After some time off and membership changes, Leiah is once again preparing to hit the road and tour Europe. Joakim can't make it because of new job obligations, but they think they've found a suitable replacement in Martin aka the "wiz kid" and "the unholy driver." The dates so far:

03/21 - Haldensleben Germany, JFZz "der club"
03/22 - München Germany, Kafe Kult
03/23 - Innsbruck Austria, Workstation
03/24 - Off
03/25 - Budapest Hungaria, Red Hole
03/26 - Cakovec Croatia, TBA
03/27 - Koprivnica Croatia, Kuglana 2
03/28 - Italy, TBA
03/29 - Pescara Italy, TBA
03/30 - Italy, TBA
03/31 - Ferrara Italy, TBA
04/01 - Italy, genova, TBA
04/02 - Toulouse France, Caravan Serail
04/03 - Torrelavega Spain, Ave Turuta
04/04 - Madrid Spain, madrid, Ene Ba
04/05 - Castellon Spain, Ricamor
04/06 - Castellon Spain, Kevin's House, exclusive show
04/07 - St. Feliu Spain, Atzavara Club
04/08 - Off
04/09 - Gent Belgium, Gent, Frontline
04/10 - Leuven Belgium, Leuven, Sojo
04/11 - Athus Belgium, Athus, Le Marignan
04/12 - Recklinghausen Germany, südpol
04/13 - Hamburg Germany hamburg, molotov
04/14 - Off
04/15 - Schwalmstadt Germany , Die Bar
04/16 - Münster Germany, Gleis 22
04/17 - Hohenmölsen Germany, Alte Musikschule
04/18 - Frankfurt/main Germany, Exzess
04/19 - Nürtingen Germany, Kuckucksei
04/20 - Schweinfurt Germany, Stadt Bahnhof
04/21 - Prague Czech, 007
04/22 - Berlin Germany, Kato
04/23 - Dresden Germany, Nubeatz

Supersilent has announced a few new festival dates including the Spot 09 festival in Århus, Denmark on May 30 and Øyafestivalen in Oslo on August 9. A full list of scheduled appearances is here.

The New Mess will touring Europe this June. The (very) tentative dates:

06/06 - Hanau (D) Schweinehalle
06/07 - TBA
06/08 - TBA
06/09 - TBA
06/10 - TBA
06/11 - Dresden (D) AZ Conni w/Off Minor
06/12 - Leipzig (D) Zoro w/Off Minor
06/13 - Cottbus (D) Chekov
06/14 - Berlin (D) Ausland

For more info about that new David & the Citizens EP I talked about yesterday, go to the band's website. They've put up full descriptions of what to expect from each song along with the recording information.

Ludwig from The (International) Noise Conspiracy will be filling on drums for The Soundtrack of Our Lives on the US tour in April. The dates:

4/2 - Minneapolis MN, 400 Bar
4/3 - Lawrence KS, Bottleneck
4/5 - Denver CO, Bluebird
4/6 - Salt Lake City UT, Zephyr
4/8 - San Francisco CA, Bimbo's 365 Club
4/10 - Seattle WA, Graceland
4/11 - Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
4/13 - Whistler, Whistler Mountain Base

In other t(I)NC related news, Dennis has finished up work on the new Lost Patrol album and will be taking it to stage at the upcoming Umeå Open on March 28. Backing him will be members of Randy, Refused, Isolation Years and The Perishers.

In Flames had to cancel their show tonight in Cleveland with Mudvayne because their bus broke down "in the middle of nowhere." However, they promise to make up for it on their just-announced upcoming US headlining tour. Dates so far:

4/02 - Fayetteville AR, JR's Dickson St. Theatre
4/03 - Houston TX, Fitzgeralds
4/04 - Dallas TX, The Galaxy Club

From Rolling Stone concerning this year's SXSW fest:

Best Swedish Band: The Soundtrack of Our Lives beat Citizen Bird [Silverbullit] here in 2002, but this year it was all about the ladies. We give the nod to Maria Andersson and her hard-rockin' Sahara Hotnights over Maja Ivarsson and the New Wave sounds of the Sounds. The Hives' Howlin' Pelle Almqvist concurs -- he's dating Maria.

The Sounds have confirmed the dates for a Swedish tour in April that will coincide with the release of the new single "Rock'n'Roll". The dates:

4/19 - Helsingborg, The Tivoli
4/20 - Malmö, KB
4/23 - Stockholm, Klubben
4/24 - Göteborg, Trädgårn
4/25 - Sälen, Högfjällshotellet
4/26 - Jönköping, Parken

Håkan Hellström, The Sounds, Mando Diao, Meshuggah, Melody Club, and Loop Troop have been confirmed for the upcoming Arvika fest to take place July 10-12. Other international acts confirmed include Björk, Front 242, and Chicks on Speed.

Nü-metallers Blindside have been forced to cancel a number of dates on their upcoming European tour. Those affected:

3/28 - Wolverhampton, Little Civic
3/29 - Glasgow, Cathouse
3/30 - Manchester, Roadhouse
3/31 - London, Underworld
4/2 - Berlin, Magnet
4/3 - Cologne, Prime Club
4/5 - Hamburg, MarX
4/6 - Munich, Orangehouse

The Crown has set "Possessed 13" as the title of their upcoming album, due in September on Metal Blade Records.

It has been announced that Finntroll/Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta's death on Sunday was the result of an alcohol-related fall. Again, my condolences to his friends and family.

Some nine days and 4000 miles (~6437 km) later, I'm back home and exhausted. We had a blast and I'm happy to report that everything went quite smoothly. Pictures will be forthcoming! For those that might be interested, I've got a bit of leftover KVLR merch to sell. How's $12 ppd sound? Order more items and I'll make it worth your while. The list:

KVLR - Great Collapse CD and/or 12" vinyl
KVLR - On Planted Streets CD
KVLR - Let Me Worry Some More 12" vinyl
The Crystal Committee - Forever Overhead

North American orders only, please. Everyone else can order direct from Chalksounds. Email me and we'll work out the details.

And now back to the news! Updates will be a bit slow today as I bring myself back up to speed and catch up with everything I missed.

Deleted Art is starting to accept pre-orders for the new 4-song 7" from C.Aarmé and the gatefold ep from The New Mess. They just shipped off the masters to get pressed, so expect them to start shipping in early April. And if you act now, they promise to throw in a free button along with first dibs on the limited colored vinyl. Email 'em at mailorder@deletedart.org to get on it.

