Glad Påsk! Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!

Watch the video for "Long Beach" from Laakso: high / low

Startracks has announced a new signing - their first since picking up the Loosegoats in '96. And the lucky band is Tiger Lou aka Rasmus Kellerman. He used to be in EM/Music By EM, but has now gone solo. His first show ever with a backing band is at Popaganda fest in Stockholm on May 30, but he's also hitting the road by himself:

4/21 - Lübeck D Cafe Brasil
4/22 - Oldenburg D Alhambra w/Karate, One Man and His Droid
4/23 - Hamburg D Molotow w/Me Without You
4/24 - Köln D Underground w/Karate
4/25 - Wolfenbüttel D Juz Harztorwall w/Karate
4/26 - Konzert Geschlossene Veranstaltung
4/27 - Freiburg D KTS w/NRA, Oil
4/28 - TRIER D Ex-Haus
4/29 - Aflenz A Sublime
4/30 - Wien A Shelter w/Karate
5/01 - München D Kafe Kult w/Karate
5/02 - Leverkusen D Pentagon
5/07 - Stockholm S Lava w/Lova and Dexter's Moon

Look for a 4-song EP in May/June. More info here.

For a limited time you can view the new Fireside video for the song "All You Had". Manne Lindvall filmed it and Leif Andree stars. Very entertaining.

Nicolai Dunger has booked himself a couple new gigs around the UK:

5/27 - Nottingham Rescue Rooms w/Matt Elliott (solo)
5/28 - Brighton Albert Inn (solo)
5/29 - London Union Chapel w/The Frames (band)

NorthSide Records has posted mp3s for two new albums that are coming out June 3. First is "Vettoi" (excerpt) from Hedningarna and their new CD "1989-2003", a best-of collection that includes a couple new tracks. Next is "Mikkel Per / Kus Erik" from Frifot's new album "Sluring". If you're curious about tracing the roots of Nordic music, I strongly encourage you the check this stuff out.

Uppsala Hio-hop duo Allied Forces have their debut 12" coming out soon. It'll be called "Ögon I Nacken" and will feature a guest appearance from Highwon and production from Masse.

The Sounds are now booked to play the outdoor stage at Gröna Lund in Stockholm on June 18. The rest of the acts confirmed so far for the venue this summer are:

4/30 - The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Ark, Mando Diao (view poster)
5/9 - Melody Club
5/23 - Dilba vs. Stephen Simmond

In case you weren't already aware, the pop group Alcazar worked together with the Pet Shop Boys to write some new songs. Here's an short interview/article from Expressen on the subject. (in Swedish) Oh, and feel free to catch 'em on tour too:

4/18 - Ö-vik, Parken (S)
4/19 - Höör, Jägersbo (S)
4/23 - Stockholm, Company Party (S)
4/25 - Sälen, HC (S)
5/03 - Sölden, Snowmove (Austria)
5/10 - Amsterdam (NL)
5/15 - Nurnberg (Germany)
5/24 - Jönköping, Rix FM (S)
5/27 - Stockholm, Company Party (S)
5/30 - Umeå, Festen (S)
5/31 - Gislaved, Sigges Loge (S)
6/06 - Stockholm, Gröna Lund (S)
6/07 - Eringsboda Brunn (S)
6/08 - Sätela (S)
6/18 - Neubrandenburg, NDR (Germany)
6/19 - Bad Arolsen, Festival (Germany)
6/26 - Ludvika, City Festival (S)
6/27 - Enköping, City Festival, (S)
6/28 - Klagenfurt, Cityfestival (S)
7/02 - Sundsvall, Gatufesten (S)
7/12 - Tidan, Olstorp (S)
7/18 - Sölvesborg, Hanöhus (S)
7/19 - Bergen, NDR (Germany)
7/25 - Borlänge, Rommehed (S)
7/26 - Sunne, Fryksdalsdansen (S)
7/27 - Eskilstuna, Parken (S)
7/28 - Zurich, Pride (Switzerland)
7/30 - Ellös, Parken (S)
7/31 - Bromölla, Dagarna (S)
8/02 - Stockholm, Pride (S)
8/15 - Paris, NRJ (France)
8/16 - Gothenburg, Liseberg (S)
8/17 - Berlin, NRJ (Germany)
8/30 - Östervåla, Parken (S)
9/06 - Pasewalk, NDR (Germany)
11/01 - Bryssels, Company Party (Begium)

Division of Laura Lee has a new CDS coming out May 26 for the track "Trapped In". B-sides will include the song "44" plus a live version of "Need To Get Some". Read more.

