The Cardigans are now scheduled to play a couple German festivals this summer: Rock am Ring on June 6, Rock im Park on June 7.

Christian Kjellvander is working on a video for the track "Homeward Rolling Soldier". Keep an eye out for it around March or April. In the meantime, check him out on tour:

03/05 - Oslo - So What
03/07 - Halmstad - Diezelfestivalern
03/08 - Nybro - Mejeriet
03/14 - Norrköping - Kulturkammaren
03/15 - Jönköping - Kulturhuset
03/17 - München/Germany - Orange House w/Brendan Benson
03/18 - Dresden/Germany - Star Club w/Brendan Benson
03/19 - Berlin/Germany - Magnet w/Brendan Benson
03/20 - Munster/Germany - Gleis 22 w/Brendan Benson
03/22 - Bochum/Germany - Matrix w/Brendan Benson
03/23 - Örebro - Strömpris
04/04 - Helsingborg - The Tivoli
04/05 - Ronneby - Föreningarnas hus
04/15 - Copenhagen/Denmark - Lille Vega
04/16 - Århus/Denmark - VoxHall

See the video for Dub Sweden's new single "Walk Me Home": Modem / Broadband

Wolf will be entering Abyss Studio in June with producer/engineer Peter Tägtgren to work on a new album. Look it around fall from No Fashion Records with cover art from Holm (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond) that will include "a lot of fire." Sweet. They also plan to do a video and tour.

The lineup and dates for the upcoming Norweigan Zoom tour has been annouced. Scheduled to play are Helldorado, Johndoe, Nicolai and X.Lover. The dates:

3/5 - Luftslottet, Grimstad
3/6 - Checkpoint Charlie, Stavanger
3/7 - Caledonien Scene, Kristiansand
3/8 - Sort og Blå Scene, Porsgrunn
3/11 - So What!, Oslo
3/12 - Hulen, Bergen
3/13 - Meieriet, Sogndal
3/14 - Kroa, Volda
3/15 - Tapperiet, Molde
3/20 - Blårock, Tromsø
3/21 - Sinus, Bodø
3/22 - Hydranten, Hamar
3/27 - The Spitz, London

Norway's Sondre Lerche seems to be on his way up in the world, at least over here in the US. Read this feature about his recent show in Baltimore. More info and a sample here.

Lars Winnerãck is back from his self-imposed sabbatical and ready to work on his new album "Söndermarken", whose title is inspired by the Danish park. Read more here. (in Swedish)

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. C21 - You Are The One
03. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
04. Winta - Emotions
05. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
06. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
07. Grant - Just The Thing
08. Sahara Hotnights - Alright, Alright
09. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane

Challengers:
01. The Embassy - It Never Entered My Mind
02. Håkan Hellström - Den Fulaste Flickan I Världen
03. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
04. Desmond Foster - Love, Love, Love
05. The Knife - Heartbeat

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

The Crystal Committee (members of Starmarket) and The Lost Patrol (Dennis from t(I)NC) have both been confirmed for the upcoming Umeå Open fest. Other acts already confirmed include Cult of Luna , Advance Patrol, Ison & Fille, Marit Bergman, My Left One, Paris, and Peckish.

Finish 'polka-metallers' Finntroll have posted a .zip file containing an mp3 of a new song entitled "Visor Om Slutet". It's the first recorded material they've made public since being joined by new vocalist Tapio Wilska. Look for the track to surface on a new release sometime in spring.

As stated here before, Sahara Hotnights are coming back to the US for a full tour and this time with a full media blitz. We're talking TV appearances, new singles ("Keep Up the Speed"), a US release of the first (and better) album "C'mon Let's Pretend" on April 8... pretty much the works. Here's those tv dates:

2/17 - Last Call with Carson Daly
2/28 - IMX on Much Music USA
3/2 - 120 Minutes on MTV
4/10 - Late Night with Conan O'Brien

And those tour dates again, all except SXSW with Ikara Colt and Washdown:

2/27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
2/28 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
3/01 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star
3/02 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
3/03 - Richmond, VA - Alley Katz
3/04 - Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle
3/05 - Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge
3/06 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
3/07 - Orlando, FL - The Social w/Andrew WK
3/08 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
3/10 - New Orleans, LA - Shim Sham Club
3/11 - Los Angeles, CA - Cinespace (Down & Out with the Dolls movie premier party)
3/13 - Austin, TX - The Ritz SXSW w/Stratford 4, Flaming Sideburns
3/14 - Austin, TX - Stubbs SXSW: SPIN party w/Hot Hot Heat, Black Keys, D4
3/15 - Dallas, TX - Trees
3/16 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Green Door
3/17 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
3/18 - Phoenix, AZ - Mason Jar
3/19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
3/20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
3/21 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
3/22 - Portland, OR - Dante's
3/23 - Vancouver, BC - The Royal
3/24 - Seattle, WA - Graceland
3/26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Liquid Joes
3/27 - Denver, CO - Climax Lounge
3/28 - Kansas City, MO - El Torreon
3/29 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
3/30 - Chicago, IL - The Metro w/Rocket from the Crypt
3/31 - Detroit, MI - The Shelter
4/01 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
4/02 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
4/03 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
4/04 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
4/05 - Boston, MA - TT the Bears

Dismember has confirmed that Dan Seagrve will doing the artwork for the new album "Where Ironcrosses Grow", due out in September on Hammerheart. The artist's previous credits include covers for Entombed, Morbid Angel, Suffocation and the first Dismember album.

