The mail form on the contact page managed to get broken for some reason, but I fixed it. Sorry about that.

Want some more info about the various bands playing the upcoming ExMS Swedish Showcase gigs? Read this.

Nasum has booked a number of Finnish dates with Rotten Sound. Check it:

4/23 - Helsinki @ Nosturi
4/24 - Jyväskylä @ Lutakko
4/25 - Turku @ Säätämö
4/26 - Tampere @ Klubi

Going to see Nicolai Dunger open for Calexico in SF tomorrow. I'm pretty excited as it'll be my first time seeing him play. He's also got some new European dates lined up:

3/22 - Växjö, Momento - fiket/baren på muséet
3/28 - Rotterdam, Dutch Motel Mozaique Festival
4/01 - Köln, Gebäude 9
4/02 - München, Orange house
4/03 - Berlin, Knaack

Word has it that Union Carbide Productions will not be releasing a new single to coincide with their upcoming reunion at Hultsfred Fest as originally thought. Instead, they'll have a free single with a track from the first album "In The Air Tonight" along with an unreleased b-side. I guess the label doesn't want to try to sell an old song - can't blame 'em. So yeah, if you want the single, you gotta go to the fest.

Isolation Years got a couple upcoming gigs lined up:

3/5 - (S) Stockholm - Munchenbryggeriet w/Flaming Lips
5/8 - (D) Berlin - Knaack
5/15 - (CH) Bern - ISC Club
8/7 - (CH) Pully/Lausanne - For Noise Festival
8/9 - (D) Haldern - Open Air

In other Isolation Years news, Triggerfish.de recently did a phone interview with Jacob. Listen here. So much broken English! Anyhow, they talk a lot about the new record and it's a good listen.

After finally completing their new album, Logh will be heading out on the road across Europe starting March 20. They're a great band, so be sure to check em out. The dates:

3/20 - GER Hamburg, Prinzenbar (Docks)
3/21 - GER Berlin, Magnet
3/22 - GER Dresden, Starclub
3/23 - GER Köln, Gebaedue 9
3/26 - FRA Nantes, La route du rhum
3/29 - ESP Madrid, Sala Moby Dick
3/3 - CH Luzern, BOA
4/4 - ITA Pinarella di Cervia, Rockplanet
4/7 - A Wien, Szene Wien
4/8 - GER Munich, Orange House
4/9 - GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
4/10 - GER Heidelberg, Schwimbad Musik Club
4/14 - UK London, 93ft East
4/15 - UK London, Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle

Looks like there's even more to-do over that Haunted vs. Earache Records flap! Timo Isoaho of Kaista who did the original interview in Finnish has posted mp3s of the conversation proving that the report was indeed NOT a fabrication. Listen for yourself! (from Blabbermouth)

mp3 #1: Includes Marco's (The Haunted's frontman) claim Earache told the band they sold only 1,000 CDs in the U.S.

mp3 #2: Marco on the subject of "Entombed vs. Earache"

mp3 #3: Marco talks about The Haunted having inherited At the Gates' old contract.

mp3 #4: Marco talks about the "Caught On Tape" DVD

Like I said before, complaints against Earache's business dealings are nothing new. I think it's a shame Marco isn't standing behind his words, especially since he was recorded.

Darkane will be supporting Meshuggah on their upcoming Scandinavian tour. The dates:

3/17 - Stockholm, SWE @ Göta Källare
3/18 - Malmö, SWE @ Kulturbolaget
3/19 - Göteborg, SWE @ Sticky Fingers
3/20 - Oslo, NOR @ Betong
3/21 - Gävle, SWE @ Nivå
3/22 - Örebro, SWE @ Contan
3/27 - Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
3/29 - Umeå, SWE @ Umeå Open/Äpplet

You snooze, you lose. Kent's upcoming show at Stockholm Stadium on June 6 is sold out. All 32,500 tickets are gone.

Nine's new album has been pushed back to a August/September release, but Jacob Bannon (Converge) has signed on to do the artwork.

On March 28 The Knife will release the third single from their latest album "Deep Cuts". The track is called "You Take My Breath Away" and it featured guest vocals from Jenny Wilson. The b-sides will be two remixes by Emmon and Puppetmasters. A video is also on the way from Puppetmasters member Henry Moore Selder.

Division of Laura Lee will have a CD of their old material reissued in the US this spring from Lovitt Records. It's gonna be called "97-99" and Chad Clark at Inner Ear did the mastering. In the meantime, you can download a preview mp3 on this page.