Pitchforkmedia.com has posted a review of Mika Vainio's new album "In the Land of the Blind The One-Eyed Is King". For those that don't know, Vainio is one half of the Finnish duo Pan Sonic.

Cult of Luna has unveiled their new website to match the cover art from the new album "The Beyond".

This year's pre-fest activities for Emmaboda have been cancelled due to organization problems. Here's a translated statement from the people behind the scenes at rassle.org:

Unfortunately we have some bad news. Our decision to run a pre festival fest again this year was taken in haste and we have therefore decided to cancel the event. We apolgise for this but we couldn't do anything about it as organisting it was proving more difficult than anticipated and there is not much we can do about it.

Sweden's best band? That's what Aftonbladet says. Check out these recent Fireside 4-star live reviews from the show at Sticky Fingers in Göteborg: Aftonbladet / Expressen (both in Swedish)

Here's the setlist:

Fernandez must die
All you had
Backwards over germany
Desolator
Follow Follow
Blue Monday (New Order cover)
Throw it away
Kilotin
Jerrico
Problem (to you)
Thing on a spring
Encore:
Sweatbead
Betrayer
Layer

The band will also be appearing on MTV Morning Glory this weekend, so check it out when it airs.

Kalas-touring acts Marit Bergman and Her Majesty have now both been confirmed to play the Popaganda fest in Stockholm on May 29-31. The other two new bands confirmed are Midnight Monkeys and Kaada from Norway.

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

01. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
02. Jill Johnson - Discography
03. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel
04. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
05. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
08. The Refreshments - On the rocks
09. Buddaboys - Lost people areas
10. Fireside - Get shot
11. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
12. Roxette - The pop hits
13. Dilba - Revolution
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
16. The Knife - Deep Cuts
17. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
18. Gloria - People like you and me
19. The Sounds - Living in America
20. Wahlströms - Allt jag vill ha

What are they thinking? Empire Magazine has put out a compilation entitled "Soundtrack of Our Lives" with tracks from artists such as U2, Orbital and Ash. Are they banking on confusion over the name or just totally clueless?

Revolution #9 has announced the creation of a new pop festival to occur this summer on July 18-19 at Bulltoftaparken in Malmö. It will be called the "We & You" fest and they expect to book about 25 bands, though no names have been revealed yet. More details soon.

Here's an interview with Jimmy Tenor in which discusses his new role of fatherhood along with his musical past, present and future. His upcoming tour dates were posted on the 14th.

The good folks at Chalksounds have revealed that they will reissuing Bear Quartet's classic album "Cosy Den" on vinyl this coming September. Keep your eyes peeled.And in even bigger BQ news, the band has announced that will also be putting out a new EP called "All Your Life" in May. Some of the other tracks to be included are"No More School", "Friend Friend" and "Disappearing Act". It was recorded and produced by the ever-so-talented Pelle Gunnerfeldt (Fireside) at his Studio Gröndal. Look for a brand new full length around August.

Denmark's The Alpine will be entering a studio in Sweden shortly to record their second demo. They'll also be playing at Lava/Kulturhuset in Stockholm while over they're there. The band is already receiving regular airplay on Danish P3 radio with the track "Ground Beneath Me" so things are definitely looking up for them. Check em out live, if you are so inclined:

4/18 - Paraplyen, Vejle (DK)
4/26 - Lava/Kulturhuset, Stockholm (S)
5/5 - Stidsholt Ungdomsskole (DK)
5/23 - Skråen, Aalborg (DK)
5/24 - Kulisselageret, Horsens (DK)
5/29-31 - SPOT09 fest, Århus (DK)
6/7 - Cafe' Von Hatten, Randers (DK)
6/25 - Nibe Festival (DK)

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

Leaving the chart:
(05) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees"
(13) Interpol "Obstacle 1"
(15) Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes"
(17) David & The Citizens "New Direction"
(19) The Kills "Fried My Little Brains"
(20) Komeda "Reproduce"

Slow news day today. What can ya do?