The Klerks will doing some acoustic in-store appearances at the beginning of March:

3/1 - Mega Hertz Jönköping
3/5 - Folk & Rock Malmö
3/5 - Folk & Rock Lund
3/6 - Folk & Rock Helsingborg
3/7 - Bengans Göteborg
3/8 - Music Store Linköping

Starting in March, Promopop will begin doing a monthly CD-R feature. Find out more. (in Swedish)

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
03. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
04. User - You Belong
05. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
06. Blues - Gamla Tider
07. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane
08. Paperboys - Find My Way
09. Winta - Emotions

Challengers:
01. Grant - Just The Thing
02. C21 - You Are The One
03. Darcy - False Alarm
04. Firevision - Stars
05. Sahara Hotnights - Alright, Alright

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

Labrador Records reports they've just signed the band Wan Light. The band's name comes from the first Orange Juice album, but they say the comparison ends there. Rather, they say they sound a bit more like Neil Young, Pet Shop Boys, Momus or Mercury Rev. Look for a single in May, an album to follow in the autumn. Otherwise, you can listen to samples here. (see the bottom of the page)

Download an mp3 for the track "The Sadist Nation" from the upcoming Darkest Hour album, due out in May on Victory Records. The song features a guest appearance from ex-At The Gates/The Crown and current Great Deceiver/Skitsystem frontman Tomas Lindberg. Also making guest contributions to the album are Anders Björler (At the Gates, The Haunted), Peter Wichers (Soilwork) and Marcus Sunesson (The Crown). So you know, Darkest Hour themselves are from Virginia, not Sweden.

Paragon's new single for the track "Försök Förstå" comes out soon. It's the first single from the upcoming debut album "Stadsbarn" and was produced by Collén & Webb. The b-side is "D Så Vi Gör" which features a guest appearance by Sabo from Highwon.

The new Ison & Fille single "Vår Värld" comes out March 10. It's the third single from the album "Vår Sida Av Stan". The CD also will include four tracks from the vinyl-only "Tillbaka Till Gatan" EP which came out last November

Christian Kjellvander has been added to the bill for Emmaboda fest along with Her Majesty, The Essex Green (US), Florence Valentin, Hank, Niccokick and Magyar Posse (SF).

Marit Bergman to hold a rock summer camp at Hultsfred fest? Yep, for girls between 10 and 14 years old she says. And why not? I think that's a pretty darn cool idea myself. Read more here. (in Swedish)

A new song from Marit Bergman on the right today. She was kinda vanilla to me at first, but the album has really started to grow on me. Nothing mindblowing, but still a good listen.

Curious about the new Bjön Olsson album that comes out today? Read all about it.

Check out this video of Supersilent playing live from The Wire's website.

Randy will do five dates in their native Sweden before heading out on the road across Europe in support of their forthcoming album. The itinerary so far:

4/24 - Melkweg Amsterdam (NL)
4/25 - W 2 Den Bosch (NL)
4/26 - Groezrock Meerhout (BE)
4/27 - Live Music Hall Cologne (GER)
4/29 - Logo Hamburg (GER)
4/30 - Columbia Fritz Berlin (GER)
5/01 - Musikzentrum Hannover (GER)
5/02 - Alter Stadsbanhof Schweinfurt (GER)
5/03 - Exil Trier (GER)
5/04 - Backstage Munchen (GER)
5/06 - Conrad Sohm Dornbin (AUT)
5/07 - Arena Vienna (AUT)
5/08 - Orpheum Graz (AUT)
5/09 - La Gabbia Bassano (IT)
5/10 - Leoncavallo Milan (IT)
5/13 - Kaserne Basel (CH)
5/14 - Remise Wil (CH)
5/15 - Abart Zurich (CH)
5/16 - MJC Lyon (F)
5/17 - Mephisto Barcelona (ESP)
5/18 - Gruta 77 Madrid (ESP)
5/20 - Roxy Valencia (ESP)
5/21 - Nashville Vigo (ESP)
5/22 - Cafe Albenitz Gijon (ESP)
5/23 - Atzavara Girona (ESP)
5/24 - Le Fuzz La Roche Sur (F)
5/24 - Mondo Bizarro Rennes (F)
5/26 - Festival Tours (F)
5/28 - Wedgewood Room Portsmouth (UK)
5/29 - Academy Birmingham (UK)
5/30 - Josephs Well Leeds (UK)
5/31 - King Tuts Wah Hut Glasgow (UK)
6/03 - Garage London (UK)

Here's the official press release regarding Håkan Hellström's departure from Broder Daniel.

Johan Bergqvist started recording a new single for the song "This Could Be Our Time" this past weekend. He may even film a video for it, too. Candidates for b-sides include "Waiting" and "Endure", but nothing has been decided yet. Look for it around May.

Sahara Hotnights are doing the Carson Daly show on February 27. Wanna be in the audience? The show tapes that Thursday afternoon at 30 Rockefeller Center in NYC. It's free, but also first-come-first-served, so send an email to lastcallaudience@nbc.com with the subject 'Hotnights' plus your full name, age and number of tickets desired in the body. Oh, and it's limited to people 16 and older.

Finland's HIM have set what they declare to be the final tracklist for the new album "Love Metal":

01. Buried Alive By Love
02. The Funeral of Hearts
03. Beyond Redemption
04. Sweet Pandemonium
05. Soul on Fire
06. The Sacrament
07. This Fortress of Tears
08. Circle of Fear
09. Endless Dark
10. The Path

A limited edition version will include the bonus track "Love's Requiem". The album comes out on April 14 for most of Europe.

Norweigan singer/songwriter Askil Holm gets to have about a minute of his music featured in the new film "Agent Cody Banks" directed by Harald Zwarts. It stars Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame and premieres March 8 in LA.

Here's the winners of the Spelleman Awards which took place in Norway on Saturday:

Best Spellemann: Röyksopp
Pop group: Ephemera - "Balloons and Champagne"
Best newcomer: Gåte - "Jygri"
Electronica: Salvatore - "Tempo"
Best video: Röyksopp - "Remind Me"
Metal: Satyricon - "Volcano"
Pop soloist: Thomas Dybdahl - "That Great October Sound"
Rock: Madrugada - "Grit"
Hip-hop: Paperboys - "No Cure For Life"

A full list of winners can be found here.

No, Soundtrack of Our Lives did not win a Grammy and I'm really not surprised. The competition was tough and Coldplay won the 'best alternative album' category. Still, it's pretty cool that they were even nominated. Next time, eh?

"SATANIC! SICK! UGLY!" Arch Enemy's Michael Amott has posted a new studio report on their website. Check it out.