The debut album "Ruminate" from The Virtues will come out April 26 on San Francisco's Zip Records. They describe it as "Northern Soul" and say "it shimmers with originality and melodicism. In the vein of The Posies and Ron Sexsmith."

Isolation Years are heading out on the road in support of their new album "It's Golden", which you can preview here. The dates:

4/4 - Skellefteå, Pinkerton
4/5 - Östersund, Tingshuset
4/10 - Linköping, Herrgårn
4/16 - Halmstad, Diezel
4/17 - Malmö, KB
4/18 - Gbg, Playground@Pustervik
4/19 - Köpenhamn, Rust
4/25 - Lund, Mejeriet
4/27 - Sthlm - Södra Teatern/KGB
5/2 - Oslo, So What

Division of Laura Lee are heading out on a Swedish tour, too. Their dates:

4/2 - Vänersborg, Roccad
4/4 - Västerås, Västerås Kulturhus
4/5 - Gbg, Chalmers Kårhus
4/9 - Mariehamn, Pub Bastun
4/10 - Sthlm, Kafé 44
4/11 - Sthlm, Klubb Accelerator @ Debaser
4/12 - Norrköping, Kammaren
5/2 - Lund, Wermlands Nation

Sanctum has decided to cancel their upcoming planned US tour citing the unstable world condition and the possibility that they might not be able to make the journey when the time comes. Their statement:

We can't risk to give our word for something we might not be able to hold. We're very sorry about this decision, to be precise it sucks and it was not easy to make. we have been looking forward to perform, to see old friends and make new ones.

Surely you heard about the flying sheep head incident at the Mayhem show in Norway? Well, here's a pic of the damage. It also turns out that victim Per Kristian Hagen is suing the band for lost income as a result of the injury. He says he's still a fan, but says "if it turns out I've got permanent injuries after this, it's important to have some sort of record to refer to... since I can't work for awhile."

The Ark's fourth single from "In Lust We Trust" will be for the song "Disease". Preview it here along with the b-side "Opera".

Finntroll/Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta died at age 25 on Sunday morning. There's no word on what happened or what this means for the bands' future, but I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything. My condolences.

Check out Paola's new single and video for the song "Interstellar Love" right here.

Picked up the guys from KVLR at the airport yesterday. They're a little jet-lagged, but otherwise very excited to head out on tour. Should be a lot of fun! The dates, yet again:

3/7 - Santa Cruz, CA - Drop-in Center w/Science of Yabra, The Yellow Press
3/8 - Redding, CA - Tag Teen Center w/Mercy Mile, The Yellow Press
3/9 - SF, CA - Club Galia w/Low Rise, Century Schoolbook, Fuck the Hope You Gave Me (ex-Fury 66, Audiocrush, Yaphet Kotto), Science of Yabra
3/10 - Huntington Beach, CA - Liquid Den w/, Taint
3/11 - Phoenix, AZ - Red Room
3/12 - Albuquerque, NM - Burt's Tiki Lounge
3/13 - Austin, TX - Momo's TFT/Better Looking Records Showcase w/Mark Gardner of Ride, Jealous Sound + more
3/14 - Flagstaff, AZ - Soul Kitchen
3/15 - Sacramento, CA - 1020 J w/Sputterdoll, No Avail

One of my favorite bands, Katatonia, is heading out across Europe with some help from Finntroll. The dates:

4/16 - Nachtleben/Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany
4/17 - Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland.
4/18 - Terminal Export, Nancy, France
4/19 - Dioxin, Schindellegi/Schwyz,Switzerland
4/20 - Midian Club, Vicenza, Italy
4/21 - Alpheus, Rome, Italy
4/22 - Transilvania Live, Milan, Italy
4/24 - Crockmore, Perpignan, France.
4/25 - K.G.B., Barcelona, Spain
4/26 - Caracol, Madrid, Spain
4/27 - SWR VI, Barroselas, Portugal
4/29 - Republicca II, Valencia, Spain
4/30 - West Rock, Cognac, France
5/01 - Rail Theatre, Lyon, France
5/02 - Splendid, Lille, France.

Some more dates have been announced for the upcoming In Flames/Mudvayne US tour. Here's the current itinerary:

3/08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Metropol
3/10 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre
3/11 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights
3/12 - Pittston, PA - The Staircase
3/14 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
3/15 - Orlando/ Lake Buena Vista (FL) - House Of Blues
3/17 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
3/18 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
3/19 - Cleveland, OH - Odeon Concert Club
3/21 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
3/22 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Egyptian Room
3/23 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
3/25 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club
3/26 - Oklahoma City, OK - Coca Cola Bricktown Event Center
3/28 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Amphitheatre
3/29 - San Antonio, TX - Sunset Station
3/30 - McAllen, TX - Villa Real Conv. Ctr.

Finland's The Rasmus are doing a short Swedish tour in support of their new album "Dead Letters" which comes out March 21. The dates:

4/9 - Stockholm, Klubben
4/10 - Göteborg, Valand
4/11 - Köpenhamn, Lilla Vega
4/12 - Helsingborg, The Tivoli

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

01. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
04. The Refreshments - On the rocks
05. The Sounds - Living in America
06. Barbados - Rewind
07. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
08. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
09. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
10. The Knife - Deep Cuts
11. Melody Club - Music machine
12. Thomas Rusiak - In the sun
13. The Radio Dept. - Lesser matters
14. A Teens - New arrival
15. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
16. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
17. Slaptones - Simplify
18. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
19. The Haunted - One kill wonder
20. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det

Listen to the new Isolation Years single "Open Your Eyes". Very different from their first record, but still quite good. Can't wait to hear the full album!

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

Leaving the chart:
(11) Coldplay "Clocks"
(13) Laakso "Long Beach"
(15) The Dysfunctionals "Payback Time"
(16) Pearl Jam "Love Boat Captain"
(17) Ed Harcourt "All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed"
(18) Caesars Palace "Candy Cane"
(19) Ben Harper "With My Own Two Hands"
(20) Erlend Öje "Sudden Rush"

It's been quite some time since I heard anything about them, but Bad Cash Quartet has now been confirmed for Popaganda fest at Universitetsområdet in Stockholm to take place May 29-31. Other bands confirmed for the fest include The Embassy, Florence Valentin, Crystal Committee, The Junior, The Concretes and Buck.

