in Umeå. Check it out!

Also coming out soon from Chalksounds is the new single from Soviac. The song comes off the forthcoming album "Triology Sexlife Rodeo Friscotti" and is called "Boogie Woogie", but best of all - it's FREE! I kid you not! Beginning on May 1 you'll be able to download the song plus the artwork from the Chalksounds site. I haven't really heard anything from these guys myself, but I've been told that it's gonna blow some minds. Wait and see, eh?

The kind folk over at Firesideometer.com have posted the very first reviews of the new Fireside album in English. They also review the new Kristofer Åström EP, so check that out, too.

The Caesars have finally confirmed a release date for "39 Minutes of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)", their new collection to introduce them to the world outside of Sweden. It'll be out April 22 in the US on Astralworks, April 21 in the UK on Virgin and elsewhere around Europe around the same time, also on Virgin. They've also got a bunch more shows lined up. The dates:

4/16 - UK, London w/80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, for XFM contest winners.
5/9 - UK, Glasgow Cathouse w/French Kicks
5/10 - UK, York Fibbers w/French Kicks
5/11 - UK, Oxford University w/French Kicks
5/12 - UK, Leicester The Charlotte w/French Kicks
5/13 - UK, London The Garage w/French Kicks
5/14 - UK, Manchester Roadhouse w/French Kicks
5/18 - Austria, Vienna Flex
5/20 - Germany, Hamburg Molotow
5/21 - Germany, Berlin Magnet
5/22 - Germany, Cologne Underground
5/23 - Holland, Utrecht Ekko
5/24 - Holland, Amsterdam Paradiso

Entombed's new label Threeman Recording just put out their very first releases, both Entombed side projects. First up is "Ravenous Murderous", Murder Squad's 2nd album. Expect old-school Swedish death metal ala Bloodbath. Next we have a live album recorded in Finland from The Project Hate who are industrial-flavored metal, if I remember right.

And speaking of Entombed, those guys are still wrapping up work on the new album "Inferno" (produced by PMA Gunnerfeldt of Fireside) but have still found time to do a couple gigs down in South Africa. Check this flier for details.

The Sounds will be filming an appearance for Last Call With Carson Daly on May 10 which will air the following week. They've got a couple gigs lined up in Germany, too:

5/5 - Berlin, Magnet
5/7 - Köln, Gebaeue 9

And as I'm sure you can guess from the Carson Daly appearance, the band will indeed be playing more shows in the States, apparently supporting The Ravonettes for most of em. Here's what I can confirm so far:

5/19 - San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill (headlining)
5/24 - Minneapolis, MN, 7th Street Entry
5/25 - Cudahy, WI, VNUK's Lounge
5/27 - Chicago, IL, Double Door
5/28 - Cleveland, OH, The Beachland Ballroom
5/29 - Detroit, MI, Magic Stick
5/30 - Toronto, Canada, Horseshoe Tavern
6/2 - New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom
6/3 - Boston, MA, Paradise Rock Club
6/4 - Philadelphia, PA, North Star Bar

Christian Kjellvander is playing at Mosebacke in Stockholm on April 29.

Children of Bodom will be doing a couple dates in Sweden later in April:

4/18 - Stockholm/Arenan
4/20 - Göteborg
4/21 - Lund/Mejeriet

The new EP from Jettie entitled "Some Stories We Trust" comes out April 15 on Black Star Foundation who are distributed through Kasual Records. Check 'em out on tour while you're at it:

4/15 - Uppsala - Café Genomfarten
4/16 - Göteborg - Jord
4/17 - Gislaved - Gisleparken
4/18 - Uddevalla - Café Hvidtfeldt
4/19 - Oslo - Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken - Kungen
4/21 - off
4/22 - Stockholm - Kaffé 44
4/23 - Lund - Smålands Nation
4/24 - Malmö - Blackstar Foundation
4/25 - Trollhättan - ML5
4/26 - Karlstad - HBFG
4/27 - Eskilstuna - Kaka Releaseparty