Crystal Committee just released their new album and the response has been great, including record of the week on Swedish student and national radio. They're also planning on doing a full Swedish tour in spring, but for now you can check 'em at these two dates in Stockholm:

3/1 - Debaser
3/11 - Kafe 44

From Timo Isoaho / Sonera Plaza Kaista by way of Blabbermouth:

Swedish high-energy thrashers The Haunted have fulfilled their contractual obligations to Earache Records and have no intentions of re-signing with the label, according to frontman Marco Aro. "Earache are lying to us all the time," he told Finland's Kaista. "According to them, we have sold only ONE thousand copies of the last album in the States even though we've done headlining tours over there. You know, Earache doesn't keep any records that would reveal how many albums have been pressed and so on, so we have no idea how many albums we have actually sold.

"When we signed to Earache, we actually [inherited] At the Gates' old contract [as per the leaving member's clause in the agreement]," he added. "So when we got some royalties from our first album, all that money went to pay back the debts that At the Gates had with the label.

"Entombed's situation with Earache was the 'funniest'," Aro continued. "Earache was built from the money that they made by selling the early records from Napalm Death and Entombed. Anyway, [former Entombed drummer] Nicke Andersson saw some of the Earache guys when he was doing a show in London with The Hellacopters, and he asked them if he should perhaps be collecting some money from them in back royalties. The Earache guys were like, 'Yeah, sure.' Guess what Nicke got from them later? 25 pounds and one 'Monkey Puss' live video! (laughs)"

According to Aro, it was Earache's unwillingness to properly fund the group's recently-released DVD, "Caught On Tape", that resulted in the final product not being of the high standard that the band had hoped for.

"Well, it's ok, there's two shows and everything," Marco said of the DVD. "But it could have been better, too. We were supposed to get really good digital video camera from our record company when we went to tour US with Cannibal Corpse and Dimmu Borgir. We were supposed to shoot some material for the DVD... Well, we got that camera when there was two shows left in the tour. And then, when we asked if we could shoot some material from the summer festivals with that camera, we were told that this was not OK and we had to return the camera to the record company. By the way, our first idea was to release the live DVD and live album in one package at a special price. But that was not OK with Earache..."

Of course, this really shouldn't sound all that new to you if you follow the metal scene. Earache Records has been notorious for ripping bands off in the past and many, many allegations have been tossed their way. I was under the impression they were trying to make up for past mistakes, but I guess that's not the case. I only hope that other promising, young bands like Cult of Luna don't get crushed by the label.

Speaking of jumping labels, In Flames is apparently shopping around for a new contract now that they've furfilled their obligation to Nuclear Blast. Do I see a major in their future? I don't doubt it - the band is really doing quite well over here in the States. Expect negotiations to be wrapped up around spring they say. In other news, the band is currently filming a video for the track "Trigger" and plan to have it ready by the end of March.

May be worth a look: The 2002 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll. Top ranked albums from Scandinavian acts include The Hives (21), The Soundtrack of Our Lives (38), Röyksopp (82), Sondre Lerche (94), Sahara Hotnights (154), Division of Laura Lee (158), and even Immortal (225). I probably missed a few, too. The included article 'Party in Hard Times' also makes mention of the recent success of Swedish rock in the US and might be of some interest.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be appearing on the Jay Leno Show on Wednesday, February 19.

Supersilent and Arve Henriksen are touring the UK in May. The dates:

5/22 - Exeter, UK
5/23 - Bath, UK
5/24 - Belfast, Ireland
5/25 - Salisbury, UK
5/26 - Birmingham, UK
5/27 - Liverpool, UK
5/28 - London UK

Hammerfall will be heading to Japan in March with Nocturnal Rites.

The next Melody Club single will be for the song "Covergirl". It comes out on March 24.

The recording of the new album has now taken its first steps towards the end. This time, to make it all even better, they have added new angles and approach to it all which will make the last album look pale compared to this one! DZO are creating a monster and they do not know if it will guide them or kill them. To be continued...

That's Dimension Zero describing the recording progress on the new album "This is Hell".

Turbonegro has finalized the track listing for their new album "Scandinavian Leather":

01. Intro: The Blizzard Of Flames
02. Wipe It Till It Bleeds
03. Gimme Some
04. Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed
05. Sell Your Body (To The Night)
06. Remain Untamed
07. Train Of Flesh
08. Fuck The World
09. Locked Down
10. I Want It All
11. D.I.B. (Drenched In Blood)
12. Le Saboteur
13. Ride With Us

Look for it on April 28 from Burning Heart Records.

There will be another five bands added to those Swedish showcase shows that I posted about yesterday. I'll let you know who they are as soon as I can.

Drummer Jensa Paulsson has left Grave, citing work and family issues. He will be replaced by Cristofer Barkensjö of Kassmos who the band says "is an excellent drummer and has been a friend of ours for a long time... we are very happy to welcome him in the band."

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Acorn - One Day
03. Jon - Right Here Next To You
04. User - You Belong
05. The Spitts - That´s my girl
06. Last Days Of April - All Will Break
07. Christian - Min Fremtid
08. The Lungz - It´s Alright
09. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane

Challengers:
01. Trucker - I Feel So Sick
02. Paperboys - Find My Way
03. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
04. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
05. Beats & Styles - Smilin´

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

Lots of new music today! I feel like I've been skimping on the metal, so I put up a live set from Mustasch recorded just the other day from Popstad on P3. They sound like a mix of "Kill 'Em All"-era Metallica and Soundgarden fronted by a guy who reminds of Dio and Ian Astbury of The Cult. And yes, those are all good things. I doubt they'll win, but the band is also up for a Swedish hard rock Grammy this year.

Next up is a track from the band KVLR. I'm going to be accompanying these guys on a short US tour next month, so you know I'm definitely into them. The track comes from the new retrospective collection "On Planted Streets" which combines all of their older releases on one CD. Those dates again:

3/7 - Santa Cruz, CA - Drop-In Center w/Science of Yabra, The Yellow Press
3/8 - Redding, CA - TBD w/The Yellow Press
3/9 - SF, CA - Club Galia w/Low Rise + more
3/10 - Huntington Beach, CA - Liquid Den w/The Yellow Press, Taint
3/11 - Phoenix, AZ - Red Room w/The Yellow Press
3/12 - Albuquerque, NM - Burt's Tiki Lounge w/The Jealous Sound
3/13 - Austin, TX - SXSW, TFT Records/Better Looking Records Showcase
3/14 - Flagstaff, AZ - Soul Kitchen
3/15 - TBD

Speaking of Popstad, Chili.se has a bunch of pictures and reviews of the show. (in Swedish)

Check out this deal on the new Crystal Committee album from Chalksounds. Available for Swedes only.

