Here's some information on the new "Autovision" CD single from CDOASS by way of Dolores Recordings. There will also be a 7" version with a remix of the title track on the b-side as part of the Dolores Singles Club.

Check out the video for "B.L.O.S.S.O.M.", the new track from Komeda right here.

The Barbarella garage/rock'n'roll festival is now set for August 27-28. Bands confirmed so far include Dixie Buzzards, Sons of Cyrus, and Finland's Flaming Sideburns.

Word on the street is that Parasol is currently in negotiations to release the upcoming Moonbabies album "The Orange Billboard" in the US. Details when they're confirmed.

The Haunted have their new website up and running.

Moneybrother has been added to the Roskilde lineup.

Speaking of Roskilde, any of you Swedes thinking of going might consider taking the train where they'll have even more bands playing on the way to the fest. Seriously. So far Como and Little Miss Swede are booked for the occasion. Read more: http://www.tuborg.se/roskilde/taget.html

Isolation Years have been confirmed for the Västrahamnsfesten/Woody West in Malmö on June 13 along with Woodrock in Bern, Switzerland on August 8.

Via Unioncarbideproductions.com comes word that the upcoming Hultsfred-fest single will indeed be released commercially in Sweden, but no dates have been revealed as of yet. View the cover art here. In related news, Björn Olsson made a few contradictory comments to P3 Musikjounalen about his participation in the upcoming reunion gig. Will he or won't see? No one's saying for sure. Go to the UCP site to read the translated transcript.

The first group of bands have been announced for the upcoming Uppsala Summer Hardcore Festival: Between Us, Regulations, Victims, The Jam Session, Bruce Banner, The 21st Impact, Labour, Second Thought, Rabid Grannies, and One Step Ahead. The event takes place June 23-24 at Ungdomens Hus. More info here: http://uahc.diskonto.org/festival/

Webzine Samson & Rourke has posted another slew of demo reviews, this time featuring the likes of Hospital, The Clarks Royale, and Autumn Swing. (in Swedish)

Abba has gone gold yet again in America, this time with the "20th Century Masters - The Best Of ABBA" collection.

Service Records reports that Franke will have a new single "Drunknandets Färg" from their album "Optimismens Hån" out sometime by the end of summer. They also say that The Embassy is currently working on a video as weather permits and Studio is uh, in the studio working on a new album. They also hint that they have signed some new acts, but no details have been revealed yet. I'll let you know.

DigitalMetal.com reviews "Trigger", the new EP from In Flames.

It's kinda silly, but here's a contest for the best photoshopped picture featuring someone from Immortal, found via Musique Machine.

Download the mp3 for the song "Dominate" from Project Hate's forthcoming album "Hate, Dominate, Congregate, Eliminate", due out in August from Threeman Recordings.

Via Blabbermouth, comes this amazing commercial for Coop Prix, a Norweigan food store. Why is it relevant? Well, that's Masterplan and ex-Yngwie frontman Jorn Lande.

Internet-only label Monotonik's latest release is "Oll Tolk'n' no Ding atcheev'd" from Ernesto Aeroflot aka Teemu Kiiskilä of Raahe, Finland. Their description:

Mr. Aeroflot is a mysterious fellow who's released on net.label Commie and a host of smaller labels under names/groups such as TranceYlvania, Sky Wide Jazz, Oodi & Elegia, High Grade Multi Purpose Intelligent Terminal (!), and more. This 10-track album showcases his unpredictable but riveting style excellently, as '80s bleep sounds and stuttering electro mix up with distorted unrest, sweeping electronica, and a wholly surprising bonus cut to create something truly different.

Read more and download from here: http://www.mono211.com/content/releases/mtkmp111.html

Thy Primordial has parted ways with vocalist Isidor due to "lack of interest and inspiration" and has already been replaced by Nicke Holstensson of Nominon. The band says "his voice are of course a bit different compared with Isidor's but fits the new material really well!" They are scheduled to go into Abyss Studios later this month to commence work on their sixth album "Pestilence Upon Mankind". Look for it late 2003 from Blackend Records.

Added the rest of those Madrugada live mp3s on the right. Enjoy.

That charming young Norweigan, Sondre Lerche, just posted a new tour diary entry on his website.

Rec90 artists Lorraine are heading to Germany on tour this month with the band Delaware:

06/08 - Berlin, Magnet
06/09 - Hannover, Gig
06/10 - Leipzig - Moritzbastei
06/11 - Hamburg, Tanzhalle
06/12 - Kassel, K19
06/15 - Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei
06/16 - Köln, MTC
06/17 - Frankfurt, Nachtleben

Those of you in Deustchland can look for a track from the band on the sampler CD from the May edition of Zillo magazine, too. They also play the Working Class Hero Festival in Drammen Norway on August 6 and expect to have their debut full-length "The Perfect Cure" out in September.

Some news from Norway's Jester Records, the label of Ulver mainman Garm aka Kristoffer Rygg aka Trickster G:

September 15 marks the day that both Ulver's soundtrack to the film "Svidd Neger" and Virus' new album hit the stores. The other upcoming Ulver release, "A Quick Fix" EP, is now slated for August. Ulver even got a write-up in the Village Voice awhile back, too.
The new single and video "Sleepers" from Kåre João is out and getting spun NRK2 and ZTV. I haven't seen it myself, but they say it was shot on 16mm b&w film and resembles "such fine pieces of art as Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" and Gus Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy".
When's new album is due to be mixed in July with a release sometime this winter.
And lastly, the label is in negotiation with Tigerbeat6, the label of Kid606 for licensing of Jester's "cut-cool electronic" catalogue. The other part of their catalogue (or however you want to refer to it) is currently distributed by The End Records in North America.

The Crown has finished the recording of their album "Possessed 13" and is currently taking a three-week break before entering the mixing stage back at Studio Fredman. This release will be the band's sixth album and is the first one back with original vocalist Johan Lindstrand after a one-off with Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates).

Due to singer Maja Ivarsson's bronchitis and over exhaustion, The Sounds have been forced to cancel a number of upcoming gigs. THe following dates are affected:

06/07 - Nuremberg, Germany
06/08 - Eifel, Germany
06/12 - Hultsfred Festival, Sweden
06/13 - Norwegian Wood, Norway
06/14 - Nyköping, Sweden
06/17 - Gothenburg, Sweden
06/18 - Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
06/20 - Wiesen, Austria
06/21 - Southside, Munich, Germany
06/22 - Hurricane, Hannover/Hamburg, Germany
06/27 - Kiruna Festival, Sweden
06/28 - Skellefteå Festival, Sweden

The band plans to recover at their home in Helsingborg, Sweden before setting back out on the road again.

Amorphis has posted a video interview with vocalist Pasi Koskinen and guitarist Esa Holopainen as part of their electronic press kit.

The UK's XL Recordings (Electric Six, Badly Drawn Boy, White Stripes, The Prodigy, etc) imprint Rex Records will put out the Radio Dept.'s album "Lesser Matters" this coming fall.

All six bands representing Finland's Popcity 2003 will perform at the Provinssirock festival in their own hometown Seinäjoki and takes place June 13-15. They are: Georg Kalliola & JooJoo Miehet, Kayah, Kuolleet intiaanit, Stigma, Trigon and Velvetcut. The Finnish Music Information Centre launched the Popcity project as a way to promote as-yet unknown bands from a different annually chosen town. Read more.

Saami artist Mari Boine has won the 2003 Nordic Council Music Prize of 47k EUR. "Mari Boine is one of the leading lights on the new Saami music scene. Boine's music defies facile attempts at labelling. It is based on joik but the complimentary stylistic ingredients include African rhythms, world music and rock-funk." Read more.

Confirmed bands for Festival Mission Impossible which takes place August 23 at Smedjebacken in Dalarna: The Hellacopters, The Ark, Pugh Rogefeldt, Docenterna and The Mainliners. At total of 16 acts will perform and tickets will cost 200 SEK.

The full lineup for Göteborgskalaset: Looptroop, Fireside, Moneybrother, Raised Fist, Mory Kante, Christian Kjellvander, Franke, Hammerfall, Evergrey, Cult of Luna, Her Majesty, Isolation Years, Florence Valentin, Shout Out Louds, Mando Diao, The Latin Kings, Advance Patrol, Ison & Fille, The Ark, Komeda, Paola, The Concretes, Satirnine, Thomas Rusiak, Dub Sweden, Kajsa Grytt, Kamera and Kristian Anttila.

The Maggots' new album "Do The Maggot" doesn't come out until August 25, but they're already heading out on tour in the UK:

06/12 - Sheffield, Casbah
06/13 - Aberdeen, Dr Drakes
06/14 - Edinburgh, Studio24
06/15 - Day off
06/16 - Newcastle
06/17 - York, Fibbers
06/18 - Nottingham, Junktion7
06/19 - High Wycombe
06/20 - London, Dirty Water
06/22 - Stockholm, Debaser/Gearclub

In case you were unaware, Timbuktu addressed stateminister Göran Persson in his song "Ett Brev" and now Göran is just about ready with his response. Apparently he wrote something together with an unnamed colleague in rap form (!!!) and it will be published in SSU's magazine Frihet on June 18. What comes next is anyone's guess.

The Killers, Gaffaman, Crash, Ziggy Kropp & Karma, Sirqus Alfon and Soul Source have all been added to Hultsfred fest.

Wired for Mono reports they will be heading back over to England in mid-July for a few dates, details to be posted on their website soon. They'll also be back in the studio recording some new material this month along with playing Friday at Debaser in Stockholm.

Check out some pics from the recent C.Aarmé/Alarma Man show at Club Surburbia.