I neglected to mention it yesterday, but The Confusions will also be heading out on a few more dates besides those Baltic ones I already posted:

05/16 - Underground, Sundsvall, Sweden
06/02 - Underworld, London, UK, TBC
08/11 - Pärnu, Estonia, TBC

Division of Laura Lee has just announced that they will be cancelling their scheduled appearance at the upcoming Coachella Festival along with the additional US dates they had booked around the event. The full statement from singer Per Stalberg:

I'm very sorry to say Division of Laura Lee cancels Coachella festival + additional dates in the U.S.
Due to the fact that I've been suffering from grave throat-infection, coughing for the last three weeks and have been totally feeble in my body. I've been having fever for the last weeks and as I went to the doctor today for the second time in two days he adviced/ordered me to cancel the trip to U.S. as I need to recover from my illness, or this will lead to further injuries & I would seriously risk my health.
I'm indeed very sorry that we need to cancel, not only due to all the fans that bought tickets to our upcoming shows, but also it feels unfortunate towards my band comrades Hakan, Jonas & David, as they also were very excited on coming back to the U.S. on tour & especially excited about Coachella festival, meeting a lot of new people, receiving new vibes.
We'll definitely be back in the U.S. and by this fall we'll record our second album which will turn out to be The master-piece [sic]. Again I'm sorry that we had to cancel the tour, we'll be back soon.
I also want to take the chance & say THANKS to all the people that came out to our shows, bought our records and supported us in amazing letters, emails, phone-calls, live-conversations, it's been the year of my dreams.
We'll recover and come back more powerful than you could ever imagine.
Take care

Earache Records has posted the uncensored 'controversial' video for the song "D.O.A." from The Haunted on their website.

From nubreaks.com via the pHinnweb mailing list:

Riku Pentti aka Infekto comes from Finland, and when I say Finland, I mean right up in the north of Finland where it is bloody cold!. I remember travelling to a gig he was doing where we guested and it was one helluva mission to get there. Bandits on the road ready to rob you. Big ugly bears taking potshots with their paws at passing cars. Police openly taking bribes for you to proceed on your journey. Naked women just dancing in the undergrowth smeared in Marmite... okay, that was all crap, but it still was quite a drive!!!

Read the full interview: www.nubreaks.com/?dir=features/infeat0406&section=infekto_feature. Some interesting discussion on the Finnish electronic music scene, among other things.

I'm happy to report that the show last night went quite well. The Caesars were a lot of fun and I was glad to finally get a chance to see 'em. The guitars weren't quite as loud as I would've liked, though. And yeah, that Jocke is definitely a nutter on stage. Needless to say, TSOOL rocked the house. Having Martin Hederos back with them (the guy from the Whyte Seeds was subbing last tour) made a huge difference in the sound. Ludwig from t(I)NC did a right and proper job filling in on the drums. Good fun. Someday I'll see the full band together, but until then...

Oh, and The Caesars now have a US website, too. Check it.

And making me even more happy is the fact that I got an exclusive (!!!) mp3 from Johan Bergqvist to offer you. People signed up with the newsletter already got a chance to download the song last week, but now I'm making it available to everyone. The track is called "This Could Be Our Time" and it's from his single due out in May. For more info on Johan, check out his website at www.pristinemusic.com/johanbergqvist.

Cobolt, Umeå's kings of sadcore, finally got themselves a website. About time, doncha think? Check it out.

The new Cult of Luna record is reviewed in the May issue of Rolling Stone. Short, but sweet.