Export Music Sweden (ExMS) is doing another series of showcase concerts this year at CBGBs in NYC, SXSW, and LA. The performers include The Sounds, Prime Sth, Whyte Seeds, Marit Bergman and The $1000 Playboys. The NY shows are March 10-11, SXSW is March 14-15 and then Spaceland in LA on the 16th plus the 17th at the Troubadour. Last time around, this concert series was the event which introduced America to The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Sahara Hotnights. I suspect there will be at least one new hit act from this year's crowd, too.

Check out the video for 69-Hard's forthcoming single "Gone Gone Gone" right here. It comes out on February 28 with the b-sides "The Bullets" and "Fuck Authority". The new album "Blues From Hell" follows on March 28.

Check out some pictures from Madrugada's recent tour of Europe here.

The Cardigans finally got themselves a new website.

And whaddya know? Meshuggah has a new site, too. No definitive word yet, but there's a headlining US tour in the works for the future.

If I installed a message board, would you use it? Just curious - let me know. Otherwise, there's always the guestbook.

Here's the winners of today's P3 Gold Awards:

Best Male Artist – Håkan Hellström "Det Är Så Jag Säger Det"
Best Grouppp – Kent "Vapen & Ammunition"
Best Female Artist – Marit Bergman "3.00 A.M. Serenades"
Best Newcomer – The Sounds
Best Live – The Ark
Best Dance – Håkan Lidbo "Sexy Robot"
Best Rock/Metal – Opeth "Deliverance"
Best Hiphop/Soul – Looptroop "The Struggle Continues"
Best Pop – Doktor Kosmos "Reportage!"

For more info and to listen to the presentation, go here. And don't forget to check out P3 Live over the next two days as a lot of the nominees will be performing.

More dates have been added to the upcoming Sahara Hotnights tour with Ikara Colt and Washdown. They are as follows:

02/27 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
02/28 - Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
03/01 - North Star Philadelphia, PA
03/02 - Black Cat Washington, DC
03/03 - Alley Katz Richmond, VA
03/04 - Cats Cradle Carborro, NC
03/05 - The Echo Lounge Atlanta, GA
03/06 - Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL
03/07 - The Social Orlando, FL
03/08 - The Orpheum Tampa, FL
03/10 - Shim Sham Club New Orleans, LA
03/13 - TBA Austin, TX
03/14 - Stubbs Austin, TX
03/15 - Trees Dallas, TX
03/16 - Green Door Oklahoma City, OK
03/17 - TBA Albuquerque, NM
03/18 - Mason Jar Phoenix, AZ
03/19 - Roxy Los Angeles, CA
03/20 - TBA Los Angeles, CA
03/21 - Slim's San Francisco, CA
03/22 - Dantes Portland, OR
03/23 - The Royal Vancouver Canada 03/24 - Graceland Seattle, WA
03/28 - El Torreon Kansas City, MO
04/02 - Mohawk Place Buffalo, NY

As previously noted here, there's going to be quite a few Scandinavian acts at this year's SXSW festival in Austin Texas. Ten from Sweden, seven fren Denmark and Norway and 3 from Finland and Iceland. The three bands Sondre Lerche, Madrugada and Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band will perform together at a Scandinavian showcase show and the rest will be playing other seperate dates during the event. For more info about the Norweigan acts go here. For a list of all the bands performing, go here.

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

01. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
02. A Teens - New arrival
03. The Sounds - Living in America
04. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
05. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
06. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
07. Melody Club - Music machine
08. Barbados - Rewind
09. Thåström - På röda sten
10. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
11. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
12. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
13. The Knife - Deep Cuts
14. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
15. v/a - Fame factory vol 2
16. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
17. Tyskarna från Lund - Metamorphobia
18. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
19. The Hellacopters - By the grace of god
20. Benny Anderssons orkester - Benny Anderssons orkester

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

Leaving the chart:
(14) The Raveonettes "Attack of the Ghost Riders"
(15) Oasis "Songbird"
(17) Massive Attack "Special Cases"
(18) Johnny Marr & The Healers "Bangin' On"
(19) Teenage Idols "Teenage Idols from Outer Space"

A new mp3 today from Last Days of April. Nice melancholic pop music.

The Sahara Hotnights are coming back to the US. The dates so far: (w/Ikara Colt and Washdown)

2/27, 2003 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
2/28, 2003 Hoboken, NJ Maxwells
3/01, 2003 Philadelphia, PA North Star
3/02, 2003 Washington, DC Black Cat
3/03, 2003 Richmond, VA Alley Katz
3/05, 2003 Atlanta, GA The Echo Lounge
3/06, 2003 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
3/07, 2003 Orlando, FL The Social
3/14, 2003 Austin, TX Stubb's (SXSW)
3/31, 2003 Detroit, MI The Shelter

And the winners of the Rockbjörnen are...

Best male: Håkan Hellström
Best female: Robyn
Best group: Kent
Best song: Kom igen Lena (Håkan Hellström)
Best album: Vapen och Ammunition (Kent)
Best newcomer: The Sounds

Also from Aftonbladet on occasion of the Rockbjörnen, a transcription of a live chat with The Cardigans. More here. (in Swedish)

Deathprod (Supersilent, ex-Motorpsycho) was interviewed on the BBC Radio 3 program Mixing It yesterday. Listen to an archive of the program here.

Lullacry's new album "Crucify My Heart" will hit North America on April 8from Century Media. The first single already went straight to #5 on the Finnish charts right on its initial release.

