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

Green Carnation's new album "A Blessing in Disguise" is gathering all sorts of accolades including Album of the Month in the magazines Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and BW&BK. They play the Quart Festival on July 5.

The Peepshows just posted a couple photos from their recent tour with The Hellacopters. Check them out here.

Voice of a Generation just posted a bunch of new pics, too. Theirs are from the band's recent shows in Marburg and Berlin.

The Cardigans have revealed that their upcoming performance at the Rock am Ring fest on June 6 will be webcasted by WDR Rockpalast. Go to their homepage on that date to view the stream. The band will also be doing a live chat the same day at 8:30pm mid-european summer time.

As hinted at before, Norway's St. Thomas is starting to make headways in the UK. "Hey Harmony" is the Album of the Week for the Sunday Times and the magazine Bang gave it a 5 out of 5. Here's the full review from the former:

Looking back on the success of "Harvest", Neil Young famously commented that he had found himself in the middle of the road and, not much liking it there, "headed for the ditch". While many of us have enjoyed the erratic, ditch-bound career that followed, those who own "Harvest" and no other Young albums should consider getting better acquainted with St. Thomas — aka Norwegian Thomas Hansen — whose quavering falsetto, simple mixture of folk and alt-country and tendency to leave a chorus just sort of hanging there all recall Young at his kindest and gentlest. Hansen had his own middle-of-the-road moment when his previous album, "I'm Coming Home", made him a star in Norway. He reacted in the traditional way — drinking too much, behaving badly at gigs and ending up in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. But you wouldn't know it by listening to "Hey Harmony". Light, fluffy, upbeat and irrepressibly catchy, the songs suggest a sunny view of the world. The musicians — including Howe Gelb and various Lambchop members — play with tasteful simplicity. And when Hansen sings "we're having a Sunday party, come on over and be our friends" it sounds like an invitation you should accept.

Nasum has posted an extensive tour diary on their site with photos and video footage from their recent trip to Finland. Definitely entertaining. Also, for those that missed it, Shane Embury of Napalm Death and original Nasum member Rickard Alriksson recently joined the band onstage at their record release show this past weekend. See pictures here.

In Flames reports they have completed pre-production on six new songs at their house/studio in Denmark. They plan to spend about another week there writing and recording before heading back to Sweden where they will record the actual album this coming fall. Check out some pics from the so-called "Tuborg Sessions" right here.

The first dates of the rumored HIM tour supporting Ozzy Osbourne have been announced:

09/05 - London, Wembley Arena
09/07 - Birmingham, NEC
09/08 - Rotterdam, Ahoy
09/10 - Oberhausen, Arena
09/13 - Helsinki, Arena
09/15 - Stockholm, Globen
09/16 - Oslo, Spektrum
09/19 - Zurich, Hallenstadion
09/20 - Salzburg, Stadion
09/22 - Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle
09/24 - Vienna, Stadthalle
09/25 - Munich, Olympiahalle

Godsmack opens the shows and HIM plays right before Ozzy for about 45-50 minutes. After this tour HIM also plans to head out on their own around Europe on their own tour. More info when I get it.

Export Music Sweden is planning an outing in Tokyo, Japan for October 16-19. The event has been dubbed 'Swedish Style' and details are currently being worked out in conjunction with the embassy. No bands have been announced yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. Read this for more.

Digfi.com has published the schedule for Stockholm's Popaganda fest which takes place this coming weekend. Be sure to check it out so you don't miss the bands you intend to see.

Bands now added to the Avrikafest tour with Kamera now include Quit Your Dayjob, Alice In Videoland, Kristian Anttila, Don Juan Dracula, Nina Natri and Kitty.

And speaking of Avrika, here's some more bands added to the regular fest bill: Fireside, Mikael Wiehe, Paola, Moneybrother, Dub Sweden, USCB Allstars, De Stijl, Seven, the Monotypes, Love Olzon, Franke, Kristian Anttila, Nine, Dozer and TPIKSA.

Fireside, Burek V, David & The Citizens, Cult of Luna, and Heikki have now all been confirmed for the lineup of the free Trästock festival which takes place at Nordanå in Skellefteå on July 17-19.

We are now almost finnished with the recordings. We have until sunday this week and then we take a break for 3 weeks before we enter again for the final mix in mid June. It sounds very fuckin' great and we can't wait to release this fury upon your souls. It has gone very smooth in the studio, no problems at all and everybody is working their asses off. When we're not beating our instruments we are kickin' eachothers asses in Tekken 4 and the undisputed champion is for the moment Janne. We have now tuned down the guitars even more to get a more deadly sound to the songs and it fuckin' working, and the fast songs have become even more faster than the pre-production we did. As I'm writing this I have only one more song to do vocals on and that's "Dawn of Emptiness" , a mid tempo song that's gonna end the album along with the instrumental piece "The Endless Gate". Marcus has also some solos left to do and the shit he's done so far has fuckin' blown me away.

That's The Crown's vocalist Johan Lindstrand discussing the band's progress on the new album "Possessed 13" from their message board. The tentative release date is set for September.

Trapdoor Fucking Exit has put up the video for the song "Short Term Investment", recorded live at Umeå Punkfest in 2001. Check it out.

Amulet recently filmed a video for the single "Breaking News". They say it "involves a low key gig at an abandoned house and a deathdefying girl in a van who brings terror to the city of Oslo." I'll let you know if they post in online.