The Caesars are doing a quick US tour in support of their recently released compilation album "39 Minutes Of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)". The single "Jerk it Out" continues to gather more and more airplay (I heard it once myself on SF's Live 105) and will also be heard in an upcoming Michelob TV ad. They'll also be playing the Glastonbury in the UK on June 27. Anyhow, those US dates:

06/19 - San Francisco, Popscene
06/20 - Los Angeles, Spaceland
06/21 - Los Angeles, Viper Room
06/23 - New York, Sin'e
06/24 - Brooklyn, Southpaw
06/25 - Boston, Paradise

Fireside has posted a bunch of new pictures over at their website.

Via Home Groan Net comes these lo-fi videos of Groan Alone playing live opening for Lucinda Williams.

Martin Hagfos has now been confirmed to play the Øya festival along with a new backing band called "Cream of the Crop" that will feature some of Norway's best musicians. Check out the cast list: Martin Hagfors (Home Groan), Håkon Gebhardt (Motorpsycho, Tussler and HGH), Martin Horntveth (Jaga Jazzist), Lars Håvard Haugen (Hellbillies, Respatexans), Pål Flaata (Midnight Choir), Vidar Ersfjord (Velvet Belly), and Askil Holm.

Read a short review of the recent Radio Dept. show in London opening for Apples in Stereo.

Unioncarbideproductions.com sends word that they have received twenty promo copies of the new UCP single that will be given out at Hultsfred. Since not everyone can attend said fest, the aforementioned website will be holding a contest to give their copies away. Go here to find out how.

Bridge Records has posted an update on the label's recent activity. Head on over for the full skinny, otherwise note the most important thing is that the new Jam Session album is now out. Their intriguing description:

It all looks awesome, and sounds even better. This record has been doomed, but we stared Satan in his eyes and told him we would not give up until we got this shit out. Since this needs to be heard. Great melodic breakdowns and then it just erupts into manic, furious assault.

In other Bridge news, the label also has plans to release a 7" from The Accidents, a band which features members from Voice of a Generation, or what they call "fyllepunkös". They also have a new 7" coming out from I Ren Desperation, a new crust-style band with members from Nine, Totalitär and Millencolin. That one's a joint release with Finland's Combat Rock and Hater of God in the US, so be sure to check it out.

Some new bands have been announced for the Øyafestivalen Vika-scenen shows: Don Juan Dracula, Oslo Athletico, Wholy Martin, Point Shirley, and Lorenzo. More info here. (in Norweigan)

DigitalMetal.com reviews new albums from Enslaved and Passenger, the side project of Anders Friden from In Flames and Niclas Engelin from "the vastly under-rated" Gardenian.

Norway's Extol is heading over to the States for a number of dates. Shows on June 13 through July 1 are with Demon Hunter, Still Breathing and The Agony Scene and their latest album "Synergy" is out now from Century Media. The dates:

06/13 - Club Impact - Tacoma, WA
06/14 - Fat Tuesday - Spokane, WA
06/15 - The Zone – Yakima, WA
06/17 - Radio Rendezvous – Twin Falls, ID
06/19 - Meow Meow - Portland, OR
06/20 - JoshuaFest -Quincy, CA
06/21 - The Boardwalk -Sacramento, CA
06/22 - Showcase Theater - Corona, CA
06/23 - The Brickhouse - Phoenix, AZ
06/24 - TBA - Albuquerque, NM
06/25 - Sox Palace - Denver CO
06/26 - Ground Zero - Wichita KS
06/27 - The Door - Dallas, TX
06/28 - TBA - Little Rock AR
06/29 - El Torreon – Kansas City, MO
07/03-05 - Cornerstone Festival – Bushnell, IL
07/06 - The Oracle – Atlanta, GA
07/07 - Rocktown Skatepark – Nashville, TN
07/08 - Emerson Theater - Indianapolis, IN
07/10 - Sonshine Festival - Wilmar, MN

Children of Bodom and Soilwork will be teaming up for Japanese tour in September. Dates so far:

09/05 – Osaka, JAP - Big Cat
09/06 – Nagoya, JAP - Club Quattro
09/07 – Tokyo, JAP - Shibuya AX

MTV Nordic will broadcast their footage of this weekend's Stockholm Calling Festival on June 15 at 22:00 CET. Some of the bands scheduled to play the event include Christian Kjellvander & Lazy Grace Frontier, The Cardigans, De Stijl, and Thomas Rusiak.

P3 Musikjournalen reports that Håkan Hellström will be making a guest appearance on the upcoming Universal Poplab cover of the Morrissey classic "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Succesful". The song will be on the band's as-yet-untitled debut album, due out this coming fall. Their first single "Casanova Fall" is out now.

The new Accelerator comp comes out this week and it features some of the best indierock that Sweden has to offer. The tracklisting:

The Embassy - It never entered my mind
Radio Dept. - 1995
The Concretes - Forces
Laakso - Out of taste
Johan Borgert - Smal
David & the Citizens - Stop!
Bear Quartet - Load it
Isolation Years - Open those eyes
Moneybrother - Reconsider me
Franke - Aldrig förstå
Paper - Gone today gone tomorrow
The Knife - You take my breath away
Fireside - Thing on a spring

View the coverart here. Check out Club Accelerator's site here. To download the D&tC track, go here.

Da Buzz are hitting the road in support of the new single "Alive":

05/30 - Umeå, Umeåfesten
07/31 - Eskilstuna, Ungdomsfestivalen
06/06 - Katrineholm, Stadsparken
06/07 - Malmö, Dockan
06/13 - Sollentuna, Sollentunamässan
06/27 - Ludvika, Ludvikafesten
06/27 - Motala, Vätternfestivalen
06/28 - Enköping, Enköpingsfestivalen
06/29 - Uppsala, Birjer Jarl
07/03 - Halmstad, Halmstad stadsfest
07/03 - Sölvesborg, Killibomdagarna
07/04 - Töreboda, Torget
07/10 - LYSEKIL Meddelas
07/11 - Luleå, Hamnspelet
07/12 - Lekvattnet, Sommarens höjdare
07/19 - Åsele, Åsele marknad
07/24 - Karlskoga, Stranddagar
07/25 - Sävsjö, Sävsjöfestivalen
07/26 - Visby, Burmeister
07/31 - Karlstad, Hamnfestivalen
08/01 - Skellefteå, Underbar
08/02 - Öostervåla, Folkets park

I just switched the site over to a php-based content management system. Please let me know if you see anything amiss or feel free to sound off in the forum. Otherwise, be sure to update your bookmarks and links accordingly. Thanks.

I've also added the first half of a live set from Norway's Madrugada for you to download. I'm not exactly sure when or where it's from, but it's good stuff.

Some of the acts confirmed for Finland's upcoming Tuska festival: Children Of Bodom, Stratovarius, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, The 69 Eyes, Opeth, Amorphis, Tarot, The Haunted, Arch Enemy, Finntroll, Lost Horizon, Moonsorrow, Thunderstone, Norther, Lullacry, and Rotten Sound. The event takes place on July 11-13 in Helsinki at Kaisaniemi Park. More info can be found here.

Hardcore Superstar has tentatively set August 25 as the new release date for their upcoming album.

The Rasmus has announced their complete summer tour dates:

05/23 - Art Rock Café, Ilmajoki (FI)
05/30 - Hot. Vaakuna, Kouvola (FI)
05/31 - Nosturi, Helsinki (FI)
06/02 - Gröna Lund, Power Summer Party, Stockholm (SWE)
06/06 - Rock im Park, Nürnberg (DE)
06/08 - Rock am Ring,Nürburgring (DE)
06/14 - Provinssirock, Seinajoki (FI)
06/19 - Midsummer festival, Raumanmeri (FI)
06/20 - Midsummer festival, Jämsä Himos (FI)
06/21 - Midnight Party Planet festival, Kouvola (FI)
07/03 - Festival, Midtfyn (DK)
07/05 - Tivolirock, Kristianstad (SWE)
07/06 - Ruisrock, Turku (FI)
07/09 - Harju-festival, Kangasala (FI)
07/11 - Hotelli Vantaa, Vantaa (FI)
07/12 - Kirkastusjuhlat, Aitoo (FI)
07/13 - Satamarock, Lappeenranta (FI)
07/18 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FI)
07/19 - Tammerfest, Tampere (FI)
07/23 - Mariehamn, Åland (FI)
07/24 - NRJ Summer, Gotland (SWE)
08/01 - Storsjöyran, Östersund (SWE)
08/02 - Kukkaisrock, Tampere (FI)
08/03 - Ankkarock, Vantaa (FI)
08/07 - Rally-happening, Jyväskylä (FI)
07/08 - Välipuistorock, Lapua (FI)
08/09 - Harjavalta (FI)
08/10 - Skanderborg Festival (DK)

In other news, the band will be filming a new video for the song "In the Shadows" with Baranga Film in Stockholm on May 21. The single hits Germany on June 30.

Finland's Lullacry will play the Rock im Ring festival in Italy on July 5.

Arve from Supersilent will be performing solo at the Copenhagen Jazz festival on July 11.

Isolation Years have announced that their next single and video will be for the title track from the album "It's Golden". It will be released tomorrow on May 15.

The only song that made me cry this year was a cover of the Stooges’ "No Fun". There's something cruel about stripping the classic rock song of its menace and symbolism — this was, remember, the last tune the Sex Pistols mangled together onstage before imploding in '78 — and killing it softly, only to resurrect it anew as a small and beautiful ballad.

LA Weekly has published a profile on the sadly defunct group Hederos & Hellberg. They talk about how the project started, why they had to stop making music, and various other topics.