Remember that item I posted about The Haunted being upset with their label Earache? Well, it seems that singer Marco Aro is calling that whole interview "total bullshit". Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

Katatonia has put up a third and final sample from their forthcoming album on their website. This one's called "Ghost of the Sun". I managed to track down a copy of the three-song promo they released and can report that it definitely sounds good. I'm excited to hear the full-length when it finally comes out on March 24.

The new video for HIM's "Funeral of Hearts" premieres February 28 on Viva, Viva Plus and MTV Central. TV4 in Finland will debut it March 4 on 4POP along with a 'Making of the Video' program.

Listen to P3 between 8 and 9pm on March 4 to hear The Sonnets perform a few live acoustic tracks and do an interview.

Promopop will be holding a showcase event at Lava/Kulturhuset in Stockholm on April 26. The bands scheduled to perform: Wendy, By Heart, The Alpine (DK), Planet Superfly, The Leeches, and Paris.

a-ha has announced the title of their new double live album will be "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head". It doesn't come out until March 24, but you can listen to preview snippets here. The tracklist:

CD1
Forever Not Yours
Minor Earth Major Sky
Manhattan Skyline
I’ve Been Losing You
Crying In The Rain
The Sun Always Shines On TV
Did Anyone Approach You?
Swing Of Things
Lifelines
Stay On These Roads
Hunting High And Low
Take On Me
Living Daylights
Summer Moved On

CD2
Scoundrel Days
Oranges On Appletrees
Cry Wolf
Dragonfly
Time and Again
Sycamore Leaves
Video track: tour diary

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

01. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. The Sounds - Living in America
04. Barbados - Rewind
05. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
06. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
07. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
08. Thomas Rusiak - In the sun
09. A Teens - New arrival
10. Melody Club - Music machine
11. The Knife - Deep Cuts
12. Slaptones - Simplify
13. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
14. The Haunted - One kill wonder
15. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
16. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
19. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
20. Eric Gadd - Life support

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

Leaving the chart:
(09) The Cardigans "For What It's Worth"
(13) Fireside "Throw It Away"
(16) Mull Historical Society "The Final Arrears"
(17) Reef "Give Me Your Love"
(19) Eminem "Sing For The Moment"
(20) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"

"Sweden's most requested demoband" Florence Valentins will be putting out an EP on April 14 called "Allt Dom Bygger Upp Ska Vi Meja Ner". The band plans to play a number of festival gigs this summer, too.

Gloria has a new album called "People Like Me And You" coming out on March 24. The first single will be a cover of the Talking Heads song "This Must Be The Place".

After touring the US for four weeks together, Cato Salsa Experience and The Soundtrack of Our Lives will play together again - this time in Malmö on March 7 and Lund on the 8th.

Stratovarius has announced they will be filming their upcoming show in Milan, Italy for release on a future DVD. The band also says they will be performing a 'secret' show in their native Finland sometime before their next tour. Look for details to be announced on their webpage.

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.

Limbonic Art has broken up. The statement from guitarist Morfeus and guitarist/vocalist Daemon:

We feel that we have reached as far as we could in our collaboration, and do not feel as inspired as we should when it comes to [producing] new quality music. Everything is set for a new beginning for the both of us, and we desire to explore other aspects of our musical interests, so it is time to stop now. The circle is complete, begin another...

Katatonia has posted a second teaser mp3 from their new album "Viva Emptiness", this time for the song "Criminals". Go to their website to download it.

The Cardigans will be performing two acoustic songs on XFM in London on March 4 between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. They'll also be recording an extra track for airplay at a later date. Those not local or unable to pick it up on satellite can listen from their website. The station will also host a live chat with the band at the end of March.

Marit Bergman will be releasing a four-song EP in the US on March 19. The tracks to be included are "It Would Have Been Good", "Nightlife", "I Take My Wings Off You", and "Between the Lines". She'll also be doing those US ExMS shows along with The Sounds, et al. at CBGBs, SXSW, and LA. Yet another Swede ready to break across the ocean?

Dagbladet has posted a short interview with TSOOL. (in Swedish)

Preview the new Erlend Öyes album here.

Mörk Gryning are currently recording their new album at Dug Out Studio with producer Daniel Bergstrand. Look for it on June 6 in Sweden, Europe two weeks later.