Turbonegro's complete festival schedule for the summer:

06/02 - Flippaut festival, Bologna, Italy
06/05 - Ruisrock, Turku, Finland
06/12 - Hultsfred Festival Hultsfred, Sweden
06/20 - Kick off Festival, Wiesen, Austria
06/21 - Southside Festival, Neuhausen, Germany
06/22 - Hurricane Festival, Schlessel, Germany
06/27 - Roskilde Festival, Denmark
06/28 - Open Air, St Gallen, Switzerland
07/05 - London, Meanfiddler (clubshow) UK
07/12 - T in the Park, Kinross, Scotland, UK
08/07 - Nordland Musikkfestukke, Bodö, Norway
08/08 - Öya festivalen, Oslo Norway
08/09 - Wrightegaarden, Langesund, Norway
08/23 - Reading Festival, Reading UK
08/24 - Leeds Festival, Leeds, UK

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Outlandish - Guantanamo
03. A-Teens - Perfect Match
04. Her Majesty - F.U.N.E.R.A.L
05. Jennifer Brown - Weak
06. HIM - Funeral of hearts
07. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
08. The Cardigans - You´re The Storm
09. Melody Club - Cover Girl
10. Darude - Music
11. Mew - Comforting Sounds
12. Kwan - Shine
13. Equicez - Live From Pass It
14. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
15. Elin Sigvardsson - Where To Start
16. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
17. Paragon - Försök Förstå
18. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz
19. Surferosa - Neon Commando
20. Homy - Bus Stop

Challengers:
01. Jon - This Side Up
02. Antique - Moro Mou
03. Fireside - All You Had
04. The Concretes - You Can´t Hurry Love
05. Kamera - At Work
06. C21 - She Cries

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

Labrador Records is now distributed by Mortes Nois in Estonia. For more info email mrnois@hot.ee.

Dolores Records has announced they will be releasing a limited edition CD single for the new supergroup Vanessa and the O's on June 10. The band features ex-members of Popsicle along with James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins and is described as electronic pop in French. Crazy, eh? More info soon.

Bad Taste Records is the label of the month over at the Danish radio program New Rocking Sounds which airs Tuesdays at 8pm on 93.7 in Århus. They'll be interviewing Last Days of April, Logh and various others from the roster along with playng tunes from said bands. Be sure to check it out or wait for the clips to hit the online archives.

Listen to "Mattias Alkbergs Begravning" from Planekonomi, another band featuring Mattias from Bear Quartet. More info here. Look for 2 EPs this fall and a full-length sometime next year.

One of my pals over at indieworkshop.com reviews the new Flaming Sideburns album today.

"No one has satisfactorily explained why a country of 4.5 million generates so much music: is it the dark winters? Subsidised music lessons? Rubbish TV?" - John Bungey, The Times (UK)

Norweigan music appears to be making quite a few headways beyond their borders as evidenced in this article from MIC Norway. Turbonegro and Jaga Jazzist might be the first names to come to mind for most folk, but now there's also Beady Belle, Tord Gustavsen, Per Arne Glorvigen, and St. Thomas to pay attention to.

Johnny Bråttom Records will be holding a record release show on May 30 at Kulturkammaren in Norrköping for their forthcoming "Svensk Populärmusik Volym Två" compilation. The bands scheduled to appear are Slagsmålsklubben, recent Dolores-signees Cdoass, Bremen Brotröster GmbH, Björn Kleinhenz, and The Flu. As for the tracklisting of said comp, it is as follows:

01. Cdoass - The Box
02. Niccokick - Run, Run, Run
03. Björn Kleinhenz - How Long Is The Night?
04. Slagsmålsklubben - Filter Fabric Facts (DJ Upperkurt Instrumental Remix)
05. Idiot Savants - Daily Routine
06. Music 77 - Kameror
07. Pete Thompson - Folk Song
08. Lola Barbershop - Ticket To Happiness
09. The Kid - Baton Rouge
10. Junip - Turn To The Assassin
11. The Topeka Twins - Hunting Song
12. Menteroja - Call Me
13. Bremen Brotröster GmbH - Greater/Better
14. The Flu - Golden Hair
15. Celestine - Sunflower
16. José González - Heartbeats
17. Café Polymorf - A Good Time
18. Quit Your Dayjob - Pissing On A Panda
19. Joni - Frank Xerox
20. Ane Brun - Are They Saying Goodbye?
21. Sandy Mouche - A Year

Aftonbladet reports that famed Swedish videomaker Jonas Åkerlund is working with Blondie on the single "Good Boys" in LA. The new album ""The Curse of Blondie" comes out around September or October. Åkerlund's previous credits include artists such as Satyricon, Madonna, Metallica and The Prodigy.

This new album will be 'harder' than the previous one and more guitars. To sum it up: a groovier album!

That's Peter Tägtgren of Pain describing work on the new album. He says he's already finished all of the backing music along with five of the thirteen vocal tracks and should be able to have it out sometime this fall on Stockholm Records.