Swedish power-metallers Hammerfall will be recording a live album sometime during their upcoming tour. They expect to have it out this fall on Nuclear Blast. The dates they have scheduled:

05/15 - Santiago, CHL @ Estadio de Chile
05/16 - Buenos Aires, ARG @ Hangar
05/17 - São Paolo, BRA @ Olympia
05/18 - Curitiba, BRA @ Palacio de Cristal
05/20 - Rio de Janeiro, BRA @ ATL Hall
05/23 - Guadalajara, MEX @ Hard Rock Live
05/24 - Mexico City, MEX @ Cine Americas
06/27 - Balingen, GER @ Bang Your Head Festival
06/28 - Vizovice, CZR @ Masters Of Rock
06/29 - Jihlava, CZR @ Centre of town
06/30 - Plzen, CZR @ Hall Lokomotiva
07/04 - Sundsvall, SWE @ Sundsvalls gatufest
07/05 - Töreboda, SWE @ Töreboda Festival
07/25 - Karlskoga, SWE @ Karlskoga Stranddagar
08/30 - Derby, UK @ Bloodstock Metalfest

Blabbermouth reports that Dimmu Borgir (NOR), Hypocrisy (SWE), Children of Bodom (FIN) and Nevermore (US) are teaming up for a US tour sometime between November 8 and December 16. More info soon. Otherwise, Dimmu is hitting the road around Europe beginning in September to support the new album "Death Cult Armageddon", due out September 8 on Nuclear Blast:

09/10 – Tromsø, NOR @ Driv
09/11 - Bodø, NOR @ Sinus
09/13 - Trondheim, NOR @ Samfundet
09/14 - Hamar, NOR @ Hydranten
09/16 - Kristiansand, NOR @ Bingen
09/17 - Stavanger, NOR @ Folken
09/18 - Bergen, NOR @ USF
09/20 – Athens, GRE @ Rodon Club
09/21 - Athens, GRE @ Rodon Club
09/30 – Hamburg, GER @ Markthalle
10/01 - Halle, GER @ Schorre
10/02 – Amsterdam, NETH @ Paradiso
10/03 - Tilburg, NETH @ 013
10/04 - Antwerpen, NETH @ Hof Ter Loo
10/05 – London, UK @ LA 1
10/06 – Paris, FRA @ Elysee Monmatre
10/08 – Lisboa, POR @ Paradiso
10/09 – Porto, POR @ Hard Club
10/10 – Bergara, SPA @ Sala Jam
10/11 – Valencia, SPA @ Republicca
10/12 – Barcelona, SPA @ Razzmatazz II
10/14 – Milan, ITA @ Alcatraz
10/15 – Pratteln, SWI @ Z7
10/17 – Budapest, HUN @ Petöfi Hall
10/18 – Wien, AUT @ Planet Music
10/19 - Stuttgart, GER @ LKA Longhorn
10/20 - Nürnberg, GER @ Löwensaal
10/21 - Köln, GER @ Live Music Hall
10/24 – Tampere, FIN @ Pukkahuone
10/25 - Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
10/27 – Stockholm, SWE @ Klubben
10/28 – Malmö, SWE @ KB
10/29 – Oslo, NOR @ Rockefeller
11/01 – Moscow, RUS @ Gorbunova Culture Club

Finland's Sähkö Records, the label of Pan Sonic member Mika Vainio, has two new releases: "Blake's Love" from Blake and "Future" from Skatebård, who is also associated with Tellektro Records.

Check out this Dagensskiva featured interview with the grindcore band Nasum.

Sweden's Streetzone records has signed a licensing deal with Europe's Pias Recordings to release The Narcissists abroad. Look for the first single taken from the album "Planet Euthanasia" on June 2 in both vinyl and CD formats.

Norway's "renowned and unique contemporary trio" POING will be heading to Japan from May 15-28 to collaborate with a group of 4 Japanese composers. They will be performing at various venues including music/concert halls, museums, clubs and at the Asahi Breweries, who just happen to be a sponser of the tour. Read more here and here.

Grand Tone Music's new album is called "Go To Hell" and it marks the debut of new members Patrick Andersson on bass and Andreas Söderström on lap-steel, synth and trumpet. They say it's a bit more sparse and expressive in sound than the last one as they tried to improvise more in the studio.

Norweigan singer/songwriter Ane Brun will finally have her first album "Spending Time With Morgan" coming out this week. She's no stranger to the Scandinavian scene, as she's toured before and shares backing musicians with Jesse Malin and Yukon AK. Musikindustrin.nu compares her to Ani DiFranco, but I have yet to hear her myself.

Read more about the week's new releases from MI here. (in Swedish)

The Rasmus, Robyn, Mendez, Antique, Da Buzz, NG3 and Bounce are among the artists now confirmed for the Power Summer Party on June 2 at Gröna Lund.

The webzine And the Sound has just published an interview with up-and-coming garage rockers De Stijl. Or I guess they call themselves "minimalist punk-rock". Apples and oranges.

More bands added to Hultsfred: Turbonegro, Hell on Wheels, Da Nada (Inkfish vs. Antiloop), Samuel L. Session, The Concretes, Homy and Kristian Anttila.

Melody Club has annouced their full list of summer tour dates. Here's the schedule as of now:

05/14 - Hamburg (D) Molotow
05/15 - Düsseldorf (D) Unique
05/16 - Weinheim (D) Cafe Central
05/17 - Berlin (D) Bastard
05/18 - Kassel (D) K19
05/19 - Frankfurt (D) Cookys
05/20 - Dresden (D) Downtown
05/21 - München (D) Atomic Cafe
05/23 - Göteborg Liseberg / Okej Dagen
05/30 - Eskilstuna Blå
05/31 - Härnösand Högslättens Isstadion
06/06 - Drammen (NO) Working Class Hero
06/06 - Hultsfred Hultsfred Festival
06/06 - Visby Gutekällaren
07/01 - Östhammar Musikveckan
07/04 - Sundsvall Sundsvalls Gatufest
07/05 - Kristianstad Tivolirock
07/11 - Arvika Arvikafestivalen
07/19 - Mariehamn, Åland Rock Off Festival
07/23 - Hedemora Hedmora Parken
07/26 - Karlskoga Stranddagar
07/30 - Visby Gutekällaren
08/01 - Östersund Storsjöyran
08/02 - Stockholm Pridefestivalen
08/06 - Gävle Gävle Cityfest
08/08 - Emmaboda Emmabodafestivalen

Johan Bergqvist has posted all three songs from his new single in RealMedia format over at his (newly refurbished) website. Check em out in the upper right-hand corner.

Billboard reviews the US release of "Living in America" from The Sounds.

Stylus Magazine has named Norway's Rune Grammofon their label of the week.

Massproduktion has announced that they will be reissuing a remastered version of the very first Left Hand Solution seven-song EP "Shadowdance" on CD with five extra bonus tracks, three of which are previously unrereleased. It's been ten years since the recording first came out and serves as an almost-complete document of the era when Kicki Höijertz fronted the band.

The Flicker will be playing Club Clampers in Stockholm on May 17 and the first 25 attendees will receive a copy of their new CDr "Phases". Download an mp3 of the track "Consulation" right here.

DigitalMetal.com interviews the avant-metal band Solefald and black/dark metallers Aeternus.

Samson & Rourke recently published an interview with Anders Wendins of Moneybrother. (in Swedish)

The new Lost Patrol single "All Right" featuring Lisa Miskovsky comes out June 2. For those that don't know, LP is the solo project of International Noise Conspiracy frontman Dennis Lyxzen.

Even more bands added to Popaganda fest in Stockholm: Doktor Kosmos, Isolation Years, Superheroes, Miss Universum, José González, Tiger Lou, Carpet People, Mano & the tears, The Search, Blanka, Callahan, Ebon Tale and Anna Vnuk.

Starting on June 3 Swedish Radio P3 will have a week-long feature on Swedish music. Be sure to check it out and remember you can listen online at their website.

The Caesars recently had the single "Sort it Out" featured during an episode of the UK's most watched soap opera Eastenders. Listen to the track here. Like I've said before, expect big things from these guys. The band has also been confirmed for the 'new bands' stage at Glastonbury fest which takes place June 27-29.

The Ark, Hammerfall, Looptroop, Paola, Her Majesty, Evergrey, Moneybrother and Mando Diao have all be confirmed for Göteborgskalaset on August 8-16.

Mike Wead (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate), Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Dream Evil, Notre Dame), Sharlee D'Angelo (Mercyful Fate, Witchery) and Simon Johansson (Memory Garden, Abstrakt Algenra) have all teamed up to form a new band called Firegod. Mike's statement on the current state of the group:

I'm more than thrilled to be joined by some of the guys I consider to be the most creative and talented in Scandinavia. Me and Simon [have] been working really hard for almost two years writing and demoing something like 40-45 tracks... These tracks will be the perfect frame for what I'm sure will become a concept album that will stand out among the rest! People into our older bands as well as our current ones WILL NOT be disappointed!

They expect to have an album out around early 2004.

The new Finnish death-metal "supergroup" Chaosbreed has posted a couple sample mp3s from their demo for downloading:

01. Wretched Life
02. Rotting Alive
03. FC/DC (Freedom Corps Death Crush)

As mentioned before, Chaosbreed features vocalist Taneli Jarva (ex-Sentenced, The Black League), guitarist Marko Tarvonen (Moonsorrow), guitarist Esa Holopainen (Amorphis), among others. The band is currently entertaining any serious offers for booking or label support and anyone wanting to get in touch should email them at chaosbreeders@hotmail.com.

David & the Citizens and The Knife are both receiving gold disc awards from Border Music in Sweden for sales of over 5000. It's part of a new initiative enacted by the company to encourage and reward independent labels. The ceremony will be held at Pustervik in Göteborg on May 23.

In other D&tC news, the band's album "For All Happy Endings" was just reviewed in English over at firesideometer.com.