The Hellacopters are going on a Scandinavian tour beginning in late February. The dates:

2/27 - Malmö, KB
2/28 - Helsingborg, Tivoli
3/01 - Lund, Blender@Tegnérs Matsalar
3/07 - Halmstad, Diezel
3/08 - Karlskoga, Wictoria
3/11 - Halden (N), Studenthuset
3/12 - Stavanger (N), Folken
3/13 - Oslo (N), Rockefeller
3/14 - Bergen (N), Hulen
3/15 - Trondheim (N), Studentersamfundet
3/26 - Åre, Bygget
3/27 - Sälen, HC
3/28 - Umeå, Umeå Open

Also from The Hellacopters is a new 4-colored, 52-page comicbook called "The Hellacopters - Beamed Into Deep-Space". Honest! Read more from the artist Dennis Eriksson:

You will get a close-up look at The Hellacopters backstage, see them fight and even follow them in space! The band will meet characters like Florinda Flames, Dawn Daggers and The Regulator. They are all featured in my web-comic - Francis Rove. I found the whole concept to fit very well together with The Hellacopters so all I had to do was to introduce the band into the world of Francis Rove!
Henke Walse, who does all of The Hellacopters' prints, thought it'd be a cool idea to do a Hella-comic. Since I've previously been involved with the making of an animated video for the band ("Move Right Outta Here") I felt pretty comfortable with making a Hella-comic. Nicke wanted it to feature a great deal of "rock, space and sci-fi". That was his only request. So keep an eye out for the sequel!!

Get a preview of it here, here, or here.

Check out a profile on the Norweigan singer Solveig Slettahjell right here. Judging from the 30-sec sample, she does that jazzy torch-song kinda thing.

Get a preview of the new single "Daydream Receiver" from Askil Holm.

The Cardigans filmed the video for the new single "For What It's Worth" in Africa under the direction of Amir Chamdin from Infinite Mass. Read more about it here. (in Swedish)

Launch.com has the new Sahara Hotnights for the song "Alright Alright" directed by Jeff Tremaine of 'Jackass' fame. The link is here. Personally, I think the live footage is cool, but the buffonery is pointless and unfunny. Why bother?

Check out samples of the new album from The Knife, "Deep Cuts". It comes out Friday.

Lots of new stuff happening with Logh. First of all, the new "Ghosts" 7" is now available from Bad Taste Records' webshop and will be in stores on the 20th. The a-side is the title track and the b-side is the unreleased song "White As Snow". Only 1000 copies pressed and 100 on white vinyl, so act fast. The vinyl version of the full-length has been delayed (yet again) because of a printing error, but should be ready soon. And just like the single, there will be limited edition white vinyl. The band is still hard at work on their new album, too. Look for a teaser mp3 on their website soon. And finally, you can hear the band's show from Emmabodafestivalen 2002 on P3 Radio January 29 at 9pm. That's 9pm local time in Sweden, noon Pacific.

The new Buck CDEP "Rock Dream" is available for mailorder from Startracks or Kasual, but won't be in stores until February. The record contains five new exclusive tracks.

Soilwork and Children of Bodom are teaming up for a European tour. The dates so far:

4/18 - Stockholm, SWE at Arenan
4/19 - Oslo, NOR at Rockefeller
4/20 - Gothenburg, SWE at Kåren
4/21 - Lund, SWE at Mejeriet
4/22 - Hamburg, GER at Markthalle
4/23 - Halle, GER at Easy Schorre
4/25 - Berlin, GER at Columbia Fritz
4/26 - Hardenberg, NETH at Podium
4/27 - Bochum, GER at Zeche
4/28 - Nürnberg, GER at Hirsch
4/29 - Frankfurt, GER at Batschkapp
5/01 - Sheffield, UK at Corperation
5/02 - London, UK at Marquee
5/03 - Antwerpen, BEL at Hof Ter Loo
5/04 - Tilburg, NETH at 013
5/05 - Paris, FRA at Elysee Montmatre
5/06 - Bordeaux, FRA at Theatre Barbey
5/08 - Porto, POR at Hard Club
5/09 - Madrid, ESP at Aqualung
5/10 - Barcelona, ESP at Razzmatazz II
5/11 - Bergara, ESP at Sala Jam
5/13 - Lyon, FRA at Ninkasi
5/14 - Pratteln, SWI at Z7
5/15 - Innsbruck, AUT at Hafen
5/16 - Salzburg, AUT at Rockhaus
5/17 - Wien, AUT at Planet Music
5/18 - Ludwigsburg, GER at Rockfabrik
5/19 - Osnabrück, GER at Hyde Park

Mattias Hellberg, one half of the now-defunct duo Hederos and Hellberg, will be releasing a solo album. Details soon.

Dolores Recordings has a new website design. Some news from them:

The new Håkan Hellström will be for "Den Fulaste Flickan I Världen" with a double b-side of "Kom igen Lena!" (Blåser iväg dig-version/Blow you away version?) and "Gråsparven När Hon Sjunger" (Live from Mejeriet). It'll be out on February 17 with a video to come soon, too.
The next record from the Dolores Single Club is "Love Is All" by Josefin of the band Girlfrendo with "Cut City" from one of the members of Kid Commando. No date yet.
As usual, Broder Daniel is reportedly hard at work on a new record. Henrik supposedly has the thing written, they just need to record it. There will be a Single Club release, too.
Paola's next single will be for the song "Interstellar Love" and it comes out on February 17.

Nightwish are set to enter the studio late this year to record the follow up to "Century Child" for a release sometime before summer 2004. The band also plans to play just one Finnish festival this summer with maybe a few other European ones in the works. In other news, the band will be releasing their second DVD on May 26 through Spinefarm Records. It will contain 12-14 songs along with various promo videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and some live clips.

Marduk has signed a licensing deal for the US with The End Records for release of their upcoming album "World Funeral". No date has been set yet.

Look for the Sahara Hotnights on tour in the US around March/April. I don't have exact dates yet, but I assume we'll start to get confirmation any day now.

Randy also got picked up by Margie Alban's Do It Booking, the same people who deal with SH, t(I)NC, Millencolin, The Hives and many others. I suspect (and hope) that we'll be seeing them again in the US very soon. Margie works hard and does a great job, so I'm counting on it.

The mixing of the new 69-Hard album "Blues from Hell" has just been finished by engineer Henrik Larsson at Berno Studios. Look for it in March from Idle Hands Records.

The song "All Will Break" from Last Days Of April has been added to the in-flight playlist on Japanese Air Lines (JAL). Pretty neat, huh?

As reported here awhile ago, Swedish eurodance act E-Type is going heavy metal for their upcoming tour, inlcuding special guest Mikkey Dee from Motörhead on the drums. Well in conjunction with the tour, the band just recorded a new single for radio promotion and maybe even TV appearances. Be on the lookout - or I'll see if I can track down a copy. The tour, now dubbed "Euro Metal Tour 2003", kicks off the 17th in Göteborg.

Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson on the recent lineup changes in the band and the new album:

"Of course, I think [guitarist R. Kronheim and drummer Dirge Rep's departures] will affect the music, as you will hear on the new album."Below The Lights" is more consistent and 'tight' than the previous efforts like "Monumension" and "Mardraum". Especially in terms of songwriting, I think the absence of R. Kronheim kind of invigorated us, to be cynical about it. Sure, when he entered the band around the time of "Blodhemn", we were kind of burned out and lacked ideas and vision. He really injected life into the band at that time, he started to withdraw his deposits, so to speak. There was no longer a sense of unity in the band, and in combination with his neck-breaking, Mötley Crüe-ish drug habits, there was no way out. So, to get to the point, the new album is a kind of 'best of both worlds'. We have kept the 'new' direction from the previous two albums and at the same time returned a lot to the 'source'. You know, me, Grutle and Dirge are all kind of 'old school', even though we sound 'experimental' and 'new' from time to time. This is easy to hear on the new album. Please also keep in mind that I still wrote 70-80% of the songs and lyrics still when Kronheim joined the band, it was more a case of him overtaking Grutle's share of song- and lyrical writing when he joined. And now that he is out of the band, and Grutle still doesn't write a lot, I am doing all the songs and most of the lyrics. This is because the others [don't] write simply, if they had wanted to, they could have had all the songs they wanted. I guess some people think it is close to dictatorship in the band, which is totally wrong.
"About Dirge, it was a loss for his excellent drumming, of course but more important for the concept and lyrics, which he was getting more and more into. But we already got Freddy as a new drummer (he was on Blood Red Throne's first album and played the UK March 02 tour with us), and he is simply the best fucking drummer I've been in the same room with. No kidding."

"Below The Lights" comes out March 3 from Osmose Productions. I bet it's gonna be amazing, even if it's only half as good as the last one. March is shaping up to be the month of great release, lemme tell ya.

Tool loves Meshuggah. Besides taking the band on tour as an their opening act multiple times, drummer Danny Carey recently had this to say about the band:

"Meshuggah has been a constant source of inspiration for me from the very first time I heard them until today. They are true pioneers that have consistently broken new ground with each album effort. "Nothing", which is my favorite record of 2002, is another prime example of their musical expertise and unique compositional style that continues to evolve and change the way people listen to music."

Here's a short little article with some info concerning the next record from The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Drummer Fredrik makes comments. (in Swedish)

Beyond Dawn has had the new album "frysh" pushed back to March. In other news, a video is being made for the track "Among the Sedatives" by Vildensky featuring "clip-art animation of the band performing various heroic deeds."

I had no idea, but KEXP Seattle has a great archive of live-in-the-studio recordings of bands such as The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Sahara Hotnights, Kings of Convenience, Cato Salsa Experience and much much more. Check it.

Enter to win a $250 gift certificate for Ben Sherman from The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Filter mmm here.

Vote for your choices in the Swedish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA) right here. Vote for one of nominees or write in your own choice.

Joakim Thåström will be releasing a live EP on January 24. It's called "Thåström på Röda sten" and will feature six tracks from his Kalas tour performance in Göteborg last summer and the video for "Släpp aldrig in dom".

Here's the nominees for the P3 Guld awards:

Best female artist
Awa Manneh - "Sounds Like Me"
Frida Snell - "Black Trillium"
Marit Bergman - "3.00 A.M. Serenades"
Paola - "Stockcity Girl"
Robyn - "Don't Stop The Music"

Best male artist
Christian Kjellvander - "Songs from a Two Room Chapel"
Håkan Hellström - "Det är så jag säger det"
Stephen Simmonds - "For Father"
Thåström - "Mannen som blev en gris"
Timbuktu - "Wått´s Dö Madderfakking Diil"

Best group
Caesars Palace - "Love for the Streets"
The Hellacopters - "By the Grace of God"
Kent - "Vapen & ammunition"
Looptroop - "The Struggle Continues"
Mando Diao - "Bring ´Em In"

Best newcomer
The Sounds
Melody Club
Paola
Mando Diao
Marit Bergman

Best song
"Calleth You Cometh I" - The Ark
"Dom Andra" - Kent
"Keep This Fire Burning" - Robyn
"Kom igen, Lena!" - Håkan Hellström
"Someone New" - Eskobar feat Heather Nova

Best live artist
The Ark
Doktor Kosmos
The Hellacopters
Marit Bergman
Looptroop

More info and voting here.

The Hellacopters latest record "By the Grace of God" has gone gold in Sweden with sales of over 30k. It's their 2nd gold album, the first being "High Visibility".

Finland's Enternal Tears of Sorrow have broken up. The statement from the band:

With mixed feelings we have to announce that Eternal Tears of Sorrow have decided to split up. EToS have been on a break since March 2002. During the break, it has become obvious that it is time to quit.
This band started as a free-time activity about ten years ago. As we got more success, we also needed to give more and more of our time to the band. Day by day, we realised the band had become a full-time job for us. Now it's time to move on and do something different. This band achieved much more than we could imagine when we formed up this band.

However, we don't stop making and playing music. Check out the official EToS website regularly for information about the members and their other projects and bands. The site has been online for almost seven years now and will remain as it is. Only the address has changed: www.etos.tk.

We thank all our fans for support! A huge number of nice things happened to us between 1994 and today, thanks to you! On behalf of Eternal Tears of Sorrow in early January 2003, Jarmo Puolakanaho & Altti Veteläinen (the founding members)

Dave Lombardo (Slayer!) plays on four songs from the new upcoming Apocalyptica record "Reflections". If you didn't already know, Apocalyptica is the Finnish cello trio made famous for their covers of Metallica songs.

Happy new year! No new music today from me, but I plan to have something come in later this week. Otherwise, time to play catch-up.