Famed Swedish producer/musician/songwriter Dan Swanö has announced plans to reform metal band Edge of Sanity to record a new album via his official message board. Here's his full statement:

Hello Everyone...
Since Black Mark [his record label] have been clever enough to announce a new EDGE OF SANITY release called "CRIMSON II" even though I begged them to keep it a secret, what can I do??? I don't want to lie to my friends.
The first two weeks of May will be dedicated to the writing and recording of an album I have had bubbling inside of me ever since I started the fight for a more "accessible" Bloodbath (Which we all know didn't happen)
I have a bunch of good riffs that sounds SOOO like Edge Of Sanity that it would be ridiculous to start yet another project and sound just like something I invented years ago.
Black Mark have been asking me to re-join the band since the moment I quite and they never really got the fact that I wanted nothing to do with it. After "Evolution" I felt it was all over and went on to do my thing.
Then the "other" Edge Of Sanity split up and let the world "Edge-less"
That's when the ball began rolling. And after a long discussion over a good meal at the Black Mark house I decided to start thinking about the stuff I was writing as a new EOS album.
On the train ride home I started toying around with the idea of a follow up to "Crimson" and when I got home it seemed like the only right thing to do.
I am not in the mood for some "singer songwriter, wanna have a hit single" Metal.
I want Epic-goddamn!!!
So there will be one big piece this time as well, (With track numbers for index, this time!!)
It will be a mind-blowing powerful blend between E.O.S. (duuh..) Pan Thy Monium, Godsend, Karaboudjan, Diabolical Masquerade, Odyssey and maybe even some passages of old Nightingale thrown in. A Massive Swanö-style pomp-death overkill!!!!!
Some of the stuff I have this far is the most classy pomp-death stuff I have ever written and I feel very confident in myself.
The main reason to why I do such a sacred and weird this, as to revive EDGE OF SANITY is...I want this album to be known, to sell, to get through the fucking jungle of albums, to be reviewed everywhere...I know this album will kick ass and I don't want it to drown in some "new project with the guy from EOS" formula..
If it IS called EDGE OF SANITY it will be given a serious listen and trust me..
no one will be disappointed, it will be among the best EOS albums.
August it is..

"Dude, where's my lighter?" - The Venue have put up the first part of their tour diary from their recent US excursion for SXSW.

The guys from Supersilent got a few more gigs lined up at the Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway. First up, Helge will be playing with Norwegian folk singer Unni Løvlid and percussionist Terje Isungset on July 14. Next, Jarle plays the farmer's market on the 17th with festival "artist in residence" Michael Brecker and Ståle will duet with drummer/percussionist Thomas Strønen on the 18th. And finally, the full band will perform on the 19th at Kulturhuset.

In related news, Supersilent-member Arve will play with the combination British/Norweigan quartet Food during a festival tour of Canada:

6/25 - Jazzfest International, Victoria
6/27-28 - Vancouver International Jazz Festival
6/29 - Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

More details available here.

Nightwish will be entering their own home-studio on October 27 to record basic tracks for the follow-up to last year's "Century Child". From there, they'll go over to Finvoxx Studios in Helsinki to track vocals and guitars.

Her Majesty has just signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music. The album "Happiness" comes out in May.

Petter, Doggelito and Daddy Boastin all make guest appearances on the debut Don Diego album "Mitt Liv", due out April 14 on Flava Records.

A-ha has decided not to release their new double live album "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head" in the UK due to lack of support from their label, Warner Music. The record is doing well in their home of Norway and is poised to do well also in Germany where the band has previously enjoyed healthy sales. No word if another label will step in to take over for a wider release.

Norway's eclectic 10-piece electronic-jazz act Jaga Jazzist will touring Europe in support of the wide release of their first album "The Stix" on Ninja Tune which comes out April 15. The dates:

4/15 - Belgium Brussels Ancienne Belgique
4/16 - France, Rennes Ubu
4/17 - France, Paris New Morning
4/18 - France, Lyon Ninkasi
4/19 - France, Strasbourg Laiterie
4/20 - Switzerland, Martigny Caves Du Manoir
4/23 - Switzerland, Zurich Moods
4/25 - Italy, Verona Interzona
4/26 - Italy, Rome La Palma
4/30 - UK, Brighton Beach Club (tbc)
5/1 - UK, London Ocean
5/2 - Ireland, Dublin The Village
5/3 - UK, Bristol Croft (tbc)
5/5 - Netherlands, Haarlem Bevrijdings Festival
5/6 - Netherlands, Rotterdam Nighttown
5/7 - Netherlands, Amsterdam VPRO (TV recording)
5/8 - Netherlands, Tilburg 13
5/9 - Netherlands, Groningen Vera
5/10 - Netherlands, Utrecht Tivoli
5/12 - France, Montpellier Rockstore
5/14 - Spain, Pamplona (tbc)
5/15 - Spain, San Sebastian Gaeztezena
5/16 - Spain, Madrid Teatro Jacinto
5/17 - Spain, Mieres Jovellanos
5/18 - France, Arles Cargo de Nuit
5/20 - Austria, Vienna Wuk
5/21 - Germany, Dresden(tbc)
5/22 - Germany, Berlin Maria Am Ostbahnhof
5/23 - Poland, Katowice Hipnoza
5/24 - Poland, Warsaw Jazzgot
5/26 - Germany, Halle (tbc)
5/27 - Germany, Cologne (tbc)
5/28 - Germany, Hamburg (tbc)
5/29 - Germany, Hannover (tbc)
5/30 - Denmark, CopenhagenJ azzhaus
5/31 - Denmark, Aarhus SPOT Festival
6/14 - Spain, Barcelona Sonar Festival
7/5 - Norway, Kongsberg Kongsberg Jazz Festival
7/6 - France, Belfort Eurockeennes Festival
7/9 - Switzerland, Montreux Montreux Jazz Festival
7/10 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg Kulturfabrik (tbc)
7/11 - Belgium, Dour Dour Festival
7/12 - Belgium, Bruges Cactus Jazz Festival
7/13 - Netherlands, Hague North Sea Jazz Festival
8/3 - UK, Malvern Big Chill Festival
8/4 - UK, London Jazz Cafe
8/8 - Norway, Oslo Oya Festival

Komeda will release their long-awaited new album "Kokomemedada" on June 2.

Lotta Wenglen plays Tavastia in Helsinki on April 15 in support of the new single "Ambassador of Love". Buddaboys will also perform.

Advance Patrol are hitting the road and now confirmed for Roskilde:

4/12 - Mejeriet, Lund
4/17 - Frölunda Fritisgård, Göteborg
4/18 - Tivoli, Helsingborg
4/25 - KB, Malmö
4/26 - TBA, Uddevalla
5/1 - Första Maj-Fest, Slottsparken, Malmö
5/2 - Culturen, Västerås w/Ison & Fille
5/14 - Rust, Köpenhamn (DK)
5/31 - Universitetet, Stockholm
6/28 - Roskildefestivalen, Roskilde (DK)

Speaking of Roskilde, Norway's Turbonegro and Cato Salsa Experience are now both confirmed to play, too.

Finnish experimental techno label Symptom Records will be putting out their second 12" release on April 22 containing three tracks from artists who will remain anonymous. Preview the music here: www.symptomrecords.com/preview.

The Haunted are coming back to the US in May with Shai Hulud and Skinless. Darkest Hour and Bleeding Through will also support on select dates. The itinerary so far:

5/08 - Krome - South Amboy, NJ *
5/09 - Rainbow - Montreal, QC, CANADA *
5/10 - Club Rockit - Toronto, ON, CANADA *
5/11 - Majestic - Detroit, MI *
5/12 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH +
5/14 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA *
5/15 - Bridge Street Music Hall - Syracuse, NY *
5/16 - Club Laga - Pittsburgh, PA *
5/17 - The Palladium/New England Metal and Hardcore Fest - Worcester, MA
5/18 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA +
5/19 - Ziggy's - Winston-Salem, NC +
5/20 - Uncle Doctor's - West Columbia, SC +
5/21 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL +
5/22 - The Factory - Fort Lauderdale, FL +
5/23 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA +
5/24 - Tek World - Louisville, KY +
5/25 - Engine Room - Houston, TX +
5/27 - Emo's - Austin, TX +
5/28 - Tree's - Dallas, TX +
5/29 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM +
5/30 - Marquee - Tempe, AZ +
5/31 - Huntridge Theatre - Las Vegas, NV +
6/01 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA +
6/02 - The Pound - San Francisco, CA +
6/05 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO +
6/06 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS +
6/08 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH +
* w/Darkest Hour
+ w/Bleeding Through