Lovitt Records has announced they will start taking preorders of the new Division of Laura Lee collection "97-99" with songs from before they signed with BHR/Epitaph. Email mailorder@lovitt.com for more info or visit the label's website. You can also download a preview mp3 of the track "Stereotype" if you're curious about their old sound, which they describe as "reminiscent of the DC post-punk sound with a dash of Drive Like Jehu." The record hits stores June 16.

The Caesars aka Caesars Palace have gotten themselves a write-up in the May issue of Kerrang:

Swedish people rock. And not just because of their shiny hair and nice teeth, but because they seem to possess an understated sense of style, intelligence and passion for all things rock. Mixing the pill-popping, proto-punk sounds of The Who with the grandiose LSD-tinged pop of Phil Spector, Caesars have been the centre of the Swedish renaissance since their formation in the mid-90s, watching some of their comrades-in-ties accidentally spearhead the garage-rock revival along the way.
"Anything which becomes 'cool' soon attracts crap bands and becomes passé, but that's okay because then things go back underground," ponders singer/guitarist Jocke Ahlund. "What would be bad is if people thought we'd formed a garage band two weeks ago when some of our songs on our new album are seven years old. And, um, we're not a garage band."
He's right, of course. Dipping into blissful West Coast psychedelia, Caesars' new album is light years beyond the scene that prompted Ahlund to form the band with childhood friend Cesar Vidal, inspired by a diet of Billy Childish and Sonic Youth. As is the way with many in the Swedish scene, Caesars (who go by the name Caesars Palace back home) aren't shy in helping out their like-minded brethren - The Hives cite them as major influences, Ahlund directed Refused's seminal "New noise" video and they've just toured the US with their buds The Soundtrack Of Our Lives.Twenty-five Swedes rolling into a new American town every day and taking over was funny," chuckles the singer. "It's hard not to party on tour. As Swedes we make sure we don't go anywhere without a little ass-pocket of vodka..."

They also got a favorable review in NME. Read it on the band's website. I tell ya - with the right promotion we'll definitely be hearing a lot more about these guys in the near future.

The Venue have updated their website with part II of the "Dude, where's my lighter" tour diary from their recent trip to the US.

Randy have been added to the lineup of the Download festival which takes place May 31 to June 1 in the UK at Donington Park. More info: www.downloadfestival.co.uk

Dolores Records has actually confirmed a release date of August 25 for a new Broder Daniel single. I'll believe it when I see it.

In other Dolores news, the label has signed the band Cdoass and will release a single for the song "Autovision" very soon. It's a rerecording of a song they've already released and the CD will include the tracks from their latest 7" too ("Airplanes" b/w "The Box"). And finally, Dolores will also put out a 12" version of the single through their singles club which will have a special remix of the title track as the flipside. Oh, and in case you're curious, the band is described as post-punk ala Gang of Four, Television and Talking heads.

And in even more Dolores news, the label has also revealed their latest single for the club will be "123 Bom Bom" from Love Is All featuring Josefin of the band Girlfrendo. More info including mp3s are available here.

Finnish psyche-rockers Circle will touring central Europe in June. Check it:

06/06 - Scheune, Dresden (DE)
06/07 - Fundus, Weingarten (DE)
06/08 - Reitschule, Bern (CH)
06/09 - Sue Ellen Bar, Zürich (CH)
06/11 - Raum 102, München (DE)
06/12 - Cafe Cairo, Würzburg (DE)
06/13 - Stubnitz, Rostock (DE)
06/14 - Silke, Hannover (DE)
06/15 - Magnet, Berlin (DE)
06/16 - Molotow, Hamburg (DE)

Interested in what the Moonbabies are up? Check out this studio report page. Included are pics from the studio along with the potential cover art design and more.

Kaospilot has finally secured a release date for their self-titled debut full-length on June 9 through Level-Plane Records.

Advance Patrol's new single "Min Musik" comes out in June. The b-side will be for the track "Området E På Plats" which features guest appearances from Lilleman and Helt Fjuttade. While you're at it, check out AP on tour in the near future:

05/07 - Stockholm
05/09 - Linköping
05/14 - Köpenhamn
05/31 - Stockholm
06/12 - Hultsfred
06/26 - Roskilde
07/05 - Tivolirocken in Kristianstad

Isolation Years, The Leeches, Nebos, Endivia, and The Heartattacks have all been added to the lineup of the Blow Up a Panda fest which takes place July 26-27 in Stockholm.

Abbath from Immortal guests on a couple tracks on the new Dimmu Borgir record. One of the songs on which he appears is called "Humanity Perverse" and it will also feature the Prague Orchestra String Section. Look for it in stores this September from Nuclear Blast.

Zyklon (ex-Emperor) has revealed the track listing to their upcoming album "Aeon", due out in September on Candlelight Records:

01. Psyklon Aeon
02. Core Solution
03. Two Thousand Years
04. No Names Above the Names
05. The Prophetic Method
06. Specimen Eruption
07. Electric Current
08. An Eclectic Manner

Zyklon and fellow Norweigans Myrkskog play the Cameron Underworld in London on June 6.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. v/a - Fame Factory volym 5
02. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan
03. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
04. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!
05. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
06. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
07. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
08. Jill Johnson - Discography
09. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
10. Antique - Blue love
11. Siw Malmkvist - Siws bästa
12. Simson Dupont - Simson Dupont
13. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
14. Elin Sigvardsson - Saturday light naive
15. Lasse Tennander - Därifrånochhit sånger 1974-2003
16. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel
17. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
18. The Refreshments - On the rocks
19. The Sounds - Living in America
20. Roxette - The pop hits

It has been revealed that Cecilia Nordlund makes a guest appearance on the upcoming Her Majesty record which comes out on May 26. As mentioned yesterday, people who preorder the new album will receive an exclusive free pin with their purchase.

Moneybrother, Nasum, and The Hellacopters have been added to the Hultsfred fest lineup.

Nightwish has pushed back the release date of their upcoming "End of Innocence" DVD to July 7. No reason was given for the delay.

I seem to be experiencing webserver difficulties. No idea why, but I think we're good to go now.

Spendid E-zine reviews Radio Dept. As mentioned before, this band is generating quite a bit of buzz and is picking up quite a bit of steam around the UK even without a record label or proper release.

C.Aarmé has put up a new rehearsal mp3 for your perusal: "I am a Princess". As mentioned before, their new 4-song 7" just came out on Deleted Art.

The Rasmus recently allowed Swedish DJ/remixers PhatZoo and Vecorta to work over "In the Shadows" for clubs around Scandinavia to play. Apparently some radio stations have already added it to their playlists, too. They say it probably won't see a single release, but may end up on a comp sometime, so keep yours eyes open if interested. And in other news, the band also lent the track "Madness" to www.ren-galskab.dk for use in their first episode. Looks a little like 'Jackass'-style stupidity to me, but check it out if you're curious.

The Cardigans, The Hives, and The Soundtrack of Our Lives are just three of the many bands featured on the new "Later...Louder" DVD that just came out in Europe. The disc features various BBC2 live TV performances from the program 'Later with Jools Holland' along with interviews and more. Details are here.

Supersilent will be heading over to Helsinki, Finland for the Jumo Jazzfest (part of the larger Helsinki Fest) on September 9. More info: Finnish / English

Nasum has announced that they will be putting on a record release show for their latest album "Helvete" at Contan in Örebro on May 24. Best of all, the first 100 attendees receive a free copy of said CD with their 40kr entry. Not bad, eh? And they also tease "remember that we have some guests on the album - they might show up, can you afford to miss it?"

Metalreview.com has posted a flawless review of Enslaved's new album "Below the Lights".

Sahara Hotnights report that they will only be playing two festivals this summer, the Kerrang! Festival in London on June 22 and the Siren Festival in NYC on July 19. The band is planning to spend the rest of the summer writing songs and working on the next album.

Bear Quartet has posted a new mp3 of the song "Disappearing Act" from their upcoming "All Your Life" EP. The band will be filming a video for the title track with Jejo in Croatia sometime this week.

Labrador Records has announced that is has now secured distribution to Iceland through Rafgrein and to Thailand by way of B2S. For more info contact either rafgrein@simnet.is at Rafgrein and chsakchai@b2s.co.th at B2S.

New Burning Heart-signee Sparks of Seven will release their first single and video for the song "Move Me On" on May 12. Read more. (in Swedish)

De Stijl and Kashmir have now been confirmed for the Stockholm Calling fest on May 31. Tom McRae is now on the bill, too.

"Detta är årets bästa svenska skiva." Musiklandet reviews "The Raging Sun", the new album from Logh. And yes, it really is brilliant. Sadly, there's no word on an American release yet, but we'll see. And here's another review from AndTheSound, too.

Now here's something a little different. Download this mp3 of Toivo Kaihero spinning a set of various classic Finnish tunes described as "melancholy and painful stories about how life sucks and then you die." It's all done live and is about 30 minutes long.

There's gonna be a Popaganda warm-up show at Mondo (T-Medborgarplatsen) on May 8 with Florence Valentin (solo) and Jose Gonzales plus various DJs. And just like the fest itself, entry is free.

Digfi.com has announced the bands set to play the Popmate new music showcase at Alcazar in Stockholm on May 7, 14 and 21. Among the names mentioned are Picabo, Peter Hägerås and Sedventon. Read more.

The lineup for the big Accelerator shows in Malmö, Göteborg and Stockholm (July 1-3, respectively) have been confirmed. No Scandinavian bands on the bill yet, but here's the list so far.

The German webzine Sellfish recently did an interview with Isolation Years. Check it out. They also review the latest from Fireside if you're curious. (in German)

Cato Salsa Experience's new album will be called "The Fruit is Still Fresh" and is coming out in Norway on June 2. Look for an mp3 preview coming soon.