Melody Club is setting their sites on Germany. Their album will get a release there on May 5 to be followed by a tour:

5/14 - Hamburg (D) Molotow
5/15 - Düsseldorf (D) Unique
5/16 - Weinheim (D) Cafe Central
5/17 - Berlin (D) Bastard
5/18 - Kassel (D) K19
5/19 - Frankfurt (D) Cookys
5/20 - Dresden (D) Downtown
5/21 - München (D) Atomic Cafe

The mail form on the contact page managed to get broken for some reason, but I fixed it. Sorry about that.

Want some more info about the various bands playing the upcoming ExMS Swedish Showcase gigs? Read this.

Nasum has booked a number of Finnish dates with Rotten Sound. Check it:

4/23 - Helsinki @ Nosturi
4/24 - Jyväskylä @ Lutakko
4/25 - Turku @ Säätämö
4/26 - Tampere @ Klubi

Going to see Nicolai Dunger open for Calexico in SF tomorrow. I'm pretty excited as it'll be my first time seeing him play. He's also got some new European dates lined up:

3/22 - Växjö, Momento - fiket/baren på muséet
3/28 - Rotterdam, Dutch Motel Mozaique Festival
4/01 - Köln, Gebäude 9
4/02 - München, Orange house
4/03 - Berlin, Knaack

Word has it that Union Carbide Productions will not be releasing a new single to coincide with their upcoming reunion at Hultsfred Fest as originally thought. Instead, they'll have a free single with a track from the first album "In The Air Tonight" along with an unreleased b-side. I guess the label doesn't want to try to sell an old song - can't blame 'em. So yeah, if you want the single, you gotta go to the fest.

Isolation Years got a couple upcoming gigs lined up:

3/5 - (S) Stockholm - Munchenbryggeriet w/Flaming Lips
5/8 - (D) Berlin - Knaack
5/15 - (CH) Bern - ISC Club
8/7 - (CH) Pully/Lausanne - For Noise Festival
8/9 - (D) Haldern - Open Air

In other Isolation Years news, Triggerfish.de recently did a phone interview with Jacob. Listen here. So much broken English! Anyhow, they talk a lot about the new record and it's a good listen.

After finally completing their new album, Logh will be heading out on the road across Europe starting March 20. They're a great band, so be sure to check em out. The dates:

3/20 - GER Hamburg, Prinzenbar (Docks)
3/21 - GER Berlin, Magnet
3/22 - GER Dresden, Starclub
3/23 - GER Köln, Gebaedue 9
3/26 - FRA Nantes, La route du rhum
3/29 - ESP Madrid, Sala Moby Dick
3/3 - CH Luzern, BOA
4/4 - ITA Pinarella di Cervia, Rockplanet
4/7 - A Wien, Szene Wien
4/8 - GER Munich, Orange House
4/9 - GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
4/10 - GER Heidelberg, Schwimbad Musik Club
4/14 - UK London, 93ft East
4/15 - UK London, Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle

Looks like there's even more to-do over that Haunted vs. Earache Records flap! Timo Isoaho of Kaista who did the original interview in Finnish has posted mp3s of the conversation proving that the report was indeed NOT a fabrication. Listen for yourself! (from Blabbermouth)

mp3 #1: Includes Marco's (The Haunted's frontman) claim Earache told the band they sold only 1,000 CDs in the U.S.

mp3 #2: Marco on the subject of "Entombed vs. Earache"

mp3 #3: Marco talks about The Haunted having inherited At the Gates' old contract.

mp3 #4: Marco talks about the "Caught On Tape" DVD

Like I said before, complaints against Earache's business dealings are nothing new. I think it's a shame Marco isn't standing behind his words, especially since he was recorded.

Darkane will be supporting Meshuggah on their upcoming Scandinavian tour. The dates:

3/17 - Stockholm, SWE @ Göta Källare
3/18 - Malmö, SWE @ Kulturbolaget
3/19 - Göteborg, SWE @ Sticky Fingers
3/20 - Oslo, NOR @ Betong
3/21 - Gävle, SWE @ Nivå
3/22 - Örebro, SWE @ Contan
3/27 - Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
3/29 - Umeå, SWE @ Umeå Open/Äpplet

You snooze, you lose. Kent's upcoming show at Stockholm Stadium on June 6 is sold out. All 32,500 tickets are gone.

Nine's new album has been pushed back to a August/September release, but Jacob Bannon (Converge) has signed on to do the artwork.

On March 28 The Knife will release the third single from their latest album "Deep Cuts". The track is called "You Take My Breath Away" and it featured guest vocals from Jenny Wilson. The b-sides will be two remixes by Emmon and Puppetmasters. A video is also on the way from Puppetmasters member Henry Moore Selder.

Division of Laura Lee will have a CD of their old material reissued in the US this spring from Lovitt Records. It's gonna be called "97-99" and Chad Clark at Inner Ear did the mastering. In the meantime, you can download a preview mp3 on this page.

Remember that item I posted about The Haunted being upset with their label Earache? Well, it seems that singer Marco Aro is calling that whole interview "total bullshit". Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

Katatonia has put up a third and final sample from their forthcoming album on their website. This one's called "Ghost of the Sun". I managed to track down a copy of the three-song promo they released and can report that it definitely sounds good. I'm excited to hear the full-length when it finally comes out on March 24.

The new video for HIM's "Funeral of Hearts" premieres February 28 on Viva, Viva Plus and MTV Central. TV4 in Finland will debut it March 4 on 4POP along with a 'Making of the Video' program.

Listen to P3 between 8 and 9pm on March 4 to hear The Sonnets perform a few live acoustic tracks and do an interview.

Promopop will be holding a showcase event at Lava/Kulturhuset in Stockholm on April 26. The bands scheduled to perform: Wendy, By Heart, The Alpine (DK), Planet Superfly, The Leeches, and Paris.

a-ha has announced the title of their new double live album will be "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head". It doesn't come out until March 24, but you can listen to preview snippets here. The tracklist:

CD1
Forever Not Yours
Minor Earth Major Sky
Manhattan Skyline
I’ve Been Losing You
Crying In The Rain
The Sun Always Shines On TV
Did Anyone Approach You?
Swing Of Things
Lifelines
Stay On These Roads
Hunting High And Low
Take On Me
Living Daylights
Summer Moved On

CD2
Scoundrel Days
Oranges On Appletrees
Cry Wolf
Dragonfly
Time and Again
Sycamore Leaves
Video track: tour diary

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

01. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. The Sounds - Living in America
04. Barbados - Rewind
05. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
06. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
07. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
08. Thomas Rusiak - In the sun
09. A Teens - New arrival
10. Melody Club - Music machine
11. The Knife - Deep Cuts
12. Slaptones - Simplify
13. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
14. The Haunted - One kill wonder
15. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
16. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
19. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
20. Eric Gadd - Life support

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

Leaving the chart:
(09) The Cardigans "For What It's Worth"
(13) Fireside "Throw It Away"
(16) Mull Historical Society "The Final Arrears"
(17) Reef "Give Me Your Love"
(19) Eminem "Sing For The Moment"
(20) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"

"Sweden's most requested demoband" Florence Valentins will be putting out an EP on April 14 called "Allt Dom Bygger Upp Ska Vi Meja Ner". The band plans to play a number of festival gigs this summer, too.