Turbonegro stormed the Troubadour like Vikings on a siege, selling out two shows in under an hour and proving to one and all that all the hype is for good reason -- these guys really are the best band on the planet right now.

Read KNAC.com's entire review of Turbonegro's recent Hollywood show.

Enslaved has announced they will doing two exclusive live shows in April, one in London on the 24th at The Garage with Thus Defiled and one in Oslo at the Rock In on the 25th. In other news, the band has finally confirmed a May 12 release date for the upcoming album "Below the Lights".

Randy will be appearing on P3 Rock tomorrow, April 17 at 10:10pm.

The Sounds have a feature in the May issue of Paper Magazine talking about their experiences in New York hanging out with Melissa Auf Der Maur from Hole and Smashing Pumpkins.

HIM has launched a new UK-based website at www.himonline.tv.

Labrador Records is releasing two limited edition 7" singles on May 5. First up is Douglas Heart, who the label describes as 'dreamcore' or akin to Sigur Rós, Mazzy Star and Stina Nordenstam. Next is The Legends who are said to play "joyful and catchy C-86-motown-punk-pop."

Samson & Rourke just posted a small profile on buzz-band Radio Dept. that you might find interesting. (in Swedish)

The Confusions have apparently signed deals with record labels in Taiwan, China and Japan. No details yet, but I'll keep you updated.

Evergrey are playing a couple of dates around Europe in support of their new album "Recreation Day":

5/9 - Vosselaar (BE), Biebob
5/10 - Rijssen (NL), Lucky
5/11 - Zaandam (NL), Kade
5/12 - Paris (FR), Ellysse Monmartre
5/14 - Hamburg (TY), Markthalle

Expressen is reporting that Jocke Berg (Kent) is working with singer/songwriter Lisa Miskovsky on songwriting for her next album. At least that's what Ola Håkansson of Stockholm Records has told them. We shall see. This would be the follow-up to Lisa's successful self-titled debut album from 2001.

Special feature today on Carpet People! The new album "More Bad Weather Coming Out of the Rain" was released yesterday and I got an mp3 of the first single "A Road Leading into the Sun" for you. Great melancholic pop as only the Swedes can do. Fans of artists such as Hederos & Hellberg should take note - I think you'll dig it. But that's not all! I also have a photo album of pics taken from the record release show last Friday at Scharinska Villan in Umeå. Check it out!

Also coming out soon from Chalksounds is the new single from Soviac. The song comes off the forthcoming album "Triology Sexlife Rodeo Friscotti" and is called "Boogie Woogie", but best of all - it's FREE! I kid you not! Beginning on May 1 you'll be able to download the song plus the artwork from the Chalksounds site. I haven't really heard anything from these guys myself, but I've been told that it's gonna blow some minds. Wait and see, eh?

The kind folk over at Firesideometer.com have posted the very first reviews of the new Fireside album in English. They also review the new Kristofer Åström EP, so check that out, too.

The Caesars have finally confirmed a release date for "39 Minutes of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)", their new collection to introduce them to the world outside of Sweden. It'll be out April 22 in the US on Astralworks, April 21 in the UK on Virgin and elsewhere around Europe around the same time, also on Virgin. They've also got a bunch more shows lined up. The dates:

4/16 - UK, London w/80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, for XFM contest winners.
5/9 - UK, Glasgow Cathouse w/French Kicks
5/10 - UK, York Fibbers w/French Kicks
5/11 - UK, Oxford University w/French Kicks
5/12 - UK, Leicester The Charlotte w/French Kicks
5/13 - UK, London The Garage w/French Kicks
5/14 - UK, Manchester Roadhouse w/French Kicks
5/18 - Austria, Vienna Flex
5/20 - Germany, Hamburg Molotow
5/21 - Germany, Berlin Magnet
5/22 - Germany, Cologne Underground
5/23 - Holland, Utrecht Ekko
5/24 - Holland, Amsterdam Paradiso

Entombