NRK has posted a pretty dece behind-the-scenes video account of that Black Diamond supergroup Kiss-tribute recording and video shoot: Check it. It's mostly in Norwegian, but where else will you get the chance to see Satyricon and Turbonegro members hanging out like regular dudes without makeup? Oh, and registration is required too, but it's free.

That all-star Norweigan Kiss tribute I told you about on 11/10 with members from Satyricon, Amulet, Ralph Myerz, Turbonegro and Faith No More coming together to cover "Black Diamond", will get a release as a single on December 8. A video was filmed for the song at Rikshospiltalet and the full compilation album comes out in January.

Satyricon is finally solidifying the details for the release of their latest album "Volcano" in America, Asia and Australia on Sony Music imprint EatUrMusic, the label of System of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian. Both the American and Asian versions of the CD are promised to include bonus material and tour details for the US are being worked on.

Torgny from Norweigan hardcore act Amulet recorded a version of the classic Kiss track "Black Diamond" with an all-star lineup band featuring Torgny on vocals, Satyr from black-metal legends Satyricon on guitar, Euroboy from Turbonegro also on guitar, Billy Gould from Faith No More/Brujeria on bass, and Tarjei from Ralph Myers and the Jack Herren Band on drums. It's gonna appear on an upcoming comp with a bunch of other covers of hardrock and metal from the 70s and 80s and there's already been a video made, too.

Norway's Satyricon is doing two shows in Greece:

11/15 - Mylos Club, Thessaloniki
11/16 - AN Club, Athens

"Deathlike Silence: Norsk black metal 1993-2003" - a Norweigan essay on the past 10 years of black metal, as alerted to me by the Solefald site. Since they're much more eloquent writers than me, here's what they had to say on the paper:

On September the 5th the Norwegian review Samtiden (www.samtiden.no) published an essay by Cornelius entitled "Deathlike Silence. Norwegian Black Metal 1993-2003". The essay, unfortunately available in Norwegian only, contains memories from those first crazy years (Euronymous' "Helvete" shop), rare excerpts from the personal letters of Euronymous, and also comments on how the Norwegian media have been dealing with the genre over the last ten years. The essay has probably only little new to say to experienced Metallers; what is new is that a cultural review directed at a broader, educated public actually takes black metal seriously, both as an artform and as an ideological phenomenon. Mostly grimmer black metal bands such as Darkthrone, Satyricon, Emperor, Immortal and Mayhem are featured, as the origin and history of Norwegian black metal is the centerpoint of the essay. There is of course a lot to be written about the second generation of bands (from 1995 and onwards, roughly), acts such as Arcturus, Ulver, DHG, Borknagar, Khold, Myrkskog, and hopefully also yours truly... The title "Deathlike Silence" has rather melancholic implications, as August the 10th was the 10th anniversary of Euronymous' murder. Without the life and work of that twisted, idiosyncratic mind, Norwegian black metal would be just that, a deathlike silence. But since then, as we all known, black metal has evolved so drastically that in some cases it cannot simply be called "black" anymore, maybe "avantgarde" or "post-black" or "neo-black" or you name it (just not "Radical Designer Rock'n'Roll" [as Solefald labels themselves -ed.]).

I agree - it's definitely interesting to note the way the media has picked up the black metal phenomenon and how it's been covered throughout the years. I remember when I first heard those bands way back in the early nineties and how scary and inhuman they sounded. Strange how times have changed - Satyricon and Cradle of Filth are on majors now, for starters. Those of you like me who don't read Norweigan and are interested in learning more about the scene should definitley pick up the book "Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground" by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind. It's not perfect, but it does provide for a good primer.

EatUrMusic, the label of Daron Malakian from System of a Down, has signed Norweigan metallers Satyricon. The band's latest album "Volcano" should see a proper US release by the end of the year.

Now this sounds quite interesting: Jazzkammer will be doing a live one-off collaboration with the black metal bands Gorgoroth and Enslaved as part of the opening for the Hole in the Sky Festival in Norway. The piece, specially written for the event by Enslaved, is called "Hole In The Sky - The Apocalyptic Eye" and promises to be quite interesting I'd think. And hey, it's free so why not? "Get damaged or get a refund" they say, jokingly. It all goes down August 27 in Bergen, Norway. Other acts set to play include Arcturus, Green Carnation, Taake, Carpathian Forest, Satyricon and more.

Moonfog Records will be holding a 10-year anniversary show on October 2 at Oslo Rockefeller featuring label founders Satyricon. Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone will be joining the band on stage too to perform a special set of "Darkthrone classics," featuring material not heard live since 1996. Recent signees Disiplin and another as-yet-unnamed band will open and Fenriz, Darkthrone's other half, will be spinning the "harshest black metal sounds" between sets. More info: www.moonfog.no

Satyricon has released a clear vinyl version of their latest album "Volcano" which includes two extra, unreleased tracks: "Live Through Me" and "Existential Fear-Questions". The latter features a guest appearance by Euroboy of Turbonegro. Go to the Moonfog site for ordering info.

Some of the bands confirmed for the Hole in the Sky Festival which takes place August 28-30 in Bergen, Norway: Taake, Cult of Luna, Satyricon, Enslaved, Arcturus and Meldrum. More info: www.holeinthesky.no

Satyricon is seeking a live keyboard/sampler player who has "a serious attitude and show true dedication." The band plans to tour again in August and will be holding auditions during July. Interested applicants should email the band at musician@satyricon.no.

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.

Okay, I know it's totally goofy, but I posted an mp3 excerpt of the new Weird Al track that parodies The Hives. Download it on the right.

Scandinavianleather.com has put up a Turbonegro trivia contest to compete for special limited edition copies of the new album.

JR Ewing has two new interviews online, one from sandiegopunk.com and another from punk/porn site burningangel.com. And as said before, there's also been another date added on the upcoming Turbonegro/Surferosa Norweigan stadium tour on May 30 in Fredrikstad. Tickets are going fast, so be sure to get yours if you want to attend.

The Cardigans have posted an interview that Magnus did with Amir, Henrik and Mattias, the three gentlemen behind the recent videos. In other news, the band has added a woman named Eva on as their temporary sixth member to play keyboard, guitar and sing back ups on the upcoming summer tour dates. "She is very nice, 163 tall, brunette, a little older than us, very experienced in the Swedish music scene. And she is good looking," they say.

Bergland Productions has announced that Cucumber Slumber (feat. Ståle Storløkken of Supersilent) has started work on a new record and should have it out sometime this coming fall. The band's last album "New Cumber" came out in 2001.

The Sounds will be on David Letterman tonight. Check local listings for airtime.

StillHoldingOn.net recently did an interview with Swedish hardcore act Misconduct. The band also confirmed a bunch of shows on their upcoming European tour with 25 Ta Life. Go here for the latest.

KVLR has posted a whole bunch of new pictures from their recent time in the studio. They recorded a total of four new songs for their next album and plan to do the rest after they return from tour at the end of the summer. And yeah, like I said before, they've been getting assistance from Marcus and Lena of Komeda. If the rough mix stuff I've heard is any indication, the record is gonna be great. Can't wait.

The buzz-band Radio Dept. will be heading over to the US for a few select west coast dates:

07/10-13 - San Francisco, CA - Pop Holiday Fest at Bottom Of The Hill w/Even As We Speak, Aerospace, Pipas, Evening Lights, more
07/15 - Portland, OR at The Blackbird w/Aerospace, Pipas, Evening Lights, The Frenchmen
07/16 - Seattle, WA at Chop Suey

Håkan Hellström will be releasing a new single for the song "Mitt Gullbergs Kaj Paradis" on June 20 that'll include two new songs for b-sides. Just in time for the Kalas tour, eh?

Neovoid has posted a review of ex-black metal band Manes new album "Vilosophe". The label Code666 describes them as a mix of Katatonia, Radiohead and Aphex Twin, but I'm not sure I'd completely agree with that assesment myself. Katatonia yes, but that's a no-brainer for this sort of pop-infused avant metal. Anyhow, I agree that it's a good album and well worth investigating for people who are into different kinds of heavy music.

Read PopMatter's review of "Sky Pilots", the latest album from Finland's Flaming Sideburns.

The full schedule and set times for Pop Dakar have been published. Check it out. Bands scheduled to appear include Paris, Bear Quartet, First Floor Power, Radio Dept. and more.

Here's a short tour diary with photos and video from the recent Narcissists tour in Germany.

Swedish webzine Samson & Rourke has put up a featured review and contest for Logh.

Big news from Nasum! Bassplayer Jesper has decided to leave as to focus on his other band Burst, which he has been involved with for over 10 years with some of his childhood friends. There's no animosity on anyone's part, the time just came to make a decision between the two projects. Read the full statement from the band on the subject. In other smaller news, Nasum has added Urban Skytt from Regurgitate on 2nd guitar and put up a newly redesigned website. As mentioned before, the band will play a record release show for the new album "Helvete" at Hotel Continental in Örebro on May 24.

I first talked about it way back in March, but here's a new MIC Norway feature on the upcoming 'Midnight Sun' tour featuring Supersilent, DJ Strangefruit, Arve Henriksen and Sidsel Endresen that's coming to the UK later this month. Those dates again:

05/22 - Exeter, Phoenix
05/23 - Bath, Bath International Music Festival Pavillion
05/24 - Belfast, Crescent Arts Centre
05/25 - Salisbury, Salisbury Festival
05/26 - Birmingham, Medicine Bar
05/27 - Liverpool, Unity Theatre
05/28 - London, 93 Feet East

Unioncarbideproductions.com sends word that there will indeed be a promo CD from the band available at Hultsfred this year featuring newly remixed versions of the songs "Be Myself Again" and "San Fransisco Boogie". There's also word of a potential commerical release for the single, but nothing's been decided yet. Also by way of UCP.com, comes this article paying tribute to the band. Check it out.

Expressen reports that Timbuktu will be contributing music to the film "Hip Hop Hora". It was directed by Teresa Fabik and premieres on February 6. Björn Kjellman stars. Read more. (in Swedish)

The new album from The Perishers will come out in September with the first single "Sway" to drop in June.

Jakob Hellman, Helena Bergström, Kjell Höglund & Johan Johansson and Tomas Di Leva have all been added to the roster of the Visfestivalen which takes place in Västervik on July 10-12.

Dates scheduled so far for the upcoming Avrikafest tour, featuring the band Kamera along with various DJs and more:

05/30 - Oslo, So What
05/31 - Fredrikstad, Dis Café
06/01 - Göteborg, Sticky Fingers
06/03 - Malmö
06/04 - Örebro
06/05 - Linköping, Platens Bar
06/06 - Stockholm, Debaser/Ultrachrome
06/07 - Karlstad, Arena

Norway's Moonfog records, the label run by Satyr of Satyricon, has signed the new band Disiplin to their roster. The band was started by Savant M of Myrkskog back in 2000 and will be entering the studio in August to record their debut album. "It´s very rare that a new band on the scene succeeds in catching my interest on the strength of a demo alone," says Satyr, "apart from the obvious fact that I enjoy their music and that I have a great belief in their potential, I think they have that undistinguishable Moonfog sound." And the sound he's talking about? Well, Savant describes the band as "based on old school black metal with inspiration from thrash and death metal." Read a recent interview with the band here. (in Norweigan)

Check out the latest edition of reviews and samples from Brainwashed, including writeups on Scandinavian artists such as Supersilent, Erkki Kurenniemi, the "Arctic Hysteria - Early Finnish Avant-Gardeners" comp, and more.

Here's some new dates from Sunride:

06/12 - Tavastia, Helsinki, Finland w/Endstand
08/16 - Nosturi, Helsinki, Finland w/Sweatmaster, Minus SF
08/30 - FUZZFEST 2, Musikens Hus, Göteborg, Sweden w/Mushroom River Band, Terra Firma, Awesome Machine, more

The new album "Through The Red" comes out today and the band will be playing around Europe later this month.

The Hommos have rescheduled their gig at the Barfly Camden in London from May 26 to the 27th.

Johan Bergqvist has finished up work on the video for the song "Lovelace" and posted it online. Check it: low / high
The track comes from a mini-album that was released last September and is being reissued later this summer as a precursor to the forthcoming full length.

More US press for David & the Citizens: The album "For All Happy Endings" is now reviewed on indiepages.com.

