Antenna talks to Peter Dolving of The Haunted about the band's forthcoming album "Versus": http://www.antenna.nu/?p=463

MP3: At the Gates - Cold

If it wasn't for At the Gates, It's a Trap! would not exist. They were the very first band I ever heard that I associated with having a distinctive "Swedish" sound and I can still fondly remember the day I brought home "Terminal spirit disease". I must've listened to it at least three times in a row; it was an absolute revelation. When the follow-up album "Slaughter of the soul" came out, I listened to it at least once a day, every day for six months straight. So yeah, when I say that At the Gates changed my life, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Taking that into account, I am extremely flattered that AtG guitarist Anders Björler agreed to participate in this week's Göteborg feature.

Would you say there is a particular Gbg sound or attitude? If so, how would you describe it?

Gothenburg stood for melody, while for example the Stockholm sound was more Punk / Rock influenced. However, the Gothenburg bands didn't have that much in common. They all had unique styles.

Was there already an established metal scene in Gbg back when AtG first started? Was there ever a point when you realized that there some something special or distinctive going on or did that only happen once you started to get international attention?

There was no metal scene at all. There was only Grotesque [vocalist Tomas Lindberg's old band with scene vet Kristian Wåhlin aka Necrolord plus fellow AtG founding member Alf Svensson] in the Death Metal scene. A couple of Thrash bands like: Intoxicate, Pagandom, Dead End, Valcyrie, Megaslaughter etc...
We didn't realize how big it was going until after we split up. At the Gates were never a big band. We were basically a very small punk band that played melodic death metal.

How close-knit was the Gbg metal community back in the early 90s? Were there any rivalries?

It was very close. Especially the Billdal scene with bands like Dark Tranquillity, Desecrator (Anders Iwers, now Tiamat, and Oscar Dronjak, now Hammerfall). It was a very creative atmosphere. If there was any competition, it was a silent one. i.e - you tried to create the best music possible.
We all met at eachothers' parties, and we hung out at gigs etc. It was basically a large group of friends.

How do you think the city influenced the sound? Are there any particular artists, labels, zines, venues, etc that stand out as having helped shape the scene?

Dolores records was very important. It was also a record store. Through them I got into Carcass in 1989, the rest is history.
I also think that the Gothenburg weather served as an influence for the sound somehow. It's really melancholic sometimes. Very grey and rainy. I think it's very similar to let's say: Seattle.

Are you still based in Gbg nowadays? If so, what keeps you there? How would say things compare now to the old days?

Me and Martin live in Gothenburg. Adrian lives in London. Tomas lives on the east coast of Sweden. Jonas in the middle of Sweden.
We are all older. We experienced the At the Gates thing when we were kids basically. Everything has changed. The venues are closed down. People have moved or they have quit playing music. Basically what keeps me here is friends and family, but I can almost live anywhere in the world. I don't like to be stuck at one place too long. I have lived in other places in Sweden for a while, but always seem to come back to Gothenburg in the end.

Lastly, do you have a particular song that you think best reflects the city?

Cold :D

HUGE thanks again to Anders for contributing and be sure to check out the various At the Gates reunion gigs happening this summer. Also, keep an eye out for a new record from his current band The Haunted as well!

At the Gates - Cold

Swedish metal acts Dark Tranquility and The Haunted will do a few gigs in Japan together:

01/16 - Big Cat, Osaka
01/17 - Club Quattro, Nagoya
01/18 - O-East, Tokyo

The Haunted will spend late April and all of May on the road in Europe with US thrash throwbacks Municipal Waste as support. Dates posted here: http://www.the-haunted.com/

The nominees for this year's Swedish Grammis have been announced:

Best album:
Anna Ternheim - "Separation Road"
BWO - "Halcyon Days"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Changes"
Marit Bergman - "I Think It's A Rainbow"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"

Best hiphop/soul:
Fattaru - "Mina drömmars stad"
Ison & Fille - "Stolthet"
Mange Schmidt - "Samtidigt, i Stockholm"
Promoe - "White Man's Burden"
Snook - "Är"

Best club/dance:
Basshunter - "LOL <(^^,)>"
Christian Falk - "People Say"
SUMO - "The Danceband"
Sunblock - "I'll Be Ready"
The Attic - "The One"

Best jazz:
Anna Christoffersson & Steve Dobrogosz - "It's Always You"
e.s.t. - "Tuesday Wonderland"
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - "Son Of A Drummer"
Koop - "Koop Islands"
Oddjob - "Luma"

Best hardrock:
Backyard Babies - "People Like People Like People Like"
Europe - "Secret Society"
Hammerfall - "Threshold"
In Flames - "Come Clarity"
The Haunted - "The Dead Eye"

Best pop/rock female:
Anna Ternheim - "Separation Road"
Linda Sundblad - "Oh My God!"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Changes"
Marit Bergman - "I Think It's A Rainbow"
Veronica Maggio - "Vatten och bröd"

Best pop/rock male:
Andreas Johnson - "Mr Johnson, Your Room Is On Fire"
Darin - "Break The News"
Eric Gadd - "Eric Gadd"
Håkan Hellström - "Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått"
Timo Räisänen - "I'm Indian"

Best pop group:
Bo Kaspers Orkester - "Hund"
BWO - "Halcyon Days"
Fibes, Oh Fibes! - "Emotional"
Melody Club - "Scream"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"

