Outside of already announced plans, Cult of Luna says they won't be touring much this coming spring as they've begun work on writing and practicing for the new record. No studio time has been booked yet, but I figure it won't be too long before they head into Tonteknik to lay down some tracks.

Cult of Luna will do some shows in Finland between April 7-11. Details soon.

Justadelf Versus Gross Alatisch is the name of a new Swedish "all-star" band featuring guitarist Gareth Smith of Raging Speedhorn, guitarist Erik Olsson from Cult of Luna along with ex-CoL drummer Marco Hildén. The music is described as Neurosis meets Mogwai meets Godspeed You Black Emperor. Gareth is also a part of the Stockhom-based black-metal band Dräp de Kristna (Slay the Christians) with members of Switchblade and Vinterkrig.

Excerpts from Swedish Radio program P3 Rock's top albums of the year, as voted on by listeners:

05. Entombed - Inferno
06. Turbonegro - Scandinavian Leather
08. Opeth - Damnation
09. Cult of Luna - The Beyond
10. The Haunted - One Kill Wonder
12. Mustasch - Rat Safari
13. Nasum - Helvete
15. Grand Magus - Monument

The full list is here: http://www.sr.se/p3/rock/

Here's the nominees for the Swedish Manifest awards:

Pop/Rock:
Hell on Wheels - Oh my God What have I done
Radio Dept. - Lesser matters
Concretes - Concretes
Franke - Optimismens hån
The Knife - Deep cuts

Hardrock/Punk:
Arch Enemy - Anthems of rebellion
Burst - Prey on life
Cult of Luna - The beyond
Katationa - Viva emptiness
Nasum - Helvete

Hip hop/R&B/Soul:
Chords - The garden around the mansion
Speech Defect - Freshcoast gettin' rowdy
Soul Supreme - The Saturday nite agenda
Advance Patrol - Utskrivna
Kaah - Jideblasko international

Postrock/electronica:
Namur - Conquer me
Sagor & Swing - Allt hänger samman
Sophie Rimheden - Hi-fi
Slagsmålsklubben - Den svenske disco
Tape - Milieu

Dance/house/techno:
Hundarna från Söder - Hundarna från Söder
Forss - Soulhack
Plej - Electronic music from the Swedish leftcoast
Stateless - Art of no state
Steve Angello - ...presents tracks

Folk/World music:
Lisa Rydberg - Östbjörka
Frifot - Sluring
Anders Nygårds & Magnus Stinnerbom - Dalahyl
Anders Norrudde, Leo Svensson and Göran Fredriksson - Med hull och hår
Cerro Esperanza Band - Nubes del alma

Singer/Songwriter:
Ane Brun - Spending time with Morgan
Ulf Stureson - Allt jag ville säga
Christian Kjellvander - Introducing the past
Johan Borgert - Johan Borgert
José Gonzàlez - Veneer

Best live artist:
Looptroop
Moneybrother
Randy
Timbuktu med Damn
Killers

Best newcomer:
Miss Universum
José Gonzàlez
Shout Out Louds
Radio Dept.
Paris

Winners are chosen by the SOM (Svenska Oberoende Musikproducenter) (Swedish Independent Musicproducers) and will be announced at an awards ceremony on January 29 at Debaser in Stockholm.

Other notables/honorable mentions:

Cult of Luna - The Beyond & s/t reissue (Earache)
Crushing doom in the vein of Neurosis and Isis, but with a touch of something else that separates them from the rest of the imitators. Hopefully these guys will tour the US because I bet they kill live.

Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Bud Fox)
Broder Daniel - Cruel Town (Dolores)
These are two of the best Swedish indiepop records this year and I think I actually like the former a bit more than the latter. Broder Daniel has some better songs when taken on their own, but the Shout Out Louds made a better album. I was hoping the latest Bad Cash Quartet would rate too, but it was a huge disappointment.

Zyklon - Aeon (Candlelight)
Ex-Emperor guitarist Samoth proves he can move on and still make quality music. One of the few black-metal releases this year that really caught my interest. Either the scene is stagnant or I've lost interest, not sure.

Motorpsycho & Jaga Jazzist Horns - In the Fishtank (Konkurrent)
It's about time the rest of the world was exposed to these guys. I can do without that one awful funk track, but the rest of this is great stuff. Hopefully the increased international profile of this release will help them get their own music recognized and appreciated.

Randy - Welfare Problems (Burning Heart)
I don't listen to much punk-rock these days, but Randy always delivers. Looking forward to the US tour in February.

The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Stockholm Records)
I was really put off by the mellow 70s vibe at first, but once I got over it I found out there were some pretty great songs here. Definitely not what I was expecting, but worth a second glance if you passed it over before.

Ricochets - Ghost of Our Love (White Jazz)
Tiger Lou - Trouble And Desire (Startracks)
Mustasch - Ratsafari (Majesty/Capitol)
Seven Feet Four - Departure/Arrival (Coalition)
Four solid releases from four very different acts. Nothing life changing here, but all still quite good and definitely worth investigating.

Jaga Jazzist - The Stix (Smalltown Supersound)
Supersilent - 6 (Rune Grammofon)
v/a - Money Will Ruin Everything 2xCD + Book (Rune Grammofon)
Norway is really a hotbed for experimental genre-expanding music right now and these three releases are a great place to start. You won't find that elusive "next big thing" here, just music that will make you think. Both Smalltown Supersound and Rune Grammofon are labels to keep an eye on.