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

01. Peter Jöback - jag kommer hem igen till jul
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
04. v/a - Fame factory vol 2
05. Melody club - Music machine
06. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
07. v/a - Chess - på svenska
08. Roxette - Ballad hits
09. The Sounds - Living in America
10. Eric Gadd - Life support
11. Hans Martin - Landet där solen ej går ner
12. v/a - Årets julkonsert
13. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
14. v/a - Fame factory Christmas
15. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
16. The Ark - In lust we trust
17. v/a - Fame Factory volym 1
18. Carola - Jul i Betlehem
19. Helene Sjöholm - Visor
20. Ulf Lundell - Club Zebra

Rolling Stone has jumped on the bandwagon to name "Behind the Music" from The Soundtrack of Our Lives as one of the top 50 albums of 2002. Here's what they said:

The other Swedish export of choice, the Soundtrack of Our Lives make psychedelia without borders, a loud spray of combinations (nuclear-glam guitars, space-hymn keyboards, medieval psaltery) bound together with pop sense. You have to see the band live to appreciate the guruish ardor of bearlike singer Ebbot Lundberg. But the paisley-mule kick of "Infa Riot" and "21st Century Ripoff" will still have you seeing stars.

Sahara Hotnights also got a nod on RS writer/critic Michael Ansaldo's top 10 list.

Ariel Kill Him has a new website design. So do Kasual Records labelmates The New Mess. Their site is here.

Jester Records says that Bogus Blimp is planning on doing 3 new releases within a "very short period of time." What that means exactly is anyone's guess, but I am definitely looking forward to new material from those guys.

Check out pics from the Chalksounds Fest over here. Cobolt and A-tuna were some of the bands that played, but many other band-folk were in attendance such as most everyone from KVLR.

Soviac has entered the studio to begin work on their new album. The band says "the album is a sort of a trilogy", but other details won't be provided until later.

In other Chalksounds news, Carpet People are finishing up with the mixing of their new record. No release date yet.

Here's a track from the upcoming Cult of Luna album. The song is called "The Watchtower" and the album is gonna be called "The Beyond". Look for it around February 10 from Earache Records, otherwise peep the artwork here.

Stratovarius has posted new mp3 clips of the songs "Soul of a Vagabond" and "Find Your Own Voice". They both come from the upcoming album "Elements Part I", due January 27 from Nuclear Blast. For the record, the band's mainman Timo Tolkki has come out strongly against music downloading and has warned that he will come after anyone caught downloading the new album online. His comment on the subject:

I just got back from the promotour and received the news that it's [the new album] on the net already. I have taken the necessary steps to find out the persons, who have put it there. I have contacted our lawyer and the internet department of the Helsinki police. I already have in my possession some IP numbers and there´s more to come. We have obtained a list of journalists who have received the promo copy. We will find those people who did this and they will face a courtcase for sure. They are transmitting internationally copyrighted material without permission. The same goes to anybody who downloads this stuff from internet. It is morally wrong and it is also illegal because of the copyright. Don't download unless you don´t wanna get into trouble. We have means to find out these things. If you think that you have the right to download copyrighted Stratovarius material you are wrong. In that case I don't want you as a fan. There will be soundclips available on our OFFICIAL web site in time, just like there are clips for those who want to check out Strato. I am not gonna write these things again. To close this, you might want to be very careful what you donwload. There are already several false versions of Elements in the net and some of them contains viruses too.

Here's a zip file containing an mp3 of the new track "Black Seeds On Virgin Soil" from Old Man's Child. The new album "In Defiance Of Existence" comes out January 20 on Century Media.

Download some new tracks from Marduk over here.

Solefald has completed work on the album "In Harmonia Universali", the follow-up to the acclaimed "Pills Against The Ageless Ills". Look for it in the near future from Century Media. Lazare says the new record will be "certainly more experimental, but I think the whole sound and production of the album makes it feel more straight forward than it really is. The album will consist of 10 songs, and the vocal arrangements are larger and more complex this time around. We brought along a male choir and a saxophone player in the studio, and that worked out perfectly. I didn't use synths as much as I usually do in the recording process - instead you will hear a lot of real Hammond organs (with a wooden Leslie case) and a Steinway grand piano."

Download some new demo tracks from Einherjer here.

I put up a track from Melody Club today. I think they're kinda cheesy, but maybe you'll like 'em. They got that retro 80s thing going on, kinda like The Faint maybe, except without the edge.

I saw that Smirnoff Ice commercial that uses "Kick You Out" from Caesars Palace/The Caesars last night. A quick Google search shows that message boards are already buzzing about the song. Anyhow, you can view it for yourself. (Low bandwidth version here, both require Real Player)

The upcoming album from Enslaved will be called "Below the Lights". It'll include 8 songs and should be out around March. In other news, drummer Dirge Rep has reportedly left the band to concentrate on his project Orcustus, featuring members of Gorgoroth, Borknagar, and Desekrator.

NRK's favorite Norweigan records of the year:

1. Jaga Jazzist - "The Stix"
2. Thomas Dybdahl – "The Great October Sound"
3. Gåte - "Jygri"
4. Madrugada – "Grit"
5. Bjørn Eidsvåg – "Tålt"
6. a-ha – "Lifelines"
7. The Margarets – "What Kept You?"
8. Vamp - "Månemannen"
9. Ugress – "Resound"

Check out some of the latest videos from these Burning Heart arists: Millencolin, Division of Laura Lee, Looptroop, and Bombshell Rocks.

Wondering what your favorite Swedish artists favorite records of the year are? Aftonbladet has the scoop. Some of the queried people are Magnus Carlson (Weeping Willows), Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (The Hives), Maria Andersson (Sahara Hotnights), Håkan Hellström, Nicolai Dunger and more. (In Swedish, but not hard to figure out)

Check out some videos from Kent, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Håkan Hellström and more at this year end wrap-up article from MTVE.com. There's a couple paragraphs on the success and current state of Scandinavian music towards the end on page two.

The USCB Allstars will be releasing a new album next spring entitled “I Can't Believe It’s Not Music".

To clarify - KVLR's new CD "On Planted Streets" will contain the debut album "Let Me Worry Some More", the follow-up EP "Deadly Dozen" and one unreleased track. All good stuff, so if you don't have those releases already, this is a great way to get it all in one fell swoop.

Cadavar Inc.'s new album will be called "Necrosis". Look for it around springtime on Earache records.