Gloria has a new album called "People Like Me And You" coming out on March 24. The first single will be a cover of the Talking Heads song "This Must Be The Place".

After touring the US for four weeks together, Cato Salsa Experience and The Soundtrack of Our Lives will play together again - this time in Malmö on March 7 and Lund on the 8th.

Stratovarius has announced they will be filming their upcoming show in Milan, Italy for release on a future DVD. The band also says they will be performing a 'secret' show in their native Finland sometime before their next tour. Look for details to be announced on their webpage.

In Flames reports they are currently in the studio working on a new EP to come out by summertime. No other details yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Silence will reissue the 1983 album from Per Cussion on March 24. Hailed as the first Swedish rap record, the new version will be remastered and will include seven bonus tracks.

Turbonegro presents the Scandinavian Leather Tour 2003 w/JR Ewing, Surferosa, and magician Tore Torell. Jeez, too bad I'm not in Norway to see this for myself. The dates:

5/27 - Siddishallen, Stavanger
5/28 - Haukelandshallen, Bergen
5/29 - Nidarøhallen, Trondheim
5/31 - Oslo Spektrum, Oslo

Hyped band-of-the-moment Radio Dept. are heading out on a Swedish tour to support their new album. The dates:

2/28 - Stockholm Accelerator w/The Legends
3/6 - Linköping Herrgår'n
3/7 - Kalmar Din Kompis/Folkets Park
3/12 - Växjö Musikmuset
3/14 - Göteborg Playground @ Pustervik w/Douglas Heart
3/15 - Malmö KB w/Comet Gain
3/26-29 - Umeå Open
4/9 - Lund Buster @ Mejeriet
4/20 - Göteborg Klubb Himlen
4/25 - Uppsala Kalmar Nation
4/26 - Norrköping Kulturkammaren
5/24 - Stockholm Pop Dakar
8/7-9 - Emmaboda

Sam-E's debut album "Om ni bara wuisste" comes out February 28 from Streetzone. It was produced by themselves, along with help from El Sheriffo, Ken, Sekken Thautz, Moonshine, and Masse, who all also make guest appearances.

Cold Meat Industry will be holding a label-fest in Leipzig Germany on June 8. The scheduled lineup: Arcana, Brighter Death Now, Coph Nia, Deutsch Nepal, In Slaughter Natives, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Raison D'étre, and Fetish23. BDN also plays in Chicago on Friday the 13th of June.

MNW (Music Network) has announced they will start offering cheap singles for the price of ten kroner a song. The first slew of artists to benefit from this plan are De Stijl, Isolation Years, Satirnine, and Johan Borgert.

Komeda has announced they are working on a new album, their first since 1998's "What Makes It Go". The title has been announced as "Kokomemedada" and it should be out in May. The first single will be for the song "Reproduce".

Marko from The Crown recently posted an apology on the band's website for their cancellation of two shows in Slovakia. Here's the story:

We came to the border and were denied getting into the country. The reason was that we didn´t have documents from the Swedish and Italian government saying that we were the owners of our equipment. Let me tell you one thing, we have played in 17 countries (EU and non EU countries) and NEVER had a problem like this before. So we decided to go to a second border. And we were denied again to enter the country. And this time NOT ´cause of the equipment but simply ´cause they didn´t want us to get in. SO... we decided to try a THIRD border. And surprise surprise, they let us in with no problems, they didn´t even want any documents. But then they decided to not let in the opening acts, and all the backline (drums, amplifiers etc.) were in their bus. So we waited 4-5 hours on the border hoping that they would let them in. We asked our tourmanager to contact the Slovenian promotor and beg him to provide some drums and amps for us. At this point we were prepared to do a show with one cymbal only if necessary. But the reply was that the promotor couldn´t get us any kind of instruments. We were REALLY looking forward to do these two sold-out shows. We even planned to record them on video.
The bottomline is, we had to go back to Italy and cancel these two shows. Very fucking frustrating, but what could we do? The border acted like they could do whatever they wanted to.
And the fucked up thing is that we heard that people had traveled from Croatia and Austria to see us perform.Trust me, we are as sorry as you that we couldn´t play.
This cancellation was TOTALLY beyond our control!!!

Zyklon have set "Aeon" as the name of their new album, due in September on Candlelight Records. It's currently being recorded at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio and will be mixed at Studio Fredman by the ever-present Fredrik Nordström. According to a posting on the band's website, The material is more varied and the song writing in general is much stronger. The new material is also said to be way more heavy compared to the debut ("World Ov Worms"), probably not as intense in terms of actual speed, but aggressive no doubt!"

Solefald's new album "In Harmonia Universali" comes out March 24 in Europe on Century Media. No US release has been set, but you can download a preview mp3 here for the track "Mont Blanc Providence Crow". Fans of avant-garde metal such as Ulver (older), Arcturus or maybe even Tool should check 'em out.

I mentioned awhile ago that The Venue was another Swedish band travelling to the US to play SXSW and elsewhere. Well, here's their finalized tour plans:

3/5 – the Casbah San Diego, CA (with Silver Sunshine & The Stereotypes)
3/7 – Fullbrook Art & Cultural Center
3/8 – Spaceland, LA, CA (with The Out Crowd & Brian Jonestown Massacre)
3/9 – Sea Level Records, LA, CA (in-store)
3/10 – the Now Sound, LA, CA
3/11 – the Echo, LA, CA
3/14 – Friends, Austin, TX (SXSW Bella Union showcase)
3/16 – Lee Ann Atherton's Post SXSW Barn Dance, Austin, TX
3/18 – the Stork Club, Oakland, CA (with Pineforest Crunch)
3/19 – The Lost & Found, San Fransisco, CA (with Pineforest Crunch)

Limbonic Art has broken up. The statement from guitarist Morfeus and guitarist/vocalist Daemon:

We feel that we have reached as far as we could in our collaboration, and do not feel as inspired as we should when it comes to [producing] new quality music. Everything is set for a new beginning for the both of us, and we desire to explore other aspects of our musical interests, so it is time to stop now. The circle is complete, begin another...