Best rock group:
Atomic Swing - "The Broken Habanas"
Johnossi - "Johnossi - With 3 Bonus Tracks"
Mando Diao - "Ode To Ochrasy"
The Refreshments - "24-7"
Whyte Seeds - "Bold As Love"

Best newcomer:
Asha Ali - "Asha Ali"
Basshunter - "Boten Anna"
I'm From Barcelona - "Let me introduce my friends"
Sebastian - Sebastian
Veronica Maggio - "Vatten och bröd"

Best producer:
Anders Hansson & Alexander Bard - "Halcyon days"
Christian Falk - "People say"
Jara Haapalainen - "Brott & Straff Sånger från ett kvinnofängelse"
Joakim Berg & Simon Nordberg - "Changes"
Karin Drejer Andersson/Olof Drejer - "Silent shout"

Read more: http://www.grammis.se/

The nominees for this year's P3 Gold awards have been announced:

Best female artist:
Marit Bergman - "I Think it's a Rainbow"
Veronica Maggio - "Vatten och bröd"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Changes"
Linda Sundblad - "Oh My God!"
Anna Ternheim - "Separation Road"

Best male artist:
Darin - "Break the News"
Håkan Hellström - "Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått"
Max Peezay - "Discokommittén"
Petter - "P"
Timo Räisänen - "I'm Indian"

Best live (Guldmicken):
In Flames
The Knife
Mando Diao
Snook
Anna Ternheim

Best song:
Basshunter - Boten Anna
I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
Veronica Maggio - Dumpa mig
Mando Diao - Long Before Rock'n'Roll
Snook - Längst fram i taxin

Best newcomer:
Asha Ali
Salem Al Fakir
I'm From Barcelona
Veronica Maggio
Sebastian

Best group:
Fibes, Oh Fibes! - "Emotional"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
Mando Diao - "Ode to Ochrasy"
Snook - "Är"
The Sounds - "Dying to Say This to You"

Best rock/metal:
C.Aarmé - "Vita"
Cult of Luna - "Somewhere Along the Highway"
The Haunted - "The Dead Eye"
In Flames - "Come Clarity"
Snuffed By the Yakuza - "Everybody's Gonna Die Tonight"

Best hip-hop/soul:
Fattaru - "Mina drömmars stad"
Max Peezay - "Discokommittén"
Promoe - "White Man's Burden"
Ramjac - "Transfusions"
Up Hygh - "The Venus Album"

Best pop:
Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - "Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde"
Love is All - "Nine Times That Same Song"
Nicolas Makelberge - "Dying in Africa"
The Radio Dept. - "Pet Grief"
Studio - "West Coast"

Best dance:
John Dahlbäck - Collected works
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
Minilogue - Collected works
Studio - "West Coast"
SUMO - "The Danceband"

Go here to vote: http://www.sr.se/p3/p3guld/

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
02. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
03. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
04. Roxette - A collection of Roxette hits! Their 20 greatest
05. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
06. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
07. Europe - Secret society
08. Vikingarna - Bästa
09. The Haunted - The dead eye
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
11. Hammerfall - Threshold
12. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
14. Lisa Nilsson - Hotel Vermont 609
15. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara
16. Stefan Sundström - Fabler från bällingebro
17. Koop - Koop islands
18. Mats Bergmans - Den stora dagen
19. Di Leva - Hoppets röst
20. Marit Bergman - I think it's a rainbow

The Haunted's video for "The flood" is now online: http://www2.centurymedia.com/index.aspx?page=detailed_artist&id_artist=121

MP3: Seance - Skinless

Before The Haunted, before there was Witchery, Patrik Jensen was in a band called Seance. Unlike a lot of the other Swedish death-metal acts around in the early 90s that are still remembered today, Seance performed in a much more brutal, syncopated style as opposed to the "traditional" melodic stuff people usually are talking about when discussing Swedish metal. If you're at all familiar with Jensen's work that shouldn't be too surprising as he's been cranking out album after album of Slayer-esque riffage like a machine for many years now. I imagine most folks will have a hard time getting past the monotone burp-metal vocals so my advice is to just do what I do: concentrate on the drums. Jensen does fine emulating the guitar attack of King/Hanneman, but it's drummer Micke's Lombardo-style pummel that makes Seance so awesome. Well, that and the loud steamroller bass tone. Much more Jesus Lizard in timbre than typical death-metal. This particular track I've posted today comes from the band's second and final album, 1993's "Saltrubbed eyes". If you can get past the vocals, it's well worth seeking out. I think The Haunted are okay, but I like this stuff a lot more (and similarly would recommend the Björler twins' earlier band At the Gates as well, but that's a no-brainer). As for the band's first album "Forever laid to rest" (1992), I am horribly remiss and have never heard it. Anyone know if it's worthwhile?

Seance - Skinless

Swedish thrashers The Haunted will be back in the US to tour this November as part of the 'Blackest of the Black' tour with Danzig and Lacuna Coil. Their new album "The dead eye" comes out October 31 (naturally) via Century Media.

Century Media has posted a song from The Haunted's new album for streaming: http://www2.centurymedia.com/index.aspx?page=detailed_artist&id_artist=121

The Haunted will do a small European tour with Danish act Mercenary in November. Go here for dates: http://www.the-haunted.com/

The Haunted's new album "The dead eye" will be released October 30.

Keep up with The Haunted as they record their new album: http://cyklode.se/haunted/doc/studio_06.htm

Swedish thrashers The Haunted will be keeping a studio diary while they record their next album: http://cyklode.se/haunted/doc/diary.htm