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

01. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
02. Alcazar - Alcazarized
03. Eddie Meduza - Live(s)!
04. v/a - Fame Factory volym 5
05. Moneybrother - Blood panic
06. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
07. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!
08. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan
09. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
10. Jill Johnson - Discography
11. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
12. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
13. Antique - Blue love
14. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
15. Monia - Söderns hjärtas ros
16. Siw Malmkvist - Siws bästa
17. Elin Sigvardsson - Saturday light naive
18. Simson Dupont - Simson Dupont
19. Fame - Give me your love
20. The Sounds - Living in America

Tomas Ledin is going on tour in support of his new live album "I Sommarnattens Ljus" which comes out on June 2. The dates so far:

07/08 - Öja Slott, Öja
07/19 - Bergs Slussar, Linköping
08/03 - Stadsparken, Örebro

The lineup for Sommarrock, which takes place July 10-12 in Svedala, Sweden: Mikael Wiehe, Bubbles, Joddla w/Siv, Advance Patrol, The Ark, Danne Stråhed, Häjkån Bäjkån Band, The Mo and Di Leva.

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

Leaving the chart:
(10) Randy "A Man in Uniform"
(11) Solomon Burke "Soul Searching"
(12) Fireside "All You Had"
(13) Magnus Carlson "Jag ber dig"
(16) Queens Of The Stone Age "Go With The Flow"
(18) The Go-Betweens "Caroline and I"
(19) David & The Citizens "New Direction"
(20) Hot Hot Heat "Bandages"

The full details for Finland's Koneisto Festival has been released. Some of the artists scheduled to appear include Björn Torske, Ralph Myerz & Jack Herren Band, Erlend Oye (acoustic set + "magnificent singing DJ set"), Datarock, Jori Hulkkonen, Rinneradio (feat. Dj Slow, Siiri Nordin and MC Paleface) among many others. The acclaimed electronic music festival was the first of its type for all of Scandinavia and the selection of performers "seeks to establish an interesting balance between commercial and experimental music" over the event's 9 stages. It all goes down in Helsinki from July 25-27 and more info can be found from the fest's official website.

Blabbermouth reports that HIM will be touring Europe in support of Ozzy Osbourne and Godsmack this September. I'll keep you posted.

I fixed a typo in one of the Madrugada mp3 links. Sorry about that. They should all work okay now.

Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg will be holding a club three times a week all summer long called, ahem, Sommarklubben. Besides the usual DJs spinning there will also be live music. Scheduled so far:

06/06 - Royal Beat Conspiracy, Sparks of Seven
06/28 - Shout Out Louds, Homy
07/12 - David & the Citizens

More info when I get it.

The (International) Noise Conspiracy report that they are featured on a DJ Spooky mix that comes with the latest edition of Adbusters Magazine. Other artists including on the comp include Fugazi, Bad Brains, Sun Ra, and Public Enemy so check it out.

More entries on the ongoing media blitzkrieg from The Sounds - here's a number of upcoming American TV appearances they have scheduled:

05/22 - Last Call with Carson Daly on NBC, recorded in Las Vegas last week
05/26 - The View on ABC
TBA - Subterranean on MTV, more info to come

The Hellacopters have published their complete summer tour schedule:

05/31 - Donigton (GB) Download
06/07 - Nurburgring (D) Rock Am Ring
06/08 - Nurnberg (D) Rock Im Park
06/13 - Hultsfred (S) Hultsfredsfestivalen
06/14 - Berlin (D) Berlinova
06/15 - Oslo (N) Norwegian Wood
06/21 - Scheessel (D) Hurricane
06/22 - Neuhausen OE (D) Southside
06/27 - Kiruna (S) Kirunafestivalen
06/28 - Bonn (D) Rheinkultur
06/29 - Roskilde (DK) Roskildefestival
07/04 - Oulo (SF) Oluoln Yöt
07/05 - Turku (SF) Ruisrock
07/16 - Helsinki (SF) Olympiastadion w/The Rolling Stones
07/22 - Stockholm (S) Cirkus w/The Rolling Stones
08/02 - Korso (SF) Ankarock
08/30 - Jerez / Cadiz (ESP) Serie Z
09/12 - Stockholm (S) Gröna Lund
09/13 - Vitoria Gasteiz (ESP) Azkena

Burning Heart's latest signees Sparks of Seven have finally updated their website.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. A-Teens - Perfect Match
03. Outlandish - Guantanamo
04. HIM - Funeral of hearts
05. Darude - Music
06. Jennifer Brown - Weak
07. Kwan - Shine
08. Mew - Comforting Sounds
09. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
10. Equicez - Live From Pass It
11. Melody Club - Cover Girl
12. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - One Good Moment
13. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
14. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
15. The Jessica Fletchers - Let´s Go
16. Paragon - Försök Förstå
17. Surferosa - Neon Commando
18. Moon Gringo - Buzz Aldrin
19. Homy - Bus Stop
20. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz

Challengers:
01. D-Coy feat. Acorn - I´ll Be There
02. The Cardigans - You´re The Storm
03. Charlie´s Magazine - Something That I Missed
04. Her Majesty - F.U.N.E.R.A.L
05. Elin Sigvardsson - Where To Start

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

Project-X will be having a record release show on May 31 for their new album "Modus Operandi" at Ground Zero in Växjö.

Here's the lineup for the 5th Fucking North Pole Festival which takes place over the next three days in Tromsø, Norway.

5/15 @ Driv: Amulet (Oslo), Turdus Musicus (Tromsø), Dominic (Bodø)
5/16 @ Driv: Misvær Ska Forening (Bodø), Lame Ducks (Oslo), Square (SWE)
5/16 @ Tvibit: Gatas Parlament (Oslo), Amulet (Oslo), Drunk (Oslo), Turdus Musicus (Tromsø)
5/17 @ Driv: DK (US), Os Replicantes (Brasil), Drunk (Oslo)
5/18 @ Driv: Mohammed(Horten), Los Fastidios (Italia), Nikkeby Lufthavn (Tromsø)

FNPF is the biggest independent rock festival in northern Norway and takes place twice a year. The next occurance is scheduled for sometime around September/October. More info here.