Katatonia has posted a second teaser mp3 from their new album "Viva Emptiness", this time for the song "Criminals". Go to their website to download it.

The Cardigans will be performing two acoustic songs on XFM in London on March 4 between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. They'll also be recording an extra track for airplay at a later date. Those not local or unable to pick it up on satellite can listen from their website. The station will also host a live chat with the band at the end of March.

Marit Bergman will be releasing a four-song EP in the US on March 19. The tracks to be included are "It Would Have Been Good", "Nightlife", "I Take My Wings Off You", and "Between the Lines". She'll also be doing those US ExMS shows along with The Sounds, et al. at CBGBs, SXSW, and LA. Yet another Swede ready to break across the ocean?

Dagbladet has posted a short interview with TSOOL. (in Swedish)

Preview the new Erlend Öyes album here.

Mörk Gryning are currently recording their new album at Dug Out Studio with producer Daniel Bergstrand. Look for it on June 6 in Sweden, Europe two weeks later.

Rune Grammofon will be putting out an album of unreleased material from Arne Nordheim on March 17. It's called "Dodeka" and it will consist of 12 electronic pieces "composed from the basic and essential sound material gathered and constructed during Arne Nordheim´s fruitful period in Warsaw in the late sixties."

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

Leaving the chart:
(04) The Knife "Heartbeats"
(07) Foo Fighters "Times Like These"
(10) Ms Dynamite "Put Him Out"
(12) Paris "Streetlights"
(13) N.E.R.D. "Provider"
(14) Badly Drawn Boy "Born Again"
(15) Maceo Parker "Come By And See"
(16) Eve "Satisfaction"
(17) The Libertines "Time for Heroes"
(18) Calexico "Quattro"
(19) Zwan "Honestly"
(20) Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"

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

01. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
02. The Sounds - Living in America
03. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
04. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
05. Barbados - Rewind
06. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
07. A Teens - New arrival
08. The Haunted - One kill wonder
09. Melody Club - Music machine
10. The Knife - Deep Cuts
11. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
12. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
13. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
14. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
15. Eric Gadd - Life support
16. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Roxette - The ballad hits
19. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
20. Joybells gospel choir - Oh happy day - 14 gospel klassiker

The Ark, Entombed, Shenerah, and USCB Allstars have all been confirmed for Westgothafestivalen in Trollhättan on May 24.

The Swedish Hip-Hop Awards will be held April 25 in Stockholm. Nominees to be announced soon.

Guitar player Jens F. Ryland has left black-metallers Borknagar. Band mainman Oystein G. Brun says Jen's "decision is based on various personal reasons, but we would like to state that there is no conflict nor bad blood in relations to the break. On behalf of Borknagar, I wish him all the best for the future!" The band will enter the studio in March to record an album for a late 2003 release.

Children of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho recently joined Halford on stage in Japan for a rendition of the Judas Priest classic "Living After Midnight". CoB was the opening act on the Japan tour.

A crapload of news from Startracks today. Here goes...

The new comp coming out will have one exclusive track from Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck called "8 Long Years". The other artists on it will be Christian Kjellvander, Fireside, Loosegoats, Songs of Soil, Lost Patrol, Starmarket, Leiah, Buck, Jaffa de Luxe, Candysuck, Revolvo, Moneybrother and Monster. It'll be out on March 10 in Scandinavia and will be "dirt cheap" they say.

The label will also be doing yet another comp, this one to showcase "Stockholm's most popular indie club" Club Accelerator. Also coming out on March 10 and at a price around 100 SEK/$10 USD. The bands: Franke, Isolation Years, Fireside, The Radio Dept., Embassy, Bear Quartet, David and the Citizens, Moneybrother, Laakso, The Knife, The Concretes and Paper.

Christian Kjellvander will doing a few solo dates supporting American singer/songwriter Brendan Benson:

3/17 - Munich - Orange House
3/18 - Dresden - Star Club
3/19 - Berlin - Magnet
3/20 - Munster - Gleiss 22
3/21 - TBA
3/22 - Bochum - Matrix

The next Fireside single for the song "All You Had" will be out mid-March. The upcoming album, produced by Kalle Gustafsson (TSOOL) and mixed by Kalle with help from Guy Massey (Oasis, Radiohead, Spiritualized, Manic Street Preachers and Echo and the Bunnymen), is still being worked on but is on track for an April release. Touring will follow immediately, including the already confirmed Umeå Open Festival on March 28-29.

Dennis Lyxzen's Lost Patrol may have signed to Burning Heart, but they still will be doing something for StarEP in spring. Dennis will also appear on a panel on the program "Pop i fokus" on SVT today. Other folk on the panel include Marit Bergman and Candysuck.

and now for other news...

Could it be for real this time? Dolores Recordings says that Broder Daniel is going into the studio in March to work on a new album and a new single will be out in April or May. I'll believe it when I see it.

Shelflife Records will release the album "Lesser Matters" from Radio Dept. in the US in March. The label describes the band as "early Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream" and they're getting quite a bit of hype in native Sweden, so check 'em out. Magnum Music will put out the album in Taiwan and Rex Records will do a single for the band in the UK.

Bad news for people looking forward to that Union Carbide Productions box set - looks like the date's been set back to September because Ebbot doesn't feel like he has enough time to put the thing together with how busy TSOOL is currently. There still might be a single around May for their appearance at Hultsfred Festival, so keep your fingers crossed.

Northside has confirmed that the 5th Annual Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis on September 18-21 is starting to come together. Already confirmed are Filarfolket (reunion), Ellika Frisell and Solo Cissokho, Maria Kalaniemi with Sven Ahlbäck and Johan Hedin, Gjallarhorn and Mari Boine Band. In other Northside live-happening news, Väsen Trio is booking a tour for October 16-26 and Värttinä will come over in November.

Was it just me, or did World Cafe not stream that TSOOL performance yesterday? Did I miss it? Anyone else record it?

Katatonia has put up a 45-second teaser of the new song "Evidence"on their homepage. As stated before, the new album "Viva Emptiness" comes out March 24.

The Hives won two categories at the recent NME awards: 'Best International Band' and 'Best Dressed'. The full list of winners is here.

Isolation Years will release the first single from the new album "It's Golden" on February 17. The track is called "Open Those Eyes" and I have no doubt it will be awesome. The album follows on March 14.