Amorphis will be honored with a 10-year retrospective collection called "Chapters" coming out June 3 from Relapse Records. Features include rare tracks, extensive liner notes and a DVD. View the cover art here. As mentioned before, Amorphis' new album "Far From The Sun" comes out on Virgin in Finland on May 20.

Marit Bergman has signed with BMG in Sweden making her labelmates with Kent, Sahara Hotnights, and the Backyard Babies. There's obviously been quite a bit of interest in her from the majors since her self-released debut solo album "3.00 A.M. Serenades" did so well and garnered many accolades. Now she's happy she no longer needs to worry herself about promotion, royalties or any of that other behind-the-scenes business and can concentrate 100% on the music.

The buzz is getting louder for Radio Dept. as their "Leibling" 7" was just played recently on the UK's legendary John Peel radio show.

And speaking of John Peel, don't forget to check out The Hellacopters playing live on-air tomorrow.

A new week and some new tunes: Bloodbath is members of Katatonia and Opeth doing that classic Swedish death metal thing. The Flaming Sideburns got that dirty rock n' roll thing going on. The Motorhomes put out one of the best pop records this year. And Mando Diao's got a sound that's a little bit Motown, a little bit garage rock.

Speaking of Opeth, they just recently completed work on their upcoming album "Damnation", hot on the heels of the just-released "Deliverence". Billed as the mellow companion album to "Deliverence"'s heaviness, the album is presently being mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree for a March 2003 release. The band claims it's "nothing like anything we've ever done before" and has a "strong '70s vibe both in material and production." Opeth will be doing some touring in support of the already-released album with dates already confirmed for London and Greece in December. They say there's more to come, so you may wanna check their website for the latest.

Finland's Children of Bodom have completed work on their next album. It's called "Hate Crew Deathroll" and will be released on January 7, 2003. View the artwork here.

Borknager has announced their plans to record the follow-up to "Empiricism". Oystein G. Brun's statement on the matter:

"We estimate to use about 4-6 months to record the album, as we want to use the time needed to get the album as close to perfection as possible. The album will be recorded in the same recording facilities as last time (Fagerborg and Toproom Studios) with Børge Finstad behind the desk. Musically the album will be a continuation of 'Empiricism'. Apart from that, we deem the right to keep the rest as a secret... he,he.... As of yet, there is no title for the album, but some song titles are ready: 'Cyclus', 'The Inner Ocean Hypothesis', 'The Wonder', 'Quintessence', 'Future Reminiscence' and 'Relate (Dialogo)'."

The Swedish Hit Music Awards were this past weekend. Kent and The Sounds won some awards, along with a bunch of international acts that I don't care about. Check out this article for the scoop. (In Swedish, list at bottom)

The Hellacopters are about the release their the next single from the album "By the Grace of God" on December 2nd. The a-side will be "Carry Me Home" with a cover of Rory Gallagher's "Big Guns" on the flipside. Listen to "Carry Me Home" right here.

I was thinking about these guys just the other day and wondering what they were up to. Amorphis has just entered Finnvox studios in Helsinki, Finland to begin work on their next album. Currently label-less as they have finished out their contract with Relapse, they expect the album to be ready for a summer 2003 release. They also plan to do a couple shows in the near future:

Nov. 30 – Skopje, MAC @ Skopje Trade Fair
Dec. 13 - St. Petersburg, RUS @ Youth Place
Dec. 14 – Moscow, RUS @ DK
Dec. 20 – Tampere, FIN @ Pakkahuone

In the spirit of keeping busy, frontman Pasi Koskinen's "black metal" project Ajattara is currently recording their new album, "Kuolema" (Death). Look for it around March 2003.