The German Phono Academy recently awarded Norway's Midnight Choir with a best album award in the rock/pop category for the album "Waiting for the Bricks to Fall". The award is given every quarter by "key industry representatives and respected music journalists" and qualifies the band for the album of the year competition.

This year's Nordic Council Music Award will be granted to an ethnic music artist. The nominees who will be competing for the 47k EUR prize:

Pierre Dørge & New Jungle Orchestra (DK)
Outlandish (DK)
Kimmo Pohjonen (FIN)
Gjallarhorn (FIN)
Kári Sverrisson (Faroe Islands)
Sigurður Flosason and Pétur Grétarsson (Iceland)
Steindór Andersen, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and Sigur Rós (Iceland)
Mari Boine (NOR)
Solo Cissokho (NOR)
Ellika Frisell (SWE)
Ziya Aytekin (SWE)
Anna Thastum Kuitse (Greenland)

Read more. Previous winners of the prestigious award have been Sunleif Rasmussen (2002), Palle Mikkelborg (2001), and Kaija Saariaho (2000).

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

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

Aftonbladet has also published a short article discussing Magnus Carlson's (of the Weeping Willows) forthcoming solo album that he collaborated with Eggstone and film director Lukas Moodysson on. The record is called "Ett Kungarike För En Kram" and it hits stores on June 30. (in Swedish)

The Ark, Dom Galna Hundarna, The Narcissists, Shout Out Louds, Lola Barbershop and P-Danielsa are among the groups now confirmed for the Storsjöyran fest happening in Östersund this summer.

The guys from Looptroop are all hard at work on new projects. Promoe is in the process of doing a new solo album with a single to come in June. The other two guys, Cosmic and Embee aka Casual Brothers, have a new EP that also comes out in June that features a guest appearance by Christian Kjellvander of all people.

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

Leaving the chart:
(07) N.E.R.D. "Things Are Getting Better"
(09) Miss Universum "Fertilize"
(12) Millenia Nova Ft. Iggy Pop "Rockicide"
(13) The Knife "You Take My Breath Away"
(14) Radiohead "There There"
(15) Florence Valentin "Allt dom bygger upp ska vi meja ner"
(17) Ed Harcourt "Watching the Sun Come Up"
(18) Audio Bullys "The Things"
(19) Zwan "Lyric"

The Dandelions have added one more date to their upcoming London tour. The full itinerary is now as follows:

05/22 - Gaz's Rockin' Blues
05/23 - Dragon Bar
05/24 - Cobden Club
05/26 - The Beachclub at Notting Hill Arts Club (new)
05/27 - Eyelash at Pop

Lullacry and Naglfar have both announced that they will be making their US debuts at this year's Milwaukee Metalfest which takes place July 25-26. The new Lullacry single "Alright Tonight" comes out May 23 on Spikefarm Records and Naglfar's latest album "Sheol" came out last month.

Trapdoor Fucking Exit's updated tour itinerary:

06/04 - 1000 Fryd, Aalborg (DK)
06/05 - Volxbad, Flensburg (DE)
06/06 - Störtebeker, Hamburg (DE)
06/07 - tba, Cologne (DE)
06/08 - Le Marignan, Athus/Aubagne (BE)
06/09 - tba - Netherlands
06/10 - Alhambra, Oldenburg (DE)
06/11 - Occii, Amsterdam (NL)
06/12 - tba, Caen (F)
06/13 - tba, Rouen (F)
06/14 - P-Werk, Blieskastel (DE)
06/15 - tba - Germany
06/16 - Juz Degerloch, Stuttgart (DE)
06/17 - tba, Germany
06/18 - tba, Austria
06/19 - The Red Hole, Budapest (HU)
06/20 - K4, Nürnberg (DE)
06/21 - Kafé Kult, München (DE)
06/22 - tba, Germany
06/23 - tba, Germany
06/24 - Az Conni, Dresden (DE)
06/25 - Chekov, Cottbus (DE)
06/26 - tba - Berlin (DE)
06/27 - tba
06/28 - tba
06/29 - Baracke, Münster (DE)
06/30 - Frontline, Gent (DE)
07/01 - tba
07/02 - tba
07/03 - tba

They also posted a bunch of new pictures over at their website for those that may be interested.

Pitchforkmedia.com reviews JR Ewing's latest today and actually like it. Will wonders ever cease?

MTV Germany will air a one-hour special on Turbonegro this coming Monday, May 19 at midnight. It will feature interviews, clips, and live footage from the Hamburg performance.

Dub Sweden will release a new single for the track "Ice My Fire" on May 26 featuring a previously unreleased track as the b-side.

The Venue have finished posting their tour diary from their recent trip to the US. Sorry I missed the Oakland show guys, but I was dead tired that night.

Ariel Kill Him has posted three mp3s from their latest album "In the Pyramid" over at mp3.com.

Thearkworld.com has posted a live video of The Ark performing "Echo Chamber" in Stockholm from April 30.

Another episode in the ongoing US media of The Sounds: here's a feature on the band from Teen Vogue Magazine. Really now, how many times do we need to hear a Swedish band compared to Abba or gummi fish?