Madrugada is planning to release the song "Majesty" as the next single. It's already been doing quite well in the charts. The rumor is that they're doing an EP and it'll be out on March 5. No word on the b-sides at this time.

Read the transcript of MTVE.com's webchat with The Cardigans. There's actually some pretty good questions from the fans getting asked and answered.

Ulver reports that the "1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines" remix comp is now complete. Contributors include the band themselves, Alexander Rishaug, Information, Third Eye Foundation, Upland, Bogdan Raczynski, Martin Horntveth, Neotropic, Stars of the Lid, Fennesz, Pita, Jazzkammer, V/Vm, and Merzbow. It'll be out in March on Jester Records.

In other Ulver news, the band also has announced their next EP will be called "A Quick Fix of Melancholy". It will contain three tracks and over 30 minutes of music that they say will "reflect the title." Author Christian Bök provides the lyrics.

Flow Magazine has themselves an exclusive mp3 from Paragon. The track is called "När Gon Spottar" and was produced by Michel Rocwell. Look for it on the upcoming debut album "Stadsbarn".

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

Leaving the chart:
(07) Turin Brakes "Pain Killer"
(10) Supergrass "Seen the Light"
(12) Ed Harcourt "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed"
(17) Dub Sweden "Walk Me Home"
(19) Paola "Interstellar Love"
(20) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"

Big Bongo Records is doing a comp to be called Twenty Years Too Soon One Year Too Late - A Tribute To The Nomads" featuring contributions from Sewergrooves, The Hellacopters, Maryslim, bob hund, The Dictators, Entombed, Sons of Cyrus and Nitwitz. In case you are unaware, The Nomads are the forefathers of Swedish garage rock and two of the members now make up The Hellacopters' rhythm section. I don't have a release date, but it should be out soon.

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

01. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
02. The Sounds - Living in America
03. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
04. Barbados - Rewind
05. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
06. A Teens - New arrival
07. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
08. Melody Club - Music machine
09. The Knife - Deep Cuts
10. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
11. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
12. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
13. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
14. Thåström - På röda sten
15. Joybells gospel choir - Oh happy day - 14 gospel klassiker
16. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
17. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
18. Eric Gadd - Life support
19. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
20. v/a - Fame factory vol 2

Swedish singer/songwriter Sofia Loell has done a song to be featured in the upcoming Gwyneth Paltrow film "A View from the Top". Read more here. (in Swedish)

The new Lost Patrol record is scheduled to be out in May. For those that don't know, LP is the solo side project of Dennis Lyxzén from The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Among the various guests to appear on the album are singer/songwriter Lisa Miskovsky, David Sandström (The Facers, ex-Refused), Stefan Granberg (Randy), and Peder Stenberg (Bittersweet). Read more here. (in Swedish)

Nasum reports they have completed their new album "Helvete" which was recorded at the band's own Soundlab Studios by singer/guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk. The tracklisting:

01. Violation
02. Scoop
03. Living Next Door to Malice
04. Stormshield
05. Time to Discharge
06. Bullshit
07. Relics
08. We Curse You All
09. Doombringer
10. Just Another Hog
11. Drop Dead
12. I Hate People
13. Go!
14. The Final Sleep
15. Slaves to the Grind
16. Breach of Integrity
17. The Everlasting Shame
18. Your Words Alone
19. Preview of Hell
20. Illogic
21. Whip
22. Worst Case Scenario

I updated yesterday's post with new info about Nicolai Dunger's backing band and their other music experience. Thanks again Niklas!

Dates are currently being booked for KVLR's West Coast/Southwest tour in early March. If you can help, please let me know.

Stickman Records reports that Motorpsycho has US and Japan tour plans in the works. No dates yet, but I'll keep you posted. The label also has revealed the title for the forthcoming Isolation Years record: "It's Golden". Again, no date yet, but I'll let you know.

Amorphis is working on mixing their new album with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Moonspell, Sentenced) at Finnvox Studios. They expect to finished by the end of the month. No word yet on a new label for the band.

Keep your eyes on Norweigen electronic act Röyksopp as they're touring seven US cities in March. European sales are already climbing and accolades are accumulating, but they've yet to catch on fully over here. Will they break? Hype sure is building.

In a sign of potentially bigger things to come, booking agency Luger has now taken on the band Paris. Is the return of new-wave nigh?

DJ Embee (Loop Troop) is currently finishing up work on his new EP with Organism 12 and PSTQ. Four tracks and instruments, two produced by Embee, two by Breakmecanix. Look for it around late February or early March on JuJu Records.

Also from JuJu is the new Timbuk/Promoe (also Loop Troop) "Blind Justice" 12". It comes out on the 27th.

Here's an interesting short interview with Galder of Old Man's Child and Dimmu Borgir. Now resigned to just being a studio-only project, OMC's new album "In Defiance of Existence" just came out in Europe and will be out in the US on March 25 from Century Media.

Darkthrone will be adding exclusive new film footage to the Peaceville CDrom reissues of four of their old albums. As for what the footage will contain, here's what they had to say:

Fenriz and Nocturno Culto will film many hours at their stronghold somewhere in the wilderness in Norway. Like a reality-Darkthrone documentary. Every of the four album will contain at least 5 minutes of this rare piece of filming. They will drink, drink, listen to music, drink etc.....many things will be revealed. They will also interview eachother about all the Peaceville-albums. They will film that much, so it can edited to be a 30 min. documentary

NorthSide Records has new preview mp3s up on their website for upcoming releases from Värttinä and Mari Boine. Check 'em out. (scroll about 2/3rds of the way down the page)

Classic Swedish deathmetal band Dismember is currently working on their next album. The title is "Where Ironcrosses Grow" and it's due out around September on Hammerheart Records. Produced once again by drummer Fred Estby with help from engineer Olle Sandqvist, the new material is described as "darker, a little less melodic and more aggressive than ever" and lyrically "headed even more in the direction of describing war at its ugliest, stories about sick minds creating sick situations and loads of religious criticism." In other words, business as usual.

Okay, I admit it - I've been a slacker. Two new tunes today on your right. First up is the wonderful Isolation Years. Their debut album "Inland Traveller" gets a US release later this year from Galaxy Gramophone/Parasol and the new one comes out in March. I might've put this track up before, but I can't remember. Anyhow, don't miss it this time. Secondly, we have another track from the great Caesars Palace (aka The Caesars or the Twelve Caesars, as they known in the US). Simply put, a great pop band. More soon, I swear!