Rune Grammofon will be putting out an album of unreleased material from Arne Nordheim on March 17. It's called "Dodeka" and it will consist of 12 electronic pieces "composed from the basic and essential sound material gathered and constructed during Arne Nordheim´s fruitful period in Warsaw in the late sixties."

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

Leaving the chart:
(04) The Knife "Heartbeats"
(07) Foo Fighters "Times Like These"
(10) Ms Dynamite "Put Him Out"
(12) Paris "Streetlights"
(13) N.E.R.D. "Provider"
(14) Badly Drawn Boy "Born Again"
(15) Maceo Parker "Come By And See"
(16) Eve "Satisfaction"
(17) The Libertines "Time for Heroes"
(18) Calexico "Quattro"
(19) Zwan "Honestly"
(20) Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"

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

01. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
02. The Sounds - Living in America
03. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
04. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
05. Barbados - Rewind
06. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
07. A Teens - New arrival
08. The Haunted - One kill wonder
09. Melody Club - Music machine
10. The Knife - Deep Cuts
11. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
12. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
13. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
14. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
15. Eric Gadd - Life support
16. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Roxette - The ballad hits
19. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
20. Joybells gospel choir - Oh happy day - 14 gospel klassiker

The Ark, Entombed, Shenerah, and USCB Allstars have all been confirmed for Westgothafestivalen in Trollhättan on May 24.

The Swedish Hip-Hop Awards will be held April 25 in Stockholm. Nominees to be announced soon.

Guitar player Jens F. Ryland has left black-metallers Borknagar. Band mainman Oystein G. Brun says Jen's "decision is based on various personal reasons, but we would like to state that there is no conflict nor bad blood in relations to the break. On behalf of Borknagar, I wish him all the best for the future!" The band will enter the studio in March to record an album for a late 2003 release.

Children of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho recently joined Halford on stage in Japan for a rendition of the Judas Priest classic "Living After Midnight". CoB was the opening act on the Japan tour.

KVLR are currently busy rehearsing like crazy to prepare for their upcoming recording session later this month. The band says they plan on laying down the tracks for six new songs. They also report that there might be a US release planned for "The Great Collapse" (one of my favorites from last year) to coincide with their coming US tour and SXSW appearance. No details yet, but I'll keep you informed.

Logh reports that they have decided to scrap their current recordings for the almost-finished new album and start over again. No word on why, but they're back at square-one doing drum tracks again.

The following Swedish bands have been chosen to appear on the next Deep Elm "Emo Diaries" comp: Surrounded (Vaxjo), Iamuse (Halmstad), The National Anthems (Sunne), and So Sad Althea (Halmstad). I've heard none of em, but this that comp series usually at least a couple great bands on it. For instance, that's how I found out about Last Days of April.

Look for The Venue on tour in the US:

3/7 - The Casbah, San Diego, CA w/Brian Jonestown Massacre
3/8 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA w/Brian Jonestown Massacre
3/11 - the Echo, Los Angeles, CA
3/14 - Friends, Austin, TX - SXSW Bella Union show case
3/18 - TBA, Bay Area/San Fransisco, CA
3/19 - TBA, Bay Area/San Fransisco, CA

Some more details on that upcoming Millencolin single: there will be a special Swedish language version of the track ("Battery Check") called "E20 Norr". The Swedish version will be the b-side for the international release plus a new song called "Bowmore". Preview the artwork here. The band is working on even more tourdates, too. Look for them in England and Scotland in early March and the US in April or May.

Stickman Records has decided to re-release the Motorpsycho 3-LP "Timothy's Monster" box-set. Numbering will continue right where they left off at 1721 and the label promises to have enough copies for everyone who wants one.

Check out the video for the new Cardigans single "For What It's Worth" from MTVE.com.

Blabbermouth reports that Meshuggah has plans for a US headline tour in the near future. Rumor has it, the opener will be Strapping Young Lad.

Here's a list of some of the new Swedish acts announced for the upcoming Umeå Open fest to take place March 26-29: Meshuggah, Fireside and The Teenage Idols. Other acts already confirmed to play include Mando Diao, The Hellacopters, Melody Club, Doktor Kosmos and The Haunted.

Doesn't appear to be much going on today, but I'm scraping together what I can. As always, click the contact link if you have anything to pass along. Anyway, check it out: new live mp3s from Logh on the right, one of my favorite bands. Sorry if either of the names for the last two tracks are wrong. I'm going on best guesses here.