Vintersorg's new album will be called "The Focusing Blur". It comes out sometime next year on Napalm Records. Here's what Vintersorg himself had to say about the music:

"The next album is going to have the format of a concept/theme album, a story running through the albums entirety, and with a musical flow that includes small compositions between the 'real' songs. The music takes off from 'Visions From The Spiral Generator' (the previous record) and twists and turns through a vast genre spectra (as always with Vintersorg). From mellow prog to extreme metal, to ambient and folky vibes, spiced with a lot of effective contrasts, changing directories but united under a solid musical kingdom." (from Blabbermouth)

Apparently that hilarious Yngwie Malmsteen mp3 I posted about a couple days ago is actually kinda old, probably dating back around 10 years or so. For more info, read this from Blabbermouth.

Logh is gearing up to go back into the studio in January. They expect it to be done and ready for a release this coming spring. On January 27 the band will be releasing both the "Every Time" 12" and "Ghosts" 7". Actually, the 7" is already available directly from the band, but won't be shipped until that date. For ordering info contact logh@badtasterecords.se.

Look for the video for "Sister Surround" from The Soundtrack of Our Lives on MTV's 120 Minutes.

What are your favorite Swedish artist's listening to? Chili.se has got the scoop. Some of the people featured are Maria Andersson (Sahara Hotnights), Magnus Carlsson, Marit Bergman, and Robert Dahlqvist (Hellacopters) among others.

This week's Swedish college radio chart:

Leaving the chart:
(11) Jay Z Ft. Beyoncé "Bonnie And Clyde"
(14) Kent "VinterNoll2"
(18) Wilson Hospital "Call Me A.s.a.p."
(20) Jogi Med ADL"Din Hund"

The LA Times has recognized The Hives as one of the ten most promising bands in the world by including them on their "Freshman" list. Critic Robert Hilburn says the band "attack the idea that rock music has to be humourless in order to be real."

Opeth has finalized the track listing for the upcoming album "Damnation". Billed as the 'mellow' counterpart to the recently released "Deliverence", the songs on it are as follows:

1. Windowpane
2. In My Time Of Need
3. Death Whispered A Lullaby
4. Closure
5. Hope Leaves
6. To Rid The Disease
7. Ending Credits
8. Weakness

The band is also planning to do extensive touring in the future, with dates for America already announced. Europe is rumored for February, but here's what we've got so far (w/Lacuna Coil, Paradise Lost, and Tapping the Vein):

Jan. 17 - Montreal, QUE @ Foufounes Electriques
Jan. 18 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
Jan. 19 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Jan. 21 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Jan. 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
Jan. 24 - Toronto, ONT @ Opera House
Jan. 25 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora
Jan. 27 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Jan. 29 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Jan. 31 - San Francisco, CA @ Slims
Feb. 01 - San Diego, CA @ The Scene
Feb. 02 - Phoenix, AZ @ Mason Jar
Feb. 03 - Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club

I added a guestbook today. Feel free to leave me a message.

On Nov. 8th, Nicolai Dunger did a radio interview for The Whole Wide World with Rita Houston on WFUV 90.7 NY. The archived broadcast isn't available quite yet, but when it is I will try to get an mp3 version to put up here.

Bob Hund got themselves a museum exhibit over at the Dunkers Kulturhaus in Helsingborg beginning November 21st. See some photos from the Stockholm exhibit here. The band also contributes to the new comp entitled "Friends of the Bumblebee", along with Thurston Moore, Jim O´Rourke, David Grubbs, Mats Gustafsson, Leif Elggren, Dan Fröberg, Mats Lindström and Daniel Rosenhall. It was produced by Dan Fröberg and Mats Gustafsson and includes an essay by Magnus Haglund.

Logh just back from their successful European tour and posted a couple new interviews and reviews on their website.

Sahara Hotnights are the band of the week over at fan2fan.com.

The A*Teens will be hosting MTV Up North next Monday and answering fan submitted questions. They'll also be doing a Swedish tour coming up soon.

Inge from t(I)NC also plays in the band Totalt Jävla Mörker (Total Fucking Darkness) whose debut album "Det ofrivilliga livets maskineri" was just released on Distortion. Fans of Discharge-style punk should check 'em out.

A new week and some new tunes to your right. The links page is good to go now, too.

The new issue of Rolling Stone (the one with the Simpsons covers) has a short blurb about the Flaming Sideburns in the 'New Faces' section.

The video for "Cloud Connected" from In Flames has reached the number 2 position on the Swedish video program Spinn (SVT 1). The band is currently taking some time off before they head out on a tour of Asia in December.

The new Håkan Hellström album "Det är så jag säger det" has gone platinum in Sweden, with over 60,000 copies sold. "Don't Stop the Music" from artist Robyn has gone gold with sales of over 30,000. Other big sellers on the Swedish charts include Roxette's "The Ballad Hits" and Kent's "FF/VinterNoll2".

Division of Laura Lee has dropped off the first week of the Burning Heart Records Heart Attack Tour. Labelmates The Peepshows, Bombshell Rocks, and Raised Fist will continue on without them as they proceed across Holland, Belgium and the UK. Here's what guitarist/singer Per Stålberg had to say about the unfortunate situation:

It came to a point where we could not even plug in our guitars without crying in pain, and therefore we have to cancel the shows. We have been having those troubles for a while, but carried on anyway as we hate the idea of cancelling shows. But after the first Heart Attack shows in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Örebro we realized we were not able to carry on as the injuries and illness did not only make us feel bad - it also affected our stage appearance so much that we cant continue doing this in consideration to ourselves and to our audience.

DoLL may rejoin the tour, pending a doctor's diagnosis to come later this week.

Randy finished up with the recording of 6 songs for their as-yet-untitled upcoming album. Jocke Åhlund of Caesars Palace helped out with production on a track, too. They plan to continue rehearsing new material with the goal of getting them recorded in December.

Sahara Hotnights just finished up with the filming of a video for the track "Alright, Alright (Here's My Fist, Where's The Fight?)" in Los Angeles with "Jackass - The Movie" director Jeff Tremaine. Members of the Jackass crew make appearances in the video.

The program "Musikbyrån" on SVT will show "The Hellacopters US Tour" documentary on Friday, December 6th. More info here.

Check out this VH1 Feature on The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

Nicolai Dunger will be making some appearances on Swedish TV coming up soon: 11.12 on Nyhetsmorgon TV4 and 11.15 on Riktig Talkshow SVT2.