Amulet reports that they have completed work on their new album "Danger! Danger!". The first single for the track "Breaking News" will be released in Scandinavia on May 15 with the b-side "Dollhouse".

In my continuing quest to open your ears to new music, there's some new mp3s on the right. First is Jaga Jazzist with the title track from their upcoming US debut "Animal Chin". They do a combination of jazz with electronic elements that's actually really, really cool. Normally I wouldn't expect myself to get into something like that, but they're really good. Next is three tracks from The Haunted's performance at Popstad. If you're into metal, you should already know these guys. Ex-At The Gates/Seance, total Slayer-worship. Can't go wrong with that.

Dagensskiva reports that Kamera had a bunch of gear stolen along with Ed Hartcourt's favorite leather jacket from their show at KB in Malm�. Among the missing instruments are a Mexican-made Strat, an Ibanez SG-style guitar and an Ibanez SG-style bass. Read more.

Hell On Wheels have announced that "It's Wrong Being a Boy" will be their new single out on May 8. They'll be shooting a video for the track this evening around the rural suburbs of Stockholm.

Elisa TV has posted V�rttin�'s video for "Tuulen Tunto" (To Feel the Wind) for viewing: RealMedia 1 / RealMedia 2 / Windows
It was filmed on February 28 at Aleksanterin Teatteri by Deco Media for the Finnish TV program 'Levyraati'.

Mattias Alkberg of Bear Quartet is the recipient of the Arnold R�rlings-scholarship. Read more.

Transworld Skateboarding Magazine of all places has reviewed David & the Citizens "For All Happy Endings":

Who�s got "Swedish fever"? It's time to retire your Abba records-guilt free! David & The Citizens are the best thing to come from Sweden since the bikini team. They have a unique, unclassifiable sound that's been compared to Beck, the Rolling Stones, and Belle And Sebastian. Regardless of that, it�ll make you wanna pick up your accordion and start dancing. With catchy song titles like "Now She Sleeps in a Box in the Good Soil of Denmark," how could you go wrong? Definitely a must-buy.
- J.T. Kitzmiller

NRK has posted a plethora of pictures from the Inferno Festival in Norway. Immortal, Red Harvest and Opeth are just three of the bands featured. On-demand video footage coming soon, too.

The Knife will be doing the soundtrack for Christina Olofson's upcoming film "Hannah med H" ('Hannah with an H'). The full CD will include some 30-odd tracks and should be out sometime in fall. The move premieres on December 12.

From Sam Roberts' homepage on opening for TSOOL on a few dates around the US:

Our tour with The Soundtrack of Our Lives has also sadly come to an end. They were the model of Swedish hospitality from beginning to end, and we'd like to thank the band and crew for taking such good care of a bunch of Canuck drunks.
There wasn't a single show where they didn't blow our minds- they might just be the best live band in the world. Another thing we learned about our Scandinavian brethren is that they know how to party, and we have been on a strict regimen of vitamins and lentil soup since our return.
Adios for now you crazy bastards...

For an entirely different take than Pitchfork on Turbonegro's new album, read this review from Dagensskiva. (in Swedish)

Miss Universum's (Doktor Kosmos) debut album "Selfelected" comes out May 16. Uje Brandelius helped with the songwriting and Jens Lindg�rd produced. The first single "Fertilize" comes out April 25.

P3 reports that when the Dalai Lama comes to Sweden on June 3 the following artists will be playing: Thomas Dileva, Lisa Ekdahl, Anders Widmark, Sara Isaksson, and Chime Arkhang. Tomas Ledin will host.

Looptroop, Mikael Wiehe, Bob Hansson, Kajsa Grytt and Stefan Sundstr�m are all scheduled to play a big free concert at Mondo in Stockholm on May 11 in a show of solidarity and support for everyone convicted at the EU summit riots in G�teborg back in 2001.

Some new acts confirmed for Hultsfred: Randy, Ursula Rucker, Stefan Sundstr�m, Strebers, Isolation Years, Paola, Kajsa Grytt, Johan Bergqvist and Advance Patrol.

Some of the names for the upcoming Koneisto fest in Finland seem to have been leaked. Here's what I've heard so far: Miss Kittin, T.Raumschmiere, Erlend Oye, Uusi Fantasia, Ed Rush, Ralph Myerz & Jack Herren Band, Gilles Peterson, London Elektricity, Kuusumun Profeetta, Imatran Voima, Youngsters, Didier Sound Spectrum, Datarock, Kaptein Kaliber, and Seb Fontaine. The electronic music event takes place in Helsinki 7/25-7/27.

Here's an e-card for Oslo's Bertine Zetlizt. It includes a short English bio along with 3 song samples and a video.

Division of Laura Lee has a new CDS coming out May 26 for the track "Trapped In". B-sides will include the song "44" plus a live version of "Need To Get Some". Read more.

Pitchforkmedia.com has posted a review of Mika Vainio's new album "In the Land of the Blind The One-Eyed Is King". For those that don't know, Vainio is one half of the Finnish duo Pan Sonic.

Cult of Luna has unveiled their new website to match the cover art from the new album "The Beyond".

This year's pre-fest activities for Emmaboda have been cancelled due to organization problems. Here's a translated statement from the people behind the scenes at rassle.org:

Unfortunately we have some bad news. Our decision to run a pre festival fest again this year was taken in haste and we have therefore decided to cancel the event. We apolgise for this but we couldn't do anything about it as organisting it was proving more difficult than anticipated and there is not much we can do about it.

Sweden's best band? That's what Aftonbladet says. Check out these recent Fireside 4-star live reviews from the show at Sticky Fingers in Göteborg: Aftonbladet / Expressen (both in Swedish)

Here's the setlist:

Fernandez must die
All you had
Backwards over germany
Desolator
Follow Follow
Blue Monday (New Order cover)
Throw it away
Kilotin
Jerrico
Problem (to you)
Thing on a spring
Encore:
Sweatbead
Betrayer
Layer

The band will also be appearing on MTV Morning Glory this weekend, so check it out when it airs.

Kalas-touring acts Marit Bergman and Her Majesty have now both been confirmed to play the Popaganda fest in Stockholm on May 29-31. The other two new bands confirmed are Midnight Monkeys and Kaada from Norway.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
02. Jill Johnson - Discography
03. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel
04. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
05. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
08. The Refreshments - On the rocks
09. Buddaboys - Lost people areas
10. Fireside - Get shot
11. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
12. Roxette - The pop hits
13. Dilba - Revolution
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
16. The Knife - Deep Cuts
17. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
18. Gloria - People like you and me
19. The Sounds - Living in America
20. Wahlströms - Allt jag vill ha

What are they thinking? Empire Magazine has put out a compilation entitled "Soundtrack of Our Lives" with tracks from artists such as U2, Orbital and Ash. Are they banking on confusion over the name or just totally clueless?

Revolution #9 has announced the creation of a new pop festival to occur this summer on July 18-19 at Bulltoftaparken in Malmö. It will be called the "We & You" fest and they expect to book about 25 bands, though no names have been revealed yet. More details soon.

Here's an interview with Jimmy Tenor in which discusses his new role of fatherhood along with his musical past, present and future. His upcoming tour dates were posted on the 14th.

The good folks at Chalksounds have revealed that they will reissuing Bear Quartet's classic album "Cosy Den" on vinyl this coming September. Keep your eyes peeled.And in even bigger BQ news, the band has announced that will also be putting out a new EP called "All Your Life" in May. Some of the other tracks to be included are"No More School", "Friend Friend" and "Disappearing Act". It was recorded and produced by the ever-so-talented Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Fireside) at his Studio Gröndal. Look for a brand new full length around August.

Denmark's The Alpine will be entering a studio in Sweden shortly to record their second demo. They'll also be playing at Lava/Kulturhuset in Stockholm while over they're there. The band is already receiving regular airplay on Danish P3 radio with the track "Ground Beneath Me" so things are definitely looking up for them. Check em out live, if you are so inclined:

4/18 - Paraplyen, Vejle (DK)
4/26 - Lava/Kulturhuset, Stockholm (S)
5/5 - Stidsholt Ungdomsskole (DK)
5/23 - Skråen, Aalborg (DK)
5/24 - Kulisselageret, Horsens (DK)
5/29-31 - SPOT09 fest, Århus (DK)
6/7 - Cafe' Von Hatten, Randers (DK)
6/25 - Nibe Festival (DK)

This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):

Leaving the chart:
(05) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees"
(13) Interpol "Obstacle 1"
(15) Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes"
(17) David & The Citizens "New Direction"
(19) The Kills "Fried My Little Brains"
(20) Komeda "Reproduce"

Johan Bergqvist reports he has finished up shooting the video for his new single "This Could Be Our Time". And if you look to your right you'll see that you can download an exclusive mp3 of the track right now. But yeah, the video's done and the CD is being sent off to get mastered, so it's on track for its May release. Johan's also got plans for yet another video - on April 26 he's off to shoot one for the song "Lovelace" as he says he "found a nice location with a grand piano." I'll keep you posted.

People in the US - don't forget about Sahara Hotnights on Conan O'Brien tonight along with guest Adam Sandler.

Here's a bunch of pics from the 2001 Avrika fest, including acts such as The Hellacopters, TSOOL, Mustasch, Nasum, and The Haunted.

Problems arose when the grizzly bear appearing in the video went berserk...

Apparently there were some problems onsite at Turbonegro's video shoot for the song "Sell Your Body (To The Night)" which was being filmed in LA with help from the Jackass dudes. Read more at the the band's website.

"Their mesmerising guitar excursions are worthy of early Pink Floyd; the tunes are beyond brilliant; this is, without question, among the most supremely desirable stoner albums you are likely to hear all year" - James Delingpole, Sunday Telegraph, on "Every Time A Bell Rings An Angel Gets Its Wings"

Folks in London get the lucky opportunity to see Logh for free at 93ft East in London on April 14. The show starts at 7:30 and if I was you, I wouldn't miss it.

