Mattias Hellberg - s/t (Silence)
For once I get a record that is pretty much exactly what I expected. Take a little bit from each of Mattias' previous bands (Hederos & Hellberg, The Hellacopters, Diamond Dogs) and you'd get this solo debut. It's never quite as stark and despairing as H&H, nor does it rock as hard as the other stuff, but it does show strong influence both sides. I think it actually tends more towards the mellow side, with a bit more songs spotlight guitar and vocals as opposed to uptempo, full-band rockers. I listened to this a bit on my vacation not too long ago and it made for great road music.

The Deadbeats
Come clean 7"
Bootleg Booze Records

As soon as I put this on my wife said, "is that The Hellacopters?" So yeah, they're not gonna win any points for originality, but I must admit that they do what they do pretty darn well. Whereas most wannabe hard rock bands emphasize the 'hard' part, these guys remember to play up the power-pop end of things, even covering a classic Cheap Trick song ("He's a whore"). They've got the talent part down, now they just need a little more personality.
- Avi Roig

Mattias Hellberg
s/t
Silence

For once I get a record that is pretty much exactly what I expected. Take a little bit from each of Mattias' previous bands (Hederos & Hellberg, The Hellacopters, Diamond Dogs) and you'd get this solo debut. It's never quite as stark and despairing as H&H, nor does it rock as hard as the other stuff, but it does show strong influence both sides. I think it actually tends more towards the mellow side, with a bit more songs spotlight guitar and vocals as opposed to uptempo, full-band rockers. I listened to this a bit on my vacation not too long ago and it made for great road music.
- Avi Roig

The Hellacopters have signed a deal with US label Liquor and Poker Music, the same people who put out the recent Hanoi Rocks album on these shores. Look for a proper domestic release of the most recent album "By The Grace Of God" coming soon, as well as the "Cream of the Crap! Vol. 2" b-sides and rarities collection. The US version of "BTGOG" will also include two bonus tracks, two videos and an EPK (electronic press kit).

Here's this week's top 20 Swedish albums from Aftonbladet:

01. Weeping Willows - Presence
02. Sara Löfgren - Starkare
03. Per Gessle - Mazarin
04. Sophie Zelmani - Love Affair
05. Lisa Miskovsky - Fallingwater
06. Mikael Wiehe - Kärlek & politik
07. Stefan Andersson - Strangers house
08. Peter LeMarc - Det som håller oss vid liv
09. Carola - Guld platina & passion
10. Jill Johnson - Roots and wings
11. Patrik Isaksson - Vi som aldrig landat
12. Backyard Babies - Stockholm Syndrome
13. J's Plain Band - Boulder Dash
14. The Hellacopters - Cream of the Crap II
15. José González - Veneer
16. Moneybrother - Blood panic
17. September - September
18. Alice Babs - Alice babs bästa
19. Broder Daniel - Cruel Town
20. Arns rike - Arn the gothia

The new "Cream of the Crap! Vol. 2" collection from The Hellacopters is one of the records of the week over at Aftonbladet. Head over for a review and samples: http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,439117,00.html (in Swedish)

Universal will release the "Cream of the Crap! Vol. 2" comp from The Hellacopters on February 25. A double-vinyl edition will be issued by Sweet Nothing in late March.

It'll probably stress out my bandwidth, but I've added a couple tracks from The Hellacopters Peel Session they did last year. Of course it's absolutely amazing, so be sure to check it out.

The latest on The Hellacopters:

Carl Von Schewen (Wild Kingdom Records, founder of White Jazz Records), Henrik Walse (Hellacopter minister of art) and Nick Royale are running a club night at Debaser in Stockholm together called Club Wild Kingdom. Not only are they claiming to spin the best hard-rock, power-pop and classic punk records around, but they also have a hot house band called The Wild Kings with features members of The Hellacopters, Sator, The Turpentines, The Republicans and Thåström. They'll be playing all sorts of classic cover tunes and also promise to host surprise guests. Check out a flyer here: http://www.hellacopters.com/news/bomp.jpg

Strings' new band Thunderexpress has a 2-track single coming out soon on Razzle and will follow up with a full-length later this year.

There's still no official release date, but "Cream of the Crap, Vol. 2" is coming very soon. Or so they say.

Frontman Nick Royale also has a new band with Scott Morgan (The Rationals, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, The Hydromatics, Powertrane) called Soulmover. They will be recording an album of old-school soul/r'n'b which should hopefully be out on Wild Kingdom before the summer.

And lastly, Nick reports that the new Kurt-Sunes Med Helvetes Hundarna 7" will be out soon on Birdnest Records. "What it is?" he says, "I'm part of it but I don't have a clue." Check out www.birdnest.se for more info.