Diamond Dogs will be putting out a new CD collection of old and new material called "That´s the Juice I´m On" on January 27. Fans of classic rock style bands like the Hellacopters should check 'em out. And hey, Randy Bachman of Bachman Tuner Overdrive even guests on a track.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be taking the place of Cooper Temple Clause at the NME awards show in London on February 6. Cooper's bassist had his appendix out right before the holidays and has yet to fully recover, so they had to bow out. However, they will do a makeup gig on April 29. Ticketholders can either ask for a refund, opt for the new headliner, or defer their purchase for the rescheduled performance. Otherwise, buy your tickets here.

Speaking of TSOOL, did anyone record that Letterman performance? Can it be found online somewhere yet? Let me know.

Stabb will be travelling to the UK for their first time next week. The show is the 23rd at the Borderline in London. Their debut single "This Joke's On Me" comes out in February with the album to follow in April.

Madder Mortem has been confirmed as the opening act for Opeth's upcoming European tour. Opeth singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt himself highly recommend the band's latest record "Deadlights", too. The dates:

02.09 - Paris, La Locomotive
02.11 - Vittoria, Sala Azkena
02.12 - Porto, Hard Club
02.13 - Lisbon, Paradise Garage
02.14 - Madrid, Sala Caracol
02.15 - Barcelona, Razzmatazz
02.16 - Lyon, Transbourdour
02.17 - Milan, Transilvania
02.18 - Treviso, New Age
02.20 - Zurich, Abart
02.22 - Graz, Orpheum
02.23 - Munich, New Backstage
02.24 - Frankfurt, Batschkapp
02.25 - Essen Zeche Carl
02.26 - Halle, Easy Schorre
02.27 - Berlin, Columbia Fritz
02.28 - Hamburg, Schlachthof
03.01 - Groningen, Oosterport
03.02 - Tilburg, 013
03.04 - Utrecht, Tivoli
03.05 - Vosselar, Biebob
03.06 - Lille, Le Spendid
03.07 - Poiters, Chatellerault-Gornie
03.08 - Rennes, L' Antipode
03.10 - Portsmouth, Wedgwood Rooms
03.11 - Manchester, Hop & Grape
03.12 - London, Mean Fiddler
03.13 - Exeter, University
03.14 - Glasgow, Garage
03.15 - Nottingham, Rock City
03.16 - Bradford, Rio
03.17 - Birmingham, Academy
03.19 - Dublin - Whelan's

Watch singer/songwriter Johan Bergqvist's show from his January 15 performance in Hultsfred right here: modem / broadband. (Windows Media)

Watch the "director's cut" of the Wannadies video for "Little by Little". I've never seen the original, but this version contains 50 seconds of extra footage and is quite hilarious. Recommended. (requires Quicktime)

The new album "Love Metal" from HIM has now been confirmed for release in Germany and Finland on April 14. Most likely, the rest of the Europe will get it on the same day, but they aren't saying for sure. Also, the band's official site says the track listing leaked by the UK press is incorrect and they will be posting the correct one shortly.

See you on tour and remember to play "Below the Lights" at extreme volume levels. For even better results, try altered states of conciousness (knock yourself over the head, do yoga-jumping or stay awake for two weeks without food before you check out the album). If it doesn't fuck you up, we'll give you (fake monopoly) money back.

That's Enslaved talking about their new album, due out now in April from Osmose Productions. The band also has a live DVD in the works from MetalMind Productions entitled "Live Retaliation".

The up and coming band Wendy just got signed to Monarch Music by A&R man Magnus Nygren, the guy responsible for finding Jakob Hellman, Lars Winnerbäck and Lambretta. Expect a single by springtime.

Get a preview of hyped band-of-the-moment The Klerks over here and click the "Album Preview" link. Fans of Swedish pop such as The Motorhomes or Kent may want to check them out.

From Blabbermouth, comes this letter from a number of Swedish hard rock musicians accusing England's Z Records of "unscrupulous business practices." Some of the bands signed on the letter include Southpaw, Talisman, Humanimal and more. Of course, it's not really news that labels often screw bands out of money, but if you're interested in these artists or the label in question, please take note.

The good people over at Parasol have got a sale on their top picks of 2002. Lots of great Swedish imports worth checking out, among many other fine releases. Can't go wrong with Citizen Bird/Silverbullit, that's for sure. And like they say, be on the lookout for the US release of "Inland Traveller" from Isolation Years coming up soon. A brilliant album.

The (International) Noise Conspiracy have the 'Album of the Day' over at CMJ.com with the "Bigger Cages, Longer Chains" EP. If you've never heard them before, they've got two songs you can sample.

The new EP from Whyte Seeds will be out February 10. I haven't heard them yet, but their keyboardist was the guy who filled in for Martin Hederos on the last US Soundtrack of Our Lives tour.

The new album from Randy will be called "Welfare Problems". Look for it in April on Burning Heart.

The Ark is busy doing promotional work in Germany this week. Check out their schedule here.

The exact release date of the new Fireside album has been announced as April 7.

Look for features on Cult of Luna in upcoming issues of Kerrang, Terrorizer, Rocksound and Metal Hammer. The new album "The Beyond" comes out February 10 on Earache. As for now, you can preview the lyrics here.

Download the song "Sensory Pleasures" from the upcoming HGH album "Seb's Hotel". It comes out February 1 in Norway, February 24 elsewhere.

Christian Kjellvander's excellent album "Songs From a Two-Room Chapel" will be released in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands and Luxemburg next week. Fans of moody roots music such as 16 Horsepower or recent Neko Case should check him out.

The New Mess will be interviewed on P3 Rock January 22. As stated before, the band's debut five song CD-EP just came out on Kasual Records.

The debut album from hip-hop group Advance Patrol comes out March 24.

Read a review of the new Cardigans single here (in Swedish). I heard the song on P3 yesterday and wasn't blown away, but it wasn't bad either. It actually reminded me quite a bit of A-Camp, Nina's recent solo project, with its heavy use of acoustic guitars. Anyhow, listen to the radio and hear it for yourself. I'm sure it'll be huge no matter what. Look for it in stores February 17.

Röyksopp are nominated for "Best International Group" in the Brit Music Awards. More info here.

Interested in performing contemporary classical music from Swedish composers? STIM (Swedish Music Information Centre and Swedish Performing Rights Society) has published a large catalogue of music they have available (in PDF format).