NME reports that Røyksopp are set to play two shows at Somerset House in London on July 10-11, just one in a series of special summer shows at the venue. The group's new single "Sparks" drops on June 16.

P6's Sounds Nordic (SONO) has announced that the next program will feature "hits from the Swedish singles chart, tap into your spiritual side at a spooky art exhibition , and meet our guest Dilba." Go here to listen after it airs.

Stockholm Records artists Kwan and The Klerks have been confirmed for OKEJ-dagen in Göteborg on May 23.

Miss Universum is going on tour in support of the new album "Selfelected":

05/15 - Linköping, Herrgårn
05/29 - Stockholm, Popaganda
06/6-7 - Skärholmen, Satelit
06/12-14 - Hultsfred, Festivalen
07/18 - Norberg
07/31 - Östersund, Storsjöyran

Swedish death-metal acts Merciless and Dismember will play a special gig on May 27 at Klubben in Fryshuset, Stockholm that will be recorded for a DVD to come out in the future.

Surferosa, Madrugada, El Caco, Thulsa Doom, Ricochets, Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band and DumDum Boys have been confirmed to play the Ekstremsportveko (extreme sport week) in Voss, Norway from June 22-29. Read more.

The Norweigan Wood 'Underwood' fest winners have been announced. Check out the list of acts that will be playing. (in Norweigan)

P3 Musikjournalen reports that User is getting ready to release their debut album in September. The new single "Do You" comes out in June and they expect to tour this summer.

Moneybrother is the band of the week over at MTVE.com. Head on over for an interview and video. He also has a couple dates coming up in the near future:

05/14 - Göteborg, Bengans
05/15 - Örebro, Najz Prajz
05/16 - Stockholm, Mega

Though not really of much note, Backyard Babies have checked in via their maillist to say that they are still hard at work writing songs for the new record. They hope to put pictures up from the session on their website and will be making an announcement concerning a producer very soon.
UPDATE: They have reportedly selected Joe Barresi for the job. His previous credits include bands such as Pennywise, Buckcherry, QOTSA and Kyuss.

Bad Taste Records has put up the video for "The Contractor and the Assassin" from Logh. Check it: high / mid / low (Real Player)
The label also has a bunch of new stuff in their webshop like new Logh and Last Days of April shirts for those that may be interested.

C.Aarmé report that they will begin recording their full length debut for Car Crash Records in July. In the meantime, check 'em out on the road:

05/17 - Viva dLTD, Restaurang Minus, GBG w/The New Mess, Cut City
05/21 - Café MIC, Vänersborg w/Alarma man
05/23 - Ungdomens kulturhus, Gislaved w/Alarma man
05/24 - Le Club Suburbia, STHLM w/Alarma man
05/25 - Distro GBG, Meeths unga salonger, GBG

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.

Fresh from the rumor mill is news that Last Days of April will indeed be heading over to America to promote the US release of "Ascend to the Stars" on Crank! Records. No exact dates yet, but I'm hearing they'll be doing something like six weeks, so they'll be sure to play nearly everwhere. More news when I get it.

Scratchie Records recently relaunched their website including a page dedicated to their darlings The Sounds. And in case you didn't know, the band cancelled those rumored headlining gigs they had scheduled before their upcoming Ravonettes/Vue jaunt. Oh, and Rolling Stone recently did a feature on the band, too.

Hell n' Diesel will be holding a release party at Timmerstugan in Falköping on May 30 for their new single "Tears for the Wicked".

Mean Street Magazine recently did a short interview with Sahara Hotnights. They also did a feature on TSOOL for last month's Coachella fest issue.

Some of the recent Norweigan bands added to the Quart festival lineup: Tonka, Gaute Drevdal, Bjørn Berge, Panzer, Splitimage, and Guardians of Time.

The Gatethering recently released "You Learn About It", the first single from their newest album "Souvenirs". They also did a video for the song with 13-year old director Tim Blok. Apparently, he's the youngest music video director ever which is kind of cool, I guess. Anyhow, fans of atmospheric rock music should definitely investigate the album. I know I'm really enjoying it.

America's The End Records has announced that it will reissue a remastered version of Ulver's first demo "Vergtatt" (or isn't it "Bergtatt"? not sure if it's a typo) on 10" vinyl. They'll also be doing quite a few other great releases in this new series which they are dubbing 'Infinite Vinyl' such as "Tommorrow Will Never Come", a 7" from Agalloch that will include two unreleased acoustic tracks from the original "The Mantle" sessions. The full list of scheduled releases so far:

IVS 001 Agalloch - Tomorrow Will Never Come 7"
IVS 002 Ulver - Vergtatt 10"
IVS 003 Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
IVS 004 Emperor - As The Shadows Rise 7"
IVS 005 Samael - Blood Ritual
IVS 006 Arcturus - Constellation / My Angel 10"
IVS 007 Katatonia - Saw You Drawn 10"

The Swedish MIC reports that Swedes seem to prefer their own domestically-produced music versus international imports. The latest charts show a 54% dominance in albums and 52% in singles and that data is significant of a trend that has been ongoing all year.