Top ten: 2003

The Hives will premiere their brand new single at the P3 Gold Awards on January 23 at Storan in Göteborg. Other acts set to play include Nicolai Dunger, Lisa Miskovsky, Patrik Isaksson, Elin Sigvardsson, Timbuktu, Broder Daniel and Soundtrack Of Our Lives. As for the awards themselves, here's the nominees:

Guldmicken (best live act):
José González
Moneybrother
Randy
Robyn
Timbuktu

Best song:
The Cardigans - "For What It's Worth"
Per Gessle - "Här Kommer Alla Känslorna (På En Och Samma Gång)"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Lady Stardust"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Broder Daniel - "When We Were Winning"

Best group:
Alcazar - "Alcazarised"
Bad Cash Quartet - "Midnight Prayer"
Broder Daniel - "Cruel Town"
The Cardigans - "Long Gone Before Daylight"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"

Best male artist:
Per Gessle - "Mazarin"
José González - "Veneer"
Moneybrother - "Blood Panic"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Lars Winnerbäck - "Söndermarken"

Best female artist:
Lisa Miskovsky - "Fallingwater"
Miss Universum - "Selfelected"
Pauline - "Candy Rain"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Elin Sigvardsson - "Saturday Light Naïve"

Best newcomer:
José González
Miss Universum
Moneybrother
Pauline
Radio Dept.

Best rock:
Arch Enemy - "Anthems of Rebellion"
Cult Of Luna - "The Beyond"
Mörk Gryning - "Pieces of Primal Expressionism"
Nasum - "Helvete"
Satirnine - "Void of Value"

Best dance:
Jesper Dahlbäck - total production 2003
Eric Prydz - total production 2003
Forss - "Soulhack"
Hundarna från Söder - "Hundarna Från Söder"
Plej - "Electronic Music From The Swedish Leftcoast"

Best pop:
Franke - "Optimismens Hån"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"
Radio Dept. - "Lesser Matters"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Tape - "Milieu"

Best hip-hop/soul:
Advance Patrol - "Utskrivna"
Fattaru - "Jordnära"
Ken - "Det Bortglömda"
Latin Kings - "Omerta"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"

For more info, go to P3 Gold's website.

New pics are up at Musique One-Stop of Hell on Wheels, Switchblade, First Floor Power, Her Majesty and Cult of Luna.

JR Ewing has been forced to cancel their UK dates with Dillinger Escape Plan and Cult Of Luna, as well as the shows they were supposed to headline due to being totally broke and tired following their recently completed US tour. They promise they'll be back at some point, hopefully in late February.

Cult of Luna has finally confirmed their upcoming Scandinavian tourdates:

11/25 - Debaser, Stockholm (SWE) w/Switchblade
11/26 - Ungdomens hus, Uppsala (SWE) w/Switchblade
11/27 - Subscene, Oslo (NOR)
11/28 - Musikens hus, Gothenburg (SWE)
11/29 - Gislaved (SWE) CANCELLED
11/30 - Tivoli, Helsingborg (SWE) w/Nebula
12/01 - Skylten, Linköping (SWE)

Don't forget - they're touring the UK with Dillinger Escape Plan in December, too:

12/07 - Riot fest, Antwerp (BEL)
12/08 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK)
12/09 - Academy 2, Birmingham (UK)
12/10 - Hop & Grape, Manchester (UK)
12/11 - Fleece And Firkin, Bristol (UK)
12/12 - Cathouse, Glasgow (UK)
12/13 - Rock city, Nottingham (UK)
12/14 - Meanfiddler (K-fest show), London (UK)

Updated tour schedule for Cult of Luna:

11/25 - Debaser, Stockholm (SWE)
11/26 - Uppsala (SWE)
11/27 - Oslo (NOR)
11/28 - Musikens hus, Göteborg (SWE)
11/29 - Gislaved (SWE)
11/30 - Tivoli, Helsingborg (SWE)
12/07 - Riot fest , Antwerp (BEL) w/Dillinger Escape Plan
12/08 - Concorde 2, Brighton (UK) w/DEP
12/09 - Acedemy 2, Birmingham (UK) w/DEP
12/10 - Hop & Grape, Manchester (UK) w/DEP
12/11 - Fleece And Firkin, Bristol (UK) w/DEP
12/12 - Cathouse, Glasgow (UK) w/DEP
12/13 - Rock city, Nottingham (UK) w/DEP
12/14 - Meanfiddler (K-fest show), London (UK) w/DEP

Cult of Luna has put two mp3s up on their website for downloading: "The Watchtower" (from "The Beyond") and "To Be Remembered" (from the s/t debut). As said before, fans of Isis and Neurosis should definitely check these guys out.

Cult of Luna just posted some great new live photos on their website.

Cult of Luna has posted an update of their current activities on their website. They just finished up a tour with US metalcore act Poison the Well and, as reported here yesterday, will soon be hitting the UK with Dillinger Escape Plan, JR Ewing and Beecher. They also say that they have already started work on writing for their next album and have been playing some of the material live. Recording is scheduled to commence sometime in the beginning of next year.