Upcoming European tourdates for Gluecifer, who be supporting Monster Magnet along with The Quill. ** means the show is Gluecifer only:

02/20 - Civic hall, Wolverhampton (UK)
02/21 - Rockcity, Nottingham (UK)
02/22 - MDH, Manchester (UK)
02/24 - Dublin (IRL)
02/25 - Garage, Glasgow (SCO)
02/26 - Roadmenders, Northampton (UK)
02/28 - La Trabendo, Paris (FR)
02/29 - AB, Brussels (BEL)
03/01 - Melkweg, Amsterdam (NL)
03/02 - Jovel, Münster (GER)
03/03 - Max, Kiel (GER) **
03/04 - KB, Mälmo (SWE)
03/05 - Trädgårn, Gothenburg (SWE)
03/06 - Sombrero, Ørebro (SWE) **
03/07 - tba, Turku (FIN) **
03/08 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
03/10 - Arenan, Stockholm (SWE)
03/11 - Pumpehuset, Copenhagen (DK)
03/12 - Voxhall, Arhus (DK)
03/13 - Schlachthof, Lingen (GER) **
03/14 - Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg (GER)
03/15 - Capitol, Hannover (GER)
03/16 - Live music hall, Cologne (GER)
03/17 - Schlacthof, Wiesbaden (GER) **
03/18 - Columbiahalle, Berlin (GER)
03/19 - Schlachthof, Dresden (GER)
03/20 - Stodola, Warsawa (PL)
03/22 - Palace Acropolis, Prague (CZ)
03/23 - Longhorn, Stuttgart (GER)
03/24 - Löwesaal, Nürnburg (GER)
03/26 - Elserhalle, München (GER)
03/27 - Planet, Vienna (AUS)
03/28 - Orpheum, Graz (AUS)
03/30 - Transilvania, Milan (IT)
03/31 - Circolo Degli, Rome (IT)
04/01 - New age, Treviso (IT)
04/02 - Transilvania, Reggio Emilia (IT) **
04/03 - Fri-son, Fribourg (CH)
04/04 - Rote Fabriek, Zürich (CH)
04/05 - Razzmatazz, Barcelona (ES)
04/06 - Arena, Madrid (ES)
04/07 - tba, Bilbao (Basque) **
04/08 - Transbourder, Lyon (FR)
04/09 - La Laiterie, Strassbourg (FR)
04/11 - Paaspop Festival, Schijndel (NL)
04/12 - Sheperds Bush Empire, London (UK)

The new album comes out January 26 and the first single will be "A Call from the Other Side". Look for a video from director Amir Chamdin (Cardigans, The Hellacopters, Tityo, The Ark) who works under world-famous director Jonas Åkerlund's production company.

Also by way of Rocket comes news that Johan Johansson from KSMB has joined Diamond Dogs on bass. I already posted about it, but guitarist Strings aka Robert D. from The Hellacopters is working with the band now, too. They are all currently at SAE Studios in Stockholm laying down tracks for the new album, due out sometime next year.

"Why settle for refried Swedish garage punk when a cauldron of startling, non-derivative talent is furiously boiling over just a little further east? While the Hives, the Hellacopters and the (International) Noise Conspiracy have been swiping moves from ’60s icons, experiencing mainstream success in Scandinavia and enjoying next-big-thing promo budgets in the States, a bold, modern Finnish psychedelia has been pushing the musical envelope, garnering a small core of devoted fans in Europe and remaining relatively unrecognized in America. Sure, it’s a little unfair to compare these two contrasting scenes, but it makes for a loud wakeup call and a tidy intro, doesn’t it?"

Dusted has posted a special feature on Finland's burgeoning psychedelic scene featuring discussion of eight albums from the groups Paine, Ektroverde, Pharaoh Overlord, Eturivi, Vuk, Markku Peltola, Alien Heat, and Deep Turtle.

Stockholm's Wild Kingdom Records just released a split 7" with garage-rock legends The Nomads and The Hellacopters both playing a version of the former's classic tune "Pack of Lies". 1000 copies only, so be sure to track one down soon if you're interested.

In other Hellacopter news, the band is currently working on putting together "Cream of the crap! vol. 2" for a January release as well as a new split 7" with Adam West, also due later this year from People Like You Records. And that's not all - band members Boba and Robert D. are in the studio working on a brand new Diamond Dogs record from late November until January and also Nick and Robert D. will be touring as the backing band for singer/songwriter Stefan Sundström, playing drums and guitar respectively.

Mustasch - "Ratsafari" (Majesty / EMI Music Sweden)
More awesome hard rock from these guys. If you liked the first album, you'll like this one too as it's pretty much just more of the same. I think they use a bit more drop-d Soundgarden style riffage on this one, but they still mix it up with elements of "Kill 'Em All"-era Metallica, Iron Maiden and a dose of Black Sabbath. There's some really great Sabbath-style bridge and solo parts like on the title track that are simply killer. And of course frontman Ralf Gyllenhammar's vocals are what seal the deal. He's got just the right combination of Dio and Bruce Dickenson's operatic flair with a touch of Danzig's bluesyness. Definitely recommended. The Hellacopters should bring these guys on tour to the US.

Updated Australian tourdates for classic rockers The Hellacopters:

10/18 - Livid Festival, Brisbane
10/15 - Annandale Hotel, Sydney
10/14 - Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne
10/12 - Livid Festival, Melbourne
10/11 - Livid Festival, Sydney
10/10 - Loudmouth, Adelaide
10/08 - The Globe, Perth