Been awhile since I heard from these guys, but the Diamond Dogs are going on tour:

4/21 - Monroes, Workingston (UK)
4/22 - Roadmenders, Norhhampton (UK)
4/23 - Markoni Club, Chelmsford (UK)
4/24 - Penningtons Live, Bradford (UK)
4/25 - Baths Hall, Scunthorpe (UK)
4/26 - Cheese and Grain, Frome (UK)
4/27 - Patti Pavilion, Swansea (UK)
4/28 - Camden Underworld, London (UK)
5/02 - Culturen, Västerås
5/08 - El Sol, Madrid (ESP)
5/09 - Stereo, Alicante (ESP)
5/10 - La Casa del Loco, Zaragoza (ESP)
5/13 - University, Granada (ESP)
5/15 - La Nasa, Santiago (ESP)
5/16 - Auditorium Intersecciones, Oviedo (ESP)
5/17 - Azkena, Bilbao (ESP)

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
02. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
03. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
04. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
05. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. Jill Johnson - Discography
08. The Refreshments - On the rocks
09. Dilba - Revolution
10. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
11. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
12. Roxette - The pop hits
13. Gloria - People like you and me
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. The Knife - Deep Cuts
16. The Sounds - Living in America
17. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
18. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
19. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
20. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo

This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):

Leaving the chart:
(12) The Donnas "Take It Off"
(13) Melody Club "Covergirl"
(16) Kamera "At Work"
(18) Ron Sexsmith Ft. Chris Martin "Gold In Them Hills"
(20) Lil' Kim Ft. Mr Cheeks "The Jump Off"

ZTV will begin broadcasting a TV version of Hitlisten, Sweden's official sales chart, compiled by IPFI affiliate GLF and published every Thursday.

Magnus Carlson from the Weeping Willows has his new Eggstone-produced solo album coming out July 9. Turns out he's getting even more outside help, this time from film director Lukas Moodysson (Fucking Åmal/Show Me Love, Tillsammans/Together)and Radio Dept. Lukas has reportedly helped out with some lyric writing while Radio Dept. and Magnus played together at their home in Malmö. The first single will be for the song "Jag ber dig", a cover of the Northern Soul-hit "Beggin'" with Swedish lyrics.

Moneybrother is heading on tour in support of his new, forthcoming album "Blood Panic". The dates:

5/21 - Stockholm, Södra Teatern
5/22 - Karlstad, Glada Ankan
5/23 - Oslo, So What
5/30 - Göteborg, Playground @ Pustervik
5/31 - Linköping, Rocksensation
5/27 - Malmö, Trenchtown @ KB

Mobbade Barn Med Automatvapen (MBMA) have a new 12" coming out in May called "Nu Ännu Drygare" with four songs. Breakmecanix and Embee (Loop Troop) handled the production and Timbuktu and Chords make guest appearances.

Here's an interview with Sami Liuski of Rovaniemi, Finland aka 8-Bit Rockers and Bangkok Impact among others. He talks about his upcoming touring activities and the Finnish electronic music scene, among other interesting topics. Those dates:

4/23 - Pianos, NYC, NY
4/24 - Rhode Island
4/25 - Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
4/26 - Touch Supper Club, Cleveland, OH
4/27 - Empty Bottle, Chicago, MI
4/30 - Noise Lab, Seattle
5/01 - Blackbird, Portland, OR
5/02 - Obscura Digital, San Fransisco
5/05 - Knitting Factory, Los Angeles
5/06 - Los Angeles
5/08 - Sin 13, San Antonio
5/09 - The Elysium, Austin, TX
5/10 - Mermaid Lounge, New Orleans
5/11 - Miami
5/13 - Highlight, Chappel Hill, North Carolina
5/14 - Heaven and Hell, Washinton DC
5/16 - Ivy South, NYC, NY, USA

Danish dance duo Junior Senior are heating things up over in Britain. Not only are they in the singles chart at #5 with "Move Your Feet", but they're also planning to do either dates over there in May, starting with Glasgow Barfly on the first and ending with Liverpool Barfly on the 11th.

Division of Laura Lee has lined up a few extra dates around their appearance at the upcoming Coachella fest near LA:

4/21 - Houston, Engine Room
4/22 - Austin, Emos
4/23 - Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
4/25 - Phoenix, Mason Jar
4/26 - Indio, Coachella

UPDATED: David & the Citizens will be on P3 Pop on April 14 from 10pm till midnight. They'll be playing live and chatting with Hanna in studio. They'll be sure to play the song "Glued to the Light" from the new EP "New Direction" they say, but they'll also be premiering two brand new tracks. As this news implicates, the band is already making plans for their next record - they'll be hitting the studio in May with plans to get it out around September.

In Flames have revealed the details for their forthcoming EP entitled "Trigger". The track listing is as follows:

01. Trigger (single edition)
02. Watch Them Feed (new song)
03. Land Of Confusion (Genesis cover)
04. Cloud Connected (Club Connected Remix)
05. Moonshield (C64 Karoke Version)

Look for it soon on Nuclear Blast. In other news, the band recently returned home from their most recent trek across the US and had this to say on their website:

Hello all, thanx a million for the GREAT support from both old and new fans on In Flames/Mudvayne tour in the US. We had a great time, and as usual we met some really cool people on the road( talking about you, our wonderful fans) and we made some good friends in the other bands- Mudvayne, Grade 8, and Depswa - we really hope to meet up again soon!!!!
On the way home we were forced to make an emergency landing in New Foundland, due to some strange objects on the aircraft that needed closer attention. This of course scared the hell out of us, but luckily it was false alarm, so as we speak we are in Sweden, jet-lagged as hell, but really glad to be on safe ground at home again.
In the end of June we will go back on the road again on a headline spin across the US, bringing some great acts along with us (see soon for official update on this). The tour will take us to places we didn´t hit on the last tour and some that we did play... Hope to see ALL of you out there. Also, watch out for our video/EP for "Trigger" that will be out very soon

Swedish power-metallers Hammerfall have booked themselves a short Czech Republic tour along with the following festival dates:

6/27 - Bang Your Head - Balingen, GER
6/28 - Masters Of Rock, Vizovice, CZ
6/29 - Centre of Town, Jihlava, CZ
6/30 - Hall Lokomotiva, Plzen, CZ
7/04 - Sundsvalls Gatufest - Sundsvall, SWE
7/05 - Töreboda Festival - Töreboda, SWE
7/25 - Karlskoga Stranddagar - Karlskoga, SWE
8/30 - Bloodstock Metalfest - Derby, UK

Transport League has announced that Crash Music Inc. will license their most recent EP "Grand Amputation" for release in the US. It was originally released last year on their own label Hoffa Communications through MNW distribution. In other news, the band reportedly just did some time in the studio with producer J. Reivén (ex-LOK) working on a new demo.

I've got a busy workday ahead of me, so updates may tend to be a bit slow. Bear with me. And lots of new links coming soon, too.

UPDATE: I'm finally done for the day and the links page has a ton of new sites on it. Enjoy!

Here's some pics from day one of the Umeå Open. Thanks Magnus!

The Cardigans have been confirmed for the Glastonbury festival which takes place on June 27. More info here.

Interested in the new Nasum album? The band has put up a full preview page with the album cover, tracklist and some samples. Check it out.

Thirdimension has added two of their videos to their site. Go to the 'Pleasure' section to check 'em out. The band admits they're kinda old and maybe not "not among our top ten-list of videos", but they say "the latter one ["Yes Equals No"] is quite cool." Works for me.

Get a preview of the new Moonbabies song "Fieldtrip USA". Like I said yesterday, Chalksounds is putting out some great pop records soon and the upcoming album "The Orange Billboard" is no exception. Good stuff.

On April 1, Burning Heart records will unleash the new Turbonegro site www.scandinavianleather.com where they say you'll find "mp3's, tourdates, bio, photos, video, competitions, e-cards and games." As much as I dig some of their old stuff and respect the band, I find the new album to be a bit too polished and boring. Eh, on the other hand, it's still better than most of the dreck out there I suppose. Those of who just discovering the band, buy one of the recent reissues - that's where it's at.

The nominees for the Swedish Hip Hop Awards have been announced. Check it.

Norwegian/Senegalese kora master Solo Cissokho won the BBC World Music Award for his album "Tretakt Takissaba" which was recorded together with Swedish fiddler Ellika Frisell. Cissokho has worked for many years on his goal of fusing "African griot-tradition with traditional Norwegian folk music," as stated by MIC Norway. For those that are unaware (as I was), the kora (or cora) is a Senegalese string instrument. Read more about it here.

More from MIC Norway:

Despite strong presence of Norwegian artists on the national Top 40 album charts, the sales trend is negative. The February figures from the Association of Norwegian Record Distributors indicate a 21% decline in sales of Norwegian records compared to 2002. Despite this, the mood on the Norwegian music scene is still very positive.

Read more.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. v/a - Melodifestivalen 2003
02. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
03. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
04. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
05. The Refreshments - On the rocks
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
08. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
09. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
10. Evergrey - Recreation day
11. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
12. The Sounds - Living in America
13. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
14. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
15. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
16. Kajsa Grytt - Är vi på väg hem?
17. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
18. The Knife - Deep Cuts
19. Ted Gärdestad - Droppar av solregn
20. Isolation Years - It's golden

The Hives have been added to the bill of the V Festival which takes place August 16-17 at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Apparently it will be their only UK appearance this year. Other bands confirmed for this fest include Echo And The Bunnymen, Coldplay and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tickets are available at www.wayahead.com.

