Norway's Amulet is yet another hardcore band trying to recapture the glory of Refused by heading to Tonteknik Studios in Umeå, Sweden to record their next album. Production team Pelle & Eskil will be coming to Norway next week to start pre-production and they'll head to Umeå in March to begin tracking.

It's not totally on-topic, but American metalcore act Poison the Well will once again be making the trek to Tonteknik Studios in Umeå, Sweden to record their next album. It still won't make them sound like Refused, but there's nothing wrong with trying.

Kristofer Steen reports on the progress of the much-delayed, long-awaited Refused DVD: http://www.burningheart.com/news/article.php?id=148

Finally, Burning Heart issues a press release concerning their upcoming "Heart Attack" 10 year anniversary compilation: http://www.burningheart.com/news/article.php?id=140
This thing's been in the works for a loooooong time, so I'm very excited to see that it's finally coming out on October 25. So many amazing collaborations! Full tracklist:

01. T(I)NC - Black Mask
02. C. Aarmé - Tu Puta Mi Casa
03. Promoe - These Walls Don't Lie
04. Nine - Inferno
05. Moneybrother - Reconsider Me
06. Turbonegro - Drenched In Blood (DIB)
07. Nasum - Darkness Falls
08. The Weakerthans - The Reasons
09. Raised Fist - Message Beneath Contempt
10. Nikola Sarcevic - Lovetrap
11. Division Of Laura Lee - Endless Factories
12. Refused - Refused Are Fucking Dead
13. Puffball - Take You Down
14. Looptroop - Don't Hate The Player
15. VOAG - Cause For Alarm
16. Give Up The Ghost - Love American
17. X-Ray Eyes - Randy
18. The Peepshows - Count Me Out
19. Bombshell Rocks - Warpath
20. The Lost Patrol - Alright
21. Between Us - Dialog
22. The Hives - Untutored Youth
23. Millencolin - Happiness For Dogs
24. The Business - No One Likes
25. Division Of Laura Lee - I Don't Wanna Hear It
26. Turbonegro - Repo Man
27. Nasum - The Real
28. Randy - Beware
29. Nobodys Heroes - Wrongones
30. Moneybrother/Looptroop - Looking For More Love
31. C. Aarmé - You're A Dead Box
32. Raised Fist - Time Will Let You Go, All Alone And Break
33. The Lost Patrol Band - My Heart Is Still A Mess
34. Nine - United Forces
35. Club Killers - Some Of Them A Bawl
36. Millencolin - AB Böna Och Be
37. Sounds Like Violence - You Give Me Heartattacks
38. T(I)NC inhale Blacksmoke - Armed Love

Terrorizer takes a look back at the now-classic Refused album "The shape of punk to come": http://www.shorl.com/faprugeruprebo
It seems kind of odd to me that they don't mention what all the various members are up to now, except for Dennis. What's up with that?

In somewhat silly news, the remixed 5.1 surround sound version of Refused's classic album "The Shape Of Punk To Come" has been nominated for 'Best Multichannel Reissue' at the Surround Music Awards. The competition:

Outkast - Stankonia
George Harrison - Live In Japan
Steely Dan - Gaucho
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on August 31. Read more about the awards here: http://www.surroundpro.com/articles/publish/article_217.shtml

Ex-Refused drummer turned singer/songwriter David Sandström is working on yet another new album with his new band David Sandström Overdrive.

The latest Scandinavian reviews from the German webzine Sellfish:

Cipher System / By Night - Split
The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Armed Love
Refused - Various reissues
Schtimm - Featuring...
Spoiler - The Return Of King Sonic

They also have an interview with Face Tomorrow: http://sellfish.inserteffekt.com/_start.php?link=interviews/facetom.htm

Top ten: First half 2004

Check out the Aquarius Records new release list for samples and reviews of new stuff from Pharaoh Overlord, Sagor & Swing, Cadaver, The Cardigans, Refused (reissues), Satyricon, Trettioariga Kriget and tons more: http://www.aquariusrecords.org/cat/newest.html

Twice the Speed in collaboration with Busted Heads Records is putting out a compilation from old-school Umeå-based hardcore band Garbage Pail Kids. GPK is the band Dennis from Refused/t(I)NC was in even before Step Forward existed. While admittedly not everything they did has withstood the test of time, quite a bit of it is said to hold up well and is worth a listen. 37 tracks of old-school US-style HC in the vein of the Misfits mixed with the sounds of 80's Swedish punk sound and primitive fastcore.
Mp3s: No one cares, Watch out, Tomtar är nazister

David Sandström - The Dominant Need of the Needy is to be Needed (Mofab Teg)
This record perfectly balances the aspirations of art, folk and rock. Great music, great lyrics, great everything. I really had no idea what to expect with this, but I was totally impressed. Parts remind of Fireside's "Elite", others bring to mind Norrland indiefolk stuff like Isolation Years. David Sandström, ex-drummer of Refused? Naah, it's just David Sandström, successful solo artist. Definitely another one of the best records I've heard this year.

David Sandström
The dominant need of the needy soul is to be needed
Mofab Teg

This record perfectly balances the aspirations of art, folk and rock. Great music, great lyrics, great everything. I really had no idea what to expect with this, but I was totally impressed. Parts remind of Fireside's "Elite", others bring to mind Norrland indiefolk stuff like Isolation Years. David Sandström, ex-drummer of Refused? Naah, it's just David Sandström, successful solo artist. Definitely another one of the best records I've heard this year.
- Avi Roig

Last week I posted the public plea that Cobolt is looking for a new label after the demise of StarEP not too long ago. I'm really surprised that no one's really jumped on the opportunity, especially considering that frontman Magnus Bjorklund used to be in this little band called Refused. Not that you could tell, as Cobolt sounds nothing like them. Anyhow, in my effort to help the band out, I am posting an mp3 from their as-yet-unreleased recordings. So take a listen and if you want to help the band out, they can be contacted at cobolt.is@home.se.

Speaking of ex-Refused stuff, don't forget that David Sandström is posting new content to his website every Monday: http://www.david-sandstrom.com