Here's a new, updated list of dates from The Soundtrack of Our Lives:

3/15 - Orlando FL The Social
3/16 - Ft. Lauderdale FL Culture Room
3/18 - Atlanta GA Cotton Club
3/20 - New York NY Irving Plaza
3/21 - Washington DC 9:30 Club
3/22 - Philadelphia PA Theatre of Living Arts
3/23 - Boston MA Paradise
3/24 - Providence RI Met Cafe
3/26 - Ottawa Barrymore's Music Hall
3/27 - Montreal Cafe Campus
3/28 - Toronto Opera House
3/29 - Columbus OH Little Brother
3/31 - Detroit MI Magic Stick
4/1 - Chicago IL Cabaret Metro
4/2 - Minneapolis MN 400 Bar
4/5 - Denver CO Bluebird
4/6 - Salt Lake City UT Zephyr
4/8 - San Francisco CA Bimbo's 365 Club
4/10 - Seattle WA Graceland
4/11 - Vancouver Commodore Ballroom
4/26 - Indio CA TBD (Coachella Fest)
4/27 - Indio CA TBD (Coachella Fest)

Maybe more to come in April?

The Haunted are gearing up for a European tour in April. The dates so far:

4/02 - The Baroeg - Rotterdam, NETH
4/03 - Vera - Groningen, NETH
4/04 - Biebob - Vosselar, BEL
4/05 - Afterclub - Nancy/Amnev, FRA
4/06 - Koslow - Bordeaux, FRA
4/07 - Locomotive - Paris, FRA
4/08 - Azkena - Bilbao, ESP
4/09 - Hard club - Oporto, POR
4/10 - Paradise garage - Lisboa, POR
4/11 - Ritmo y Compass - Madrid, ESP
4/12 - KGB - Barcelona, ESP
4/13 - Le Confluent - Lyon, FRA
4/15 - TBA
4/16 - Vidia - Cesena, ITA
4/17 - Mecto - Vicenza, ITA
4/18 - Remise - Wil, SWI
4/19 - Case a chocs - Neunberg, SWI
4/20 - Arena - Vienna, AUT
4/21 - New Backstage - Munich, GER
4/22 - Underground - Köln, GER
4/23 - Zeche Carl - Essen, GER
4/24 - Forum Club - Bielefeld, GER
4/25 - Logo, - Hamburg, GER
4/26 - TBA
4/27 - Metropol - Hengelo, NETH
5/03 - Southern Discomfort Festival - Kristiansand, NOR

The band has also completed their first DVD. Entitled "Caught on Tape", it includes live footage from two shows on the "Made Me Do It World Tour" including Malmö and Tokyo. There's also a 25 minute documentary including scenes from the recording of the new album "One Kill Wonder" and two advance audio tracks.

The details for P3 Popstad in February have been announced. Read more here or here (in Swedish). Some of the band playing include The Ark, Looptroop, Melody Club, Dub Sweden, The Sounds, The Haunted, Marit Bergman and Awa Manneh.

Recording for the new Fireside album is still coming along. Kristofer Åström reports the band just spent some time in the Silence studio this past weekend. A mid-April release date is the plan.

Before he heads out on tour, Nicolai Dunger will be continuing his pre-production work on his new album with the guys from Mercury Rev up in Kingston, NY. And also, I neglected to find out his backing band on said tour. It's gonna be Thomas Tjärnkvist, Johan Berthling, Jari Haapalainen (Bear Quartet), Jonas Kullhammar and Kjell-Erik Eriksson. Again, full dates are here.

After having various members experiment with solo projects such as A-Camp and Righteous Boy, The Cardigans are finally gonna have a new record out. "Long Gone Before Sunlight" is the title and it will feature guest appearances from Howlin´ Pelle Almqvist (The Hives), Ebbot Lundberg (The Soundtrack of Our Lives) and Nick Royale (The Hellacopters). Look for it in stores on March 24. The first single will be "For What It's Worth" and you'll be seeing that on February 17. For even more detail, read this interview with Nina Persson from MTVE.com.

E-Type to go heavy metal? Apparently so. Blabbermouth reports that E-Type mainman Martin Eriksson is indeed taking his music in a heavier direction for his upcoming tour. I had no idea, but I guess Martin used to drum for Hexenhaus way back when, but will not be behind the kit of course. That duty will be going to Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee.

In celebration of Bathory's 20 year anniversary, Black Mark Records will be remastering and reissuing all of his albums on vinyl with enhanced layouts and full lyric sheets.