The Concretes will finally be releasing their self-titled album on May 1. The lead single "You Can´t Hurry Love" is already out. The band is also opening for Ed Harcourt on the following dates (sorry, no venue information):

3/31 - Stockholm
4/2 - Göteborg
4/3 - Malmö

The mighty Hellacopters are coming over to the UK in April to do some shows and a live session with John Peel. Pretty cool, eh? Now if they'd come back to America. SUpport will come from The Peepshows. Anyhow, the dates:

4/7 - London Scala
4/8 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
4/9 - Live on John Peel, Radio 1
4/10 - Birmingham Academy 2
4/11 - Camber Sands Weekender
4/12 - Dublin Temple Bar
4/13 - Manchester Academy 3
4/14 - Leeds Cockpit
4/15 - Bristol Fleece & Firkin
4/16 - Brighton Concorde 2
And in Europe, too:
4/17 - Nijmegen (NL), Doornrossje
4/18 - Zwolle (NL), Hedo
4/19 - Kassel (D), Spot
4/20 - Erfurt (D), Spot
4/21 - Bremen (D), Schlachthof

Meshuggah has finally got confirmed dates for their upcoming US tour with Strapping Young Lad:

4/25 - Graceland - Seattle, WA
4/26 - Roseland - Portland, OR
4/27 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
4/29 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
4/30 - The Edge - Palo Alto, CA
5/01 - The Palace - Los Angeles, CA
5/02 - The Scene - San Diego, CA
5/03 - Galaxy Theater - Santa Ana, CA
5/04 - Marquee Theater - Phoenix, AZ
5/06 - Stubb's B-B-Q - Austin, TX
5/07 - White Rabbit - San Antonio, TX
5/08 - Canyon Club - Dallas, TX
5/09 - Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
5/10 - The Other Side - Tulsa, OK
5/11 - Headliner's - Louisville, KY
5/12 - Clutch Cargo's - Pontiac, MI
5/13 - The Metro - Chicago, IL
5/14 - Quest Club - Minneapolis, MN
5/15 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
5/16 - Peabody's Down Under - Cleveland, OH
5/17 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA - New England Metal & Hardcore Fest
5/18 - Birch Hill - Old Bridge, NJ
5/19 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA w/Hate Eternal
5/20 - The Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
5/21 - Village Underground - New York, NY
5/22 - North Six - Brooklyn, NY
5/23 - The Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY
5/25 - Les Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QUE
5/26 - Club Rocket - Toronto, ONT

Swedish dis-core band Skitsystem are finally heading out on their first European tour. For those that don't know, the band is fronted by ex-At the Gates/The Crown, current Great Deceiver singer Tomas Lindberg. He plays guitar in this band, too. Fellow crusties Victims are opening. The dates:

4/21 – Hamburg, GER - Rote flora
4/22 – Potsdam, GER - Archiv
4/23 – Mülheim, GER - AZ
4/24 – Bielefeld, GER - AJZ
4/25 – Stuttgart, GER @ TBA
4/26 – Amsterdam, NETH - Villa Friekens

Hi, I'm a moron. In my haste of getting those Hederos & Hellberg mp3s up, I didn't properly investigate the song titles well enough. The first track is actually called "Songs from Silence" and I should've known that. It's not like I don't have the album or anything. Thanks Steffo.

Solefald reports they will soon have a video for the track "Mont Blanc Providence Crow". It will contain material from Oslo, Paris, and Manchester, along with various TV studio-filmed segments. The band also recently received money from Norsk Tekstforfatterfond to put towards a new album, so they will be heading over to Iceland in June "in order to get inspired and to write new material expanding the musical expression even further." The latest album "In Harmonia Universali" just came out this week and is already gathering positive reviews. I have yet to hear it, but they have definitely proven to be one of the most interesting 'metal' bands in the past. Probably worth checking out. And yes, metal is in quotes for a reason.

MTV UK has put up a Cardigans micro-site featuring all sorts of goodies like an album preview, videos, and photos. There's also another one from One.Tel here. And lastly, people who have already purchased the album can go here for even more exclusive content.

Randy has put up some pictures from recent video shoot for the new song "A Man in Uniform".

Here's some pictures of TSOOL playing Philadelphia on March 22.

The Sounds say they are planning to come back to the US in May before the start of the European festival season. Details when I get 'em. They've also announced that Kamera will be the openers on the upcoming Swedish tour. I've never heard them, but they have samples on their website.

In other rumor news, that MC3 show featuring Nicke from The Hellacopters (among others) was apparently recorded for a future DVD release. Again, no details yet, but I'll pass news along when I hear it.

No rest for the weary, eh? KVLR will be hitting the road again in June to support their latest release "On Planted Streets". A new single might even be in the works, too. Only Germany has confirmed dates so far, but here they are:

6/12 - Ex House, Trier
6/13 - Atomic Cafe, München
6/17 - Cafe Trauma, Marburg
6/20 - Molotow, Hamburg
6/21 - Kieler Woche (Delta Radio Stage), Kiel

Askil Holm's first show on the 'Daydream Receiver Tour 2003' will be in his hometown of Namsos, Norway on March 29. Tickets and more info can be found here. The rest of the dates will be announced shortly.

The Whyte Seeds have announced two dates in Sweden:

3/25 - KB, Malmö
3/26 - Nalen, Stockholm

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
03. Mew - Comforting Sounds
04. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
05. Kwan - Shine
06. C21 - You Are The One
07. Winta - Emotions
08. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
09. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
10. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth

Challengers:
01. Sparkler - Tiger
02. Isolation Years - Open These Eyes
03. Remedeeh - Learning Lessons
04. Evolver - Love Confidential
05. Slalom - Camshaft

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

Export Music Sweden (ExMS) has put up pictures from the recent showcase at SXSW in Austin. Check it.

P3 Swedish radio will be broadcasting from the Umeå Open this Saturday with performances from Isolation Years (acoustic), Paris, and The Crystal Committee. The broadcast starts at 8:03 pm / 11:03 am Pacific Time and you can listen at the P3 website. Click 'lyssna'. I'll try my best to get some recordings, if I can. I might be getting some pictures, too.

Svenska Akademien + Moder Jords Massiva Propaganda, Voice Of A Generation, DGPP, and User have all been confirmed for the upcoming Augustibuller fest to take place in, you guessed it, August. More info here.

"We don't give a fuck! It's not our problem. Let the tanks roll..."

Thank you Marduk for that great commentary on the war in Iraq.

Grave has offered their apologies to fans on account of the cancellation of the planned European tour with Defleshed. The explanation:

The European tour that was planned for March and April 2003 has been cancelled due to problems with the bookings and scheduling of the tour.
With only 3 weeks to go before the start of the tour we had not recieved what was agreed upon in terms of booked and confirmed shows.
We feel that in such a situation we will rather wait until we can go on a full European tour and play for all of YOU rather than just a few selected countries and shows.
We want YOU to know that Grave really wants to and will tour as soon as we get the opportunity to do a successful tour.

The band still plans on doing their upcoming US tour with Goatwhore, Immolation, and December. The dates so far:

05/27 - Don Hills New York City, NY
05/28 - The Depot Baltimore, MD
05/29 - tba
05/30 - Showplace Theatre Buffalo, NY
05/31 - Newport Music Hall Columbus ,OH
06/01 - Agora Theater Cleveland, OH
06/02 - tba
06/03 - House Of Blues Chicago, IL
06/04 - The Lab St Paul, MN
06/05 - tba
06/06 - Graceland Seattle, WA
06/07 - Meow Meow Portland, OR
06/08 - The Pound San Francisco, CA
06/09 - Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana, CA
06/10 - Key Club Los Angeles, CA
06/11 - Brick By Brick San Diego, CA
06/12 - Huntridge Theatre Las Vegas, NV
06/13 - The Mason Jar Phoenix, AZ
06/14 - Launch PAd Albuquerquee.NM
06/15 - E-9 El Paso, TX
06/16 - Canyon Club Dallas, TX
06/17 - The Backroom Austin, TX
06/18 - Zeppelins New Orleans, LA
06/19 - Masquerade Atlanta, GA
06/20 - tba
06/21 - tba
06/22 - tba
06/23 - Factory 324 Roanoke, VA
06/24 - Hooplas Virginia Beach, VA
06/25 - Ziggy's Winston-Salem, NC
06/26 - Jaxx West Springfield, VA
06/27 - Chantilly's Manchester, NH
06/28 - The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
06/29 - Stone Pony Asbury Park, N.J

A whole bunch of new music today, including the first half of that Hederos & Hellberg concert. Also, the newest single from Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes". It's a little more uptempo and sunny than older IY stuff, but I'm starting to really like it.

Fireside finally got their new website up and running. Check it out.

Dialog Cet is heading out on the road in support of their new album "Konsumera Era", which was released today:

4/12 - Jönköping, Rocks
4/15 - Uppsala, Genomfarten
4/16 - tbc/tbn (to be not)
4/17 - Göteborg, Gump w/Träd, Gräs & Stenar
4/18 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
4/19 - Oslo, Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken, Kungen

Melody Club has posted the video for the new single "Covergirl" on their homepage. Oh, and I also have it on good authority that the bassist also plays in a grind band. Pretty funny, I just wish I could remember their name.

Get a preview of the new soundtrack music from Ulver for the movie "Svidd Neger". Once the site loads, click the 'musikk' tab. I think it all sounds really cool so far, and there's even a little guitar on excerpt 4.

Hemmalaget will be performing at the upcoming Swedish Hip-Hop Awards to be held at Nalen in Stockholm on April 25. Isn't 'Swedish hip-hop' an oxymoron? Oh, but I kid! More info here or here, at the official site.

Those lucky dogs in The Hellacopters get to open for the Rolling Stones at Cirkus in Stockholm on July 22. First the MC5 invite, and then this? I bet those guys are stoked.