Rumor has it that Thirdimension is planning a US tour in the near future.

Another sign things are probably not okay for The (International) Noise Conspiracy? Keyboardist Sara Almgren has been recruited by Marit Bergman to play guitar in her touring band. If you weren't already aware, Sara used to play guitar for the all-girl hardcore/metal act Doughnuts. They released a couple reconds on Victory in the mid-90s. Anyhow, Marit has decided to ditch the guitar on stage so she can, I assume, focus more on her singing. Look for her on the Kalas tour this summer, among other festival dates. In other news, my sources tell me she plans on doing five different cover tunes for her new EP "From Now On" which comes out on June 12. More details when I get 'em.

Laakso will be heading into the studio soon to lay down the tracks for their debut full length. They say to expect a good live sound as evidenced already on their debut EP "Long Beach".

The terminally underappreciated Notre Dame, led by the multitalented Snowy Shaw (Dream Evil, ex-Mercyful Fate, Illwill, etc.), reports that they have completed work on the new album "Creepshow Freakshow Peepshow". Originally titled "Vaudeville le Devil", the album will be the first lacking guitarist Jean-Pierre De Sade and should be out later this year from Osmose Productions.

Did you sign up for the newsletter yet?

Homy's debut album "Music Box" comes out May 15 in Sweden. The single "Bus Stop" has already been receiving college radio airplay in the US and was released in Sweden just this past week. Look for the band to hit the festival circuit this summer.

Johan Bergqvist has announced a new pair of gigs in Sweden:

5/3- Mondo, Stockholm
5/17 - Diezel, Halmstad

Ulver has decided to push back the release of the upcoming "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" EP so it does not interfere with promotion of the "1st Decade..." remix comp. No exact date yet, but you can download a sample exerpt to whet your appetite.

Ex-Haunted frontman Peter Dolving has reportedly rejoined with his old bandmates in Mary Beats Jane to write and record a new album. Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

The Rasmus are making a bid for a wider European audience by signing to MotorUrbanDefJam Group in Germany, a division of Universal Music. The first single "In the Shadows" comes out this summer. "I look forward to working together with the nice people at MotorUrbanDefJam Group, they seem to know what they are doing and they are already totally in love with the music," says Lars Tengroth, the band's A&R rep at Scandinavian label Playground Music.

Cult of Luna have been nominated for 'Best Underground Act' at the 2003 Metal Hammer Awards along with Opeth, Arch Enemy, Satyricon and lone Americans Shadows Fall. More info and voting instructions are here. CoL also recently wrapped up the filming of a video for "The Watchtower" with Pete Bridgewater and George Steel at HemnMagasinet. More info about that when I get it.

HIM shot a video for the song "The Sacrament" at Ploskovice Castle near Prague last weekend. It was shot on 33mm film stock and should be edited and ready by sometime in mid-May. View pictures from the shoot here.

Car Crash Records has announced that they have signed C.Aarmé to their label. Look for a full length this fall or check out the just-released 7" on Deleted Art. A sample mp3 of the track "Tu puta mi casa" is available here.

How timely is this? Here's a MIC Norway profile on Jaga Jazzist. Look another big feature in May's issue of The Wire.

More from MIC Norway, here's some info about the upcoming Music Under Oslo Festival (MUO) which takes place in the city's subway stations. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. The entrance fee is only the cost of a regular token. Artists scheduled to play include Fox&Wolf, Thomas Dybdahl, Thulsa Doom, and more.

From the Finnish Music Information Centre (FIMIC), check out Finland's 2002 year-end wrap-up.

Aftonbladet has a review and samples of the long-awaited debut from The Concretes.

Finland's Bangkok Impact has the album of the month over at Jockey Slut magazine.

If you can't get enough of that high-quality Swedish garage-rock, The Dandelions are heading over to London for a number of dates at the end of May:

5/22 - Gaz's Rockin' Blues
5/23 - Dragon Bar
5/24 - Cobden Club
5/27 - Eyelash at Pop

They've also got quite a few mp3s over at their site if you're interested.

Vote for "Playboy's Sexiest Women of Indie Rock" featuring the Sahara Hotnights. Um, whatever. And yeah, the link is safe for work.