The US release of "Living In America" from The Sounds will be in May on James Iha's (ex-Smashing Pumpkins) Scratchie Records. As stated here before, the band will also be making an appearance at this year's South by Southwest Festival. In other news, the new single for the track "Seven Days a Week" comes out on the 20th with the b-side being a demo version of the song "Go!"

Hammerheart Records is reissuing Necrophobic's 1993 album "The Nocturnal Silence". The label will also be releasing a limited edition "Tour EP 2003" for the band's current tour featuring a song from each album and five select cover tunes.

Read my reviews of the new albums from Ulver and Björn Olsson over at indieworkshop.com. Look for the links on the right, under 'Featured Reviews'.

TV4 Gothenburg has put up an acoustic set from The Soundtrack of Our Lives back on their website. Check it. (thanks to tsool.tk)

The movie Jungle Book 2 comes out in February featuring a track called "Jag vill va som du" from Dungen. A double A-side single with that song plus "Har du vart i Stockholm" comes out February 10.

Energy Rekords has signed EBM/Electro act 8kHz Mono. You can sample them on the "Virtual Energy vol.4" comp.

Even more award nominees! This time, the Manifest awards, Sweden's alternative to the (Swedish) Grammy:

Pop/Rock
The Bear Quartet - Ny våg (A West Side Fabrication/MNW)
David & The Citizens - For All Happy Endings (Adrian Recordings/Border)
Doktor Kosmos - Reportage! (NONS/MNW)
Marit Bergman - 3.00 A.M. Serenades (Sugartoy/Border)
Embassy - Futile Crimes (Service/Border)

Hardcore/Punk
In Flames - Reroute to remain (Nuclear Blast/MNW)
Thåström - Mannen som blev en gris (Mistlur/MNW)
Spiritual Beggars - On fire (Music For Nations/Zomba)
Totalt Jävla Mörker - Det ofrivilliga lidandets maskineri (Distortion/Border)
Vomitory - Blood rapture (Metal Blade/Border)

Hip Hop/R&B/Soul
Loop Troop - The Struggle Continues (David Vs Goliath/Burning Heart)
Timbuktu - Wåtts Dö Madderfakking Diil? (Juju/Playground)
Heli - Öronknark (Streetzone/Border)
Masayah - Masayah (Swing-A-Ling/MNW)
Ison & Fille - Vår sida av stan (Hemmalaget/V2)

Postrock/Electronica
Hans Appelqvist - Tonefilm (Komplott)
Mokira - Plee (Mille Plateaux/Border)
Nova Express - One (Rocket Number Nine)
Pallin - Far From Yokohama (URU)
Testbild! - The Double Life Of Testbild! (Radio Khartoum)

Dance
Adam Beyer - Ignition Key (Truesoul)
The Mighty Quark - Silverdale (Play)
Eerik & Arvid - Shimmer (Raw Fusion)
Koop - Waltz for Koop (Superstudio/Diesel/Sony)
Sunday Brunch - No resistance (SVEK/Goldhead/Next Stop)

Folk/Worldmusic
Ellika Frisell & Solo Cissokho - Tretakt Takissaba (Xource/MNW)
Golbang - Saali nó (Stran)
Harv - Töst (Drone/CDA)
Olle Lindvall (Drone/CDA)
Sumer - Iraq (Sw/Eden/Border)

Lyrics
Mattias Alkberg (Bear Quartet)
Timbuktu
Uje Brandelius (Doktor Kosmos)
Ison & Fille
Petter Herbertsson (Testbild!)

Live Artist
Doktor Kosmos
Jmyhaze Beatbox
Spotrunnaz
In Flames
Ellika Frisell and Solo Cissokho

Best Newcomer
Totalt Jävla Mörker
Hans Appelqvist
Marit Bergman
Sunday Brunch
Embassy

Winners will be announced at the ceremony on January 31 at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The Teenage Idols, Ison & Fille, Totalt Jävla Mörker, and Jmy Haze Beatbox will perform.

The good people over at Chalksounds have finally gotten their online store up and running. The featured album for sale is "On Planted Streets" from KVLR, one of my faves. Highly recommended. Besides their own label's goodies, you can also order records from bands such as Fireside and Isolation Years. Again, both highly recommended.

Grave will be playing this year's coming March Metal Meltdown V to take place in Irvington, New Jersey on March 7-8. The new album "Back From The Grave" comes out January 28th on Century Media.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be on MTV's Last Call with Carson Daly on January 15. The show tapes Wednesday evening at 30 Rockefeller Center in NYC so email lastcallaudience@nbc.com with "TSOOL" as the subject line and your full name, phone number and number of tickets you want. It's free, but first come-first served so get on it fast if you're in the area.

Isolation Years have completed work for their new album and they say it'll be out in March. Eleven new songs, but no title just yet. The band also filmed two videos this month, so be on the lookout for that as well.

Check out the best of 2002 lists from the folks over at Promopop.

Remember a-ha? They've got a new album coming out in March called "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head".

Jonas Quant just signed a record contract with Dot/MNW in Sweden and will be putting out an album shortly. Also, his group Gonky Business with Andreas Saag will be putting out a 12" on the label Naked Music out of San Francisco.

Thomas Rusiak has got a new album coming out in February called "In the Sun". The first single for the song "Spinning" drops in January. Read more here. (in Swedish)

Blindside gets to support Papa Roach on their upcoming US tour. Good for them. I remember way back when Papa Roach was more of a ska-punk band and they had a percussionist. My old band played one of our first shows with them, in fact. One of my friends supposedly has their old demo tape, too. As for Sweden's Blindside - I've never heard them, but I guess they got signed with help from POD and they sound kinda nü-metal. Maybe you dig that stuff, but not me.

I guess I neglected to mention it, but I wrote up a review for the album "Protect Us From What We Want" from Thirdimension. Yeah, it's old, old news for you folks in Sweden, but it just got a US release through Parasol so maybe you should check it out. It didn't totally blow me away, but it's good - very well produced and recorded, that's for sure. If you like TSOOL you should check it out for sure.

Expect less-frequent updates over the next couple days, as it's Thanksgiving weekend in America. Otherwise, not a whole lot going on today. I added a couple new links, though.

Check out the new video "Piss on You" from The Wannadies featuring a guest appearance by Petter right here.

Isolation Years will finally see a US release for their debut album "Inland Traveller" in March 2003 on Galaxy Gramophone Records. It's a great record, so be sure to check it out if you haven't already. The band just finished up with their next release, too. It's not titled yet, but we can probably expect it around mid-2003 with a fall US release to follow assuming all goes well.