It's been hinted at before with the announcement of Logh as an opener, but I can now reveal the extent of the upcoming Fireside tour:

4/16 - Göteborg Sticky Fingers w/Logh
4/17 - Malmö Voltmeter @ KB
4/18 - Uppsala Grand w/Logh
4/24 - Linköping Herrgår´n w/Logh
4/25 - Västerås Village w/Logh
4/29 - Sthlm Södra Teatern/ KGB w/Logh
4/30 - Oslo (n) Blå w/Logh
5/01 - Lund Mejeriet w/Logh & De Stijl
5/02 - Hamburg (D) Molotow w/De Stijl
5/03 - Köln (D) Underground w/De Stijl
5/04 - Dresden (D) Star Club w/De Stijl
5/05 - München (D) Orange House w/De Stijl
5/06 - Milano (I) Transilvania Live w/De Stijl
5/07 - Lausanne (CH) Bleu Lézard w/De Stijl
5/08 - Bern (CH) ISC w/De Stijl
5/09 - Leuven (B) Stuk w/De Stijl
5/10 - Utrecht (NL) Ekko w/De Stijl
5/11 - Groningen (NL) Vera w/De Stijl
5/12 - Amsterdam (NL) Melkwegw/De Stijl
5/13 - Rotterdam (NL) Waterfront w/De Stijl
5/14 - Brügge (B) Cactus w/De Stijl
5/15 - Berlin (D) Magnet w/De Stijl
5/16 - Helsingborg Tivoli w/De Stijl

The new album "Get Shot" comes out April 7.

Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt will be doing a collaboration with Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson on a Linda Perhacs cover to be used on a tribute CD. Steven has produced the last few Opeth releases, including the much-anticipated "Damnation" album due out next month. Billed as the 'mellow' counterpart to the recently released "Deliverence", I can tell you now that it's easily the best thing they've done for some time. I've been an Opeth fan for sometime, but have felt their musical progression has gotten a bit stagnant recently. Well, no more - "Damnation" shows a whole new side of the band and proves they are easily one of metal's top acts. And no, I don't get paid to say that. I wish.

Pristine Music has a couple new singles in the works. First up is Johan Bergqvist, a singer/songwriter who I've talked about a little before. He's played with bands like The Virtues and Peter, Björn, and John and will have a three-song release out in May. Next is the hard rock act Hell n’ Diesel. The EP "Asphalt Supreme" came out last June and their new single will be recorded in April, in stores by May. Both new releases will be accompanied by videos.

Amorphis side-project Verenpisara have completed work on their second album "Happosadetta" ('acid rain'). Look for it May 15 on BMG.

Check it: The BBC's One World spotlight on Norway, 'Part Three - The Oslo Experience.'

I already talked a little about it I think, but here's the info about the upcoming 'Midnight Sun' tour featuring various Norweigan artists in the UK. Set to perform are Supersilent, DJ Strangefruit, Sidsel Endresen, and Arve Henriksen. The dates:

5/22 - Exeter, Phoenix
5/23 - Bath, Bath International Music Festival Pavillion
5/24 - Belfast, Crescent Arts Centre
5/25 - Salisbury, Salisbury Festival
5/26 - Birmingham, Medicine Bar
5/27 - Liverpool, Unity Theatre
5/28 - London, 93 Feet East

Northside Records reports they've got some new CDs in the works. First is "Bárru" from joiker Wimme. Hedningarna singers Liisa Matveinen and Tellu Turkka provide guest backing vocals on threetracks which were recorded at the Holiday Inn during 2002's Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis. There's also three video tracks from the same fest on the disc. The label also has a new Hedningarna 'ice-priced' (low-priced: ~$5 or so) comp with a few new tracks in the works along with a new album from Frifot, too.

The Virtues have confirmed the release dates for their new album. Look for it in Scandinavia on March 24, April 26 for the US.

My pals KVLR will be entering Komeda Studios soon to record six new tracks. They describe them as "more rough, energetic, poppy and weird than before, all songs recorded live." I'm definitely excited - all the ones they played on tour sounded really good. And to the guys in the band and the message you posted - you're welcome! 'Twas my pleasure taking you guys out on the road - I had a blast. I'm gonna steal your photos you left me and post my own road journal soon.

Burning Heart has announced that they've signed Sparks of Seven from Göteborg. Their debut album is expected in 2003 and the label describes their sound as "the missing links between Union Carbide Productions, Stone Roses and Primal Scream." They'll be playing Nalen in Stockholm on March 26 with Her Majesty and Whyte Seeds.

Göteborg's Morlocks have broken up. Here's what they had to say about it:

Even if the band Morlocks is buried, the three members will continue their musical work in other constellations, so keep your eyes and ears open!
Morlocks will also take the opportunity to thank all of you who has supported and helped the band during the years, and above all our wonderful audience. You will surely be missed!

Send all 'last hellos' to morlocks@nangijala.com.

Andrea Hagen has announced that she has ceased working under the name Hagalaz Runedance and will ressurect her old moniker Nebelhexe (fog-witch). She also is said to be working on a musical project/theatre piece with Martin Walkyier (ex-Skyclad, Sabbath). Read the full statement here.

Christian Kjellvander had added a couple solo dates in Switzerland to his tour itinerary:

05/13 - Luzern Switzerland, Schüür-Bar
05/14 - Lausanne Switzerland, Bleu Lézard
05/15 - Bern Switzerland, ISC w/Isolation Years
05/16 - Winterthur Switzerland, Gaswerk w/Pinkostar and Valium Speed

Download two mp3s samples from the upcoming Nine album "Killing Angels": "Inferno" and "Discontent OD". Look for it in stores around August/September on Burning Heart.

Logh has been announced as the support act for Fireside on their upcoming Swedish tour. Congrats! And besides that, they've got quite a bit of other touring coming up. The dates:

03/20 - Prinzenbar (Docks), Hamburg, GER
03/21 - Magnet, Berlin, GER
03/22 - Starclub, Dresden, GER w/The Kills
03/23 - Gebaedue 9, Köln, GER w/The Faint
03/24 - Normal Records, Köln, GER
03/26 - La route du rhum, Nantes, FRA
03/27 - Local Transmission, Bordeaux, FRA
03/28 - Atzavara Club, St Feliu de Guixols, Girona, ESP
03/29 - Sala Moby Dick, Madrid, ESP w/The Donnas
03/30 - Sala Azkena, Bilbao, ESP
04/02 - Le Gibus, Besançon, FRA
04/03 - BOA, Luzern, CH
04/04 - Rockplanet, Pinarella di Cervia, ITA
04/07 - Szene Wien, Wien, A w/Cameran
04/08 - Orange House, Munich, GER
04/09 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, GER
04/10 - Schwimbad Musik Club, Heidelberg, GER
04/12 - La Guintuette Pirate, Paris, FRA
04/13 - Freebutt, Brighton, UK
04/14 - 93ft East , London, UK
04/15 - Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle, London, UK
04/16 - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, SWE w/Fireside
04/18 - Grand, Uppsala, SWE w/Fireside
04/24 - Herrgårn, Linköping, SWE w/Fireside
04/25 - Village, Västerås, SWE w/Fireside
04/29 - Kägelbanan, Stockholm, SWE w/Fireside
04/30 - Blå, Oslo, NOR w/Fireside
05/01 - Mejeriet, Lund, SWE w/Fireside

The Sounds say they are playing San Diego tonight on their website. No word on what club, but I'm sure if you're down there it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Zillion Digits aka David Sandström (ex-Refused) will be playing Klubb Modos in Umeå on March 22. I've been hearing good things about this, so check it out if you can.

Download an mp3 of 69-Hard's song "The Bullets", taken from the forthcoming album "Blues From Hell" due out April 11 on Idle Hands Records. Preorders are being taken at the label's website so act now, especially if you want a copy of the limited 3-song single.

There's going to be a new comp coming out called "Nordic Favourites" featuring 17 tracks from 17 artists including Silje Nergaard, Gåte, Bel Canto, Morten Abel, Maria Mena, The Rasmus, Junior Senior, The Sounds, Kristofer Åström, The Crash, and Lordi. Look for a "massive" Nordic TV ad campaign in the near future.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. v/a - Melodifestivalen 2003
02. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
03. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
04. The Refreshments - On the rocks
05. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
06. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
07. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
08. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
09. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
10. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
11. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
12. The Sounds - Living in America
13. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
14. Kajsa Grytt - Är vi på väg hem?
15. The Knife - Deep Cuts
16. Ted Gärdestad - Droppar av solregn
17. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
18. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
19. Barbados - Rewind
20. A Teens - New arrival

Lars Winnerbäck's new album "Söndermarken" has already gone gold in Sweden. Look for him on tour this summer over there.

This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):

Leaving the chart:
(09) Whyte Seeds "Slow Motions"
(15) USCB Allstars "Watch Me Roll"
(16) Dj Format Ft. Chali 2na & Akil "We Know Something You Don't Know"
(17) Simian "La Breeze"
(18) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i världen"
(19) Lars Winnerbäck "Åt samma håll"
(20) Millencolin "E20 Norr"

Kent has lined up another show this summer: the Park festival in Moss, Norway on June 14. Also playing are Kaizers Orchestra and Vibeke Saugestad.

UPDATED: Finntroll, Impaled Nazarene, and (maybe) Children of Bodom will be doing a benefit/memorial show at Nosturi in Helsinki on March 25 for Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta. The price of entry will be a 10 euros dontation with all proceeds going to cover expenses for Teemu's family. The funeral will be on March 29.

The Finnish band Amorphis have signed with EMI to release their next album, the self-produced "Far From The Sun". The first single "Day Of Your Beliefs" comes out in April, the album to follow in May. This will be the band's first major label release following a long relationship with Relapse Records.