Moneybrother's new album has been generating all sorts of positive reviews, such as this one from Aftonbladet and yesterday's Dagensskiva review. Personally, I think the single ("Reconsider Me") is fantastic, but I'm not sold on the entire album just yet. Anyway, it's up to you to decide for yourself. Aftonbladet has a couple sound samples for you to hear, too.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. HIM - Funeral of hearts
03. Outlandish - Guantanamo
04. A-Teens - Perfect Match
05. Jennifer Brown - Weak
06. Darude - Music
07. Kwan - Shine
08. Equicez - Live From Pass It
09. Mew - Comforting Sounds
10. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
11. Paragon - Försök Förstå
12. The Jessica Fletchers - Let´s Go
13. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
14. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
15. Moon Gringo - Buzz Aldrin
16. Nik & Jay - Elsker Hende Mere
17. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
18. Surferosa - Neon Commando
19. Melody Club - Cover Girl
20. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz

Challengers:
01. Homy - Bus Stop
02. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - One Good Moment
03. Magnet - The Day We Left Town
04. Monastir - Teenage Years
05. Stephen Simmonds & Dilba - For Father

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

Here's something interesting that came to me by way of the pHinnweb list: www.radiofetthode.no. Streaming Internet radio featuring all sorts of various Scandinavian artists + more. Very cool.

Speaking of yesterday's Cdoass signing news, it has been pointed out to me that they used to be a demowebben band. Check out some old tracks from the band right here.

Finland's Amorphis has completed work on a video for the song "Evil Inside", their first single from the upcoming album "Far From The Sun". Taku Kaskela directed. The record comes out in Scandinavia on May 26 from Virgin Records and you can listen to streamed versions of a couple from their web jukebox, located here.

Did you realize that Turbonegro's new album "Scandinavian Leather" went straight to #1 on the Norweigan charts, selling twice as many copies as Madonna's "American Life" at #2? Pretty crazy, eh? They also added one more date to their current tour itinerary: May 30 in Fredrikstad, Norway. For those still unfamiliar with the band, perhaps this e-card will help.

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.

Ink19 declares "6" from Supersilent to be "a landmark album." Furthermore, they say "It is a harrowing work of jazz, electronica and ambient textures that is as exciting as it is mind-blowing." Read more.

Peaceville has yet again delayed the release of Beyond Dawn's forthcoming album "Frysh", this time to June 30. If the 3-song sampler is any indication, it's gonna be damn great. Can't wait.

Preorder a copy of the new Her Majesty album "Happiness" and receive an exclusive free pin. Go here.

The latest news from Värttinä, as posted on their website:

[We] just returned from a tour of Scotland, Turkey, Switzerland and France. Edinburgh, Stans and Bern were the highlights with great shows and incredible audience response. Big news from France is that "iki" [the new album] is the Number 3 Best Selling World Music album at the main FNAC shop (Forum) in Paris. Additionally, "iki" is named Album of the Week at Swedish Radio P2 Klingan and World Music Album of the Week on WDR Radio KC6ln. iki also reached Number 6 on the CMJ World Music Chart in USA. In England, "iki" was picked Number 9 in the Songlines magazine Top of the World chart. Finally, "iki" received a glowing review from Songlines Magazine: "From the exhilarating drive of "Nahkaruoska", its jostling rhythms and bristling close harmonies bringing to life a story of infidelity and leather whips, to the sheer beauty of "Maahinen Neito", a song of an unwanted earth maiden, Värttinä's tenth album (celebrating their 20th year) is their most radiant and satisfying to date. .. A totally desirable disc." (Songlines Jan Fairley)

Those of you in Denmark can check out The Cardigans on the 'Barend & van Dorp' show tomorrow night playing their new single "You're the Storm" live. The program starts at 10:30 pm.

Clawfinger's new album "Zeros & Heroes" comes out May 26. Singer Zak Tell says he is confident fans will like it. The band is also hitting the road this summer. Dates so far:

05/17 - Bengtsfors, S
06/12 - Crans-sur-N., CH
06/14 - Bolzano, I
06/18 - Zürich, CH
06/20 - Scharans, CH
06/21 - Burgum, NL
07/05 - Leipzig, D
07/19 - Eberschwang, A
08/01 - Óbudai Island, H
08/08 - Höchstenbach, D

Soviac has booked a number of dates around Sweden this summer:

05/24 - Ronneby, Uterock
05/26 - Stockholm, Debaser w/Paris, Marit Bergman
05/27 - Stockholm, Gula Villan Blowupapanda pre party
05/28 - Göteborg, Valand w/Fox´n wolf
05/29 - Västervik, Oasen
05/31 - Stockholm, Debaser w/7feet4
06/07 - Fredricia, Formanova03 w/The Price Of Ink, Switchblade

Look for a video from the band for song "Boogie Woogie" soon, too.

MTVE.com has posted the new video for "Reconsider Me", the first single from Moneybrother's new album "Blood Panic".

The Norweigan musicians union and the Stavanger Symphonic Orchestra are raising money to send musical instruments to Iraq. So far about 60,000 NOK has been brought in for the effort. Read more. (in Norweigan)

The six finalists for the Roland/SAMI Artistpris 2003:

1. Steroids (rock)
2. Yukon AK (country/pop)
3. Ane Brun (singer/songwriter)
4. Peter Murphy (pop)
5. The Terrible Misstakes (punk)
6. Andreas Giri (pop)

They will all be performing at Alcazar (Nalen) in Stockholm on May 28 to vye for the various prizes in front of a jury of various music industry professionals. Read more. (in Swedish)

Proof that The Hives have reached a significant level of success: Weird Al has parodied them on the song "Angry White Boy Polka" from his new album "Poodle Hat". Congrats guys.

Ed Hartcourt that he will be making a Gröna Lund appearance on August 22.

The Amnestys endagsfestival on May 17 at Mondo in Stockholm will feature Florence Valentin, Shout Out Louds, Paris, Ane Brun and The Concretes.

Dagensskiva gives Logh's new album "The Raging Sun" a 9 out of 10 in their review today. I'd have to agree - I managed to find myself an advance copy and have been listening to it quite a bit. Easily one of the best records I've heard so far this year.

Arch Enemy has set "Anthems of Rebellion" as the title of new new record due out August 26 from Century Media, and in Japan on July 23 from Toy's Factory. Guitarist Michael Amott is quoted as saying "There is a thread of ANTI-establishment and REBELLION that goes through all the songs lyrics and also the artwork, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it a full-blown concept — that kind of stuff usually tends to get in the way of the music... It sounds thicker and more heavy than the last album." Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

Via the pHinnweb mailing list comes this glossary of various terms and items relevant to Finnish art and music.

Entombed's upcoming eigth album "Inferno" has now been delayed to an August 4 release date. Pelle Gunnerfeldt of Fireside produced and I for one am very curious to hear how it turned out.

As hinted at before, David & the Citizens are at Gula Studion (The Yellow Studio) in Malmö with producer Jens Lindgård working on their new record. Word has it that Pelle Ossler of Wilmer X guests on a track along with the klezmer band Tummel on another.

Cold Meat Industry acts IRM and Institut will play the Red Rose in London on May 9. More info here.

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.

Going to see The Soundtrack of Our Lives and The Caesars in SF tonight. Should be fun! TSOOL is also playing for free over at Amoeba Records at 5, so if you're in the area you may want to check that out as well. I may also have an extra ticket for tonight's show, so if you think you might be interested, let me know.

Hypocrisy report that they are preparing to work on a new album. Frontman Peter Tägtgren posted this message describing the process on their website:

band meeting today, it went well and we have a plan for the next release we're going to get together and practise for the recording for the first time in 9 years! starting mid-may, so everybody will start writing new material a.s.a.p. so we will have anything to practise... the new album will go with the abducted sound (production) the music will go in the sign of abducted and the hypocrisy (self-titled album) working title is "the arrival" and i think the little green men are back in my head!!!

Here's an interview with Startracks label head Fredrik Holmgren from firesideometer.com. Entertaining, informative, and in English, too.

Speaking of Fireside, the video for the new single "All You Had" will be premiered on SVT Spinn this Thursday.

Check out the Whyte Seeds playing live on MTV Morning Glory.

For you audio engineering nerds (guilty!), here's a detailed description of the recording specs for the latest Nasum album from singer/guitarist/engineer Mieszko.

Pictures of The Sounds playing live at the Electroluxe in San Diego are available here.

A couple Bad Taste acts are gonna be hitting the small screen in the future. First off, Last Days of April will have the song "Will The Violins Be Playing" featured on the US TV show "Mysterious Ways" which can be seen on the Sci Fi channel. The band also got the track "I'm Calm Now" on an upcoming DVD promoting the X-Games VIII which are taking place in LA come August. But they aren't the only ones - Logh's song "Yellow Lights Mean Slow Down Not Speed Up" will be played during the show "Boarding House: North Shore" which follows seven pro surfers who live and surf together during the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition in Oahu, Hawaii. That one airs on the WB Network in the US.

Carpet People are having a record release party at Scharinska Villan in Umeå on April 12. Show starts at 9 and they hit the stage at midnight. However- you should show up early cuz they promise a secret guest opening act. The album hits stores on the 11th from Chalksounds.

If you want more information about that Swedish punk fest that I talked about yesterday, go to the official site: www.svenskpunk25.nu

Fireside, Dub Sweden, USCB Allstars, Fingathing, The Raveonettes, Miss Universum, Merciless, Radio Dept., Dot Allison, Mary Lou Lord, Surfer Rosa, Pauline and Satirnine are some of the new bands confirmed for Hultsfred Fest.

Moneybrother, Moder Jords Massiva and Trapdoor Fucking Exit are some of the new bands confirmed for Popaganda fest in Stockholm on May 29-31.

Touted as the 'next big thing' from the cold, cold North by Barfly Magazine, The Hommos will be touring the UK next month as they've just signed a deal with Liverpudians Deltasonic Records (home of The Coral) who will be releasing a single in May. The band is also playing Debaser in Stockholm on Thursday with Brenda Harris, so check 'em out before they get huge.

Former popstar Leila K was remanded on charges of assault, robbery and theft. My sources tell me that she's allegedly 'partial to poison powders', so it really shouldn't come as much surprise to anyone who's followed her fall from grace.

Langhorns are playing with buzz-band Shout Out Louds at Club Blender in Lund on April 26.

A sampling of the pikseliÄHKY 2003 festival line-up will be playing at Saunabar in Helsinki on April 8. It also serves as a record release for Antoine Verhaverbeke whose album comes out on Abflug next month. Also performing will be Karri O (also on Abflug), Formatt and DJs Nuutti Koskinen and Michael Heap (VJs.net, UK) along with video artist O Samuli A/Samuli Alapuranen. The music starts at 8 and entry is free. More info here.

XL recordings imprint Rex Records will be putting out a new Radio Dept. single for the song "Liebling" on April 28. There's also word of a London show for around the same time, but no details yet.

Moneybrother has put up the "Reconsider Me" video for download: high / low

JuJu Records has put up an mp3 for the track "Imbumba Unity" which features Swedish MCs Timbuktu, Moe (Spotrunnaz), Promoe (Loop Troop), CosM.I.C. (Loop Troop), and South African MCs RantoBoko, Zweli, Tabs, Sniper and Incredible Hulk. The track was produced by Breakmecanix while the Swedes were on tour performing at Johannesburg, Durban, Capetown and various S. African locales.

Also from JuJu, comes the new Timbuktu album "The Botten Is Nådd" on April 28. Also produced by Breakmecanix, the CD will feature guest appearances from Chords, Supreme (Loop Troop), DJ Amato, Daniel Boyacioglu and Peps Persson.

That new Turboneyepro website www.scandinavianleather.com is now online, including samples and video from the new album.

The Hellacopters, Gate, The Sounds, and a reuniting DumDum Boys are among the bands confirmed for the upcoming Norweigan Wood festival. More info here.

Fireside's new album keeps getting positive reviews such as this one from Aftonbladet. You can listen to the band comment on the record themselves at that link too. (in Swedish)

The new Swedish metal 'supergroup' Nightrage has just signed a deal with Century Media to release the album "Sweet Vengeance" which was recorded at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström. The band consists of drummer Per Jensen (The Haunted, Invocator), 'melodic' vocalist Tom Englund (Evergrey), vocalist Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates, The Crown), guitarist Gus G. (Dream Evil, Firewind), guitarist Marios Iliopoulos (Exhumation), and bassist Brice Leclercq. Sounds like it could be pretty cool.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Ark, and Mando Diao have all been confirmed for a show at Grona Lund in Stockholm on April 30. Tickets are 100 kr.

The Ghoules have set themselves up with a week of shows around Europe. The dates:

5/07 - Goteborg (S), Sticky Fingers
5/08 - Aachen (D), Haupquartier
5/09 - Chemnitz (D), Subway to Peter
5/10 - Hoyerswerda (D), Dock 28
5/12 - Wien (A), Shelter
5/13 - St. Pölten (A), Jesters
5/15 - Lustenau (A), Culturefactory
5/17 - Rheine (D), Dramabar

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.

Don't forget the big Popstad show on P3 Live today (and tomorrow) at 10 am Pacific. Featured bands to perform include The Sounds, Moneybrother, Melody Club and more. Listen here. Click the 'Lyssna' link.

I didn't see the link to it the other day, but here's the cover art for Beyond Dawn's upcoming album "Frysh". Their last album "Electric Sulking Machine" was a fantastic and original piece of brooding, dark pop and I expect no less from the new one. I hope those guys come through with that promo for me - I'm really excited to hear it.

Check out the new videos from Håkan Hellström and Roxette.

Look for Buck to be touring in the near future, hot on the heels of their highly regarded new "Rock Dream" EP on Startracks. The dates so far:

02/13 - Esklistuna, Etrea Clubnights @ Blå
02/14 - Stockholm, Accelerator @ Debaser
02/26 - Lund, Klubb Buster @ Mejeriet
03/15 - Malmö, KB w/ Comet Gain and The Radio Dept.

Opeth reports they may push back the release of the upcoming album "Damnation" to May. Their currently hectic touring schedule seems to have gotten the best of them and they feel they wouldn't be able to promote it properly with a March/April release.

Katatonia has scheduled a European tour to support the release of the upcoming album "Viva Emptiness". Lullacry and Pornorphans will support in Finland, To Die For and Daylight Dies on the rest. The dates:

4/2 - Tavastia Helsinki, Finland
4/3 - Lutakko Jyväskylä, Finland
4/4 - Tuiskula Nivala, Finland
4/5 - Säätämö Turku, Finland
4/8 - TBA Hamburg, Germany
4/9 - TBA Berlin, Germany
4/10 - TV Studio Krzemionki Krakow, Poland
4/12 - TBA Munich, Germany
4/13 - TBA (East), Germany
4/15 - TBA, Germany
4/16 - TBA, Germany
4/17 - TBA Frankfurt, Germany
4/18 - TBA Stuttgart, Germany
4/19 - Dioxin Schindellegi/Schwyz, Switzerland
4/20 - Transilvania Live Milan, Italy
4/22 - Alpheus Rome, Italy
4/23 - La Gabbia Bassano de Grappa (VI), Italy
4/24 - TBA Marseille, France
4/25 - K.G.B Barcelona, Spain
4/26 - Caracol Madrid, Spain
4/27 - Le Son Coimbra, Portugal
4/29 - Republicca II Valencia, Spain
4/30 - Koslow Bordeaux, France
5/1 - La Locomotive Paris, France
5/2 - Splendid Lille, France
5/3 - Rock City Nottingham, UK
5/4 - Bierkeller Bristol, UK
5/6 - Bierkeller Manchester, UK
5/7 - Ca -ouse Glasgow, UK
5/8 - Rio Bradfo -, UK
5/9 - -e Underworld/ULU London, UK
5/10 - Eland Gent, Belgium
5/11 - Tivoli Utrecht, -e Ne -erlands
5/12 - TBA Essen/Bochum, Germany
5/14 - Vega Copenhagen, Denmark
5/15 - TBA Goteborg, Sweden
5/16 - TBA Oslo, Norway
5/15 - TBA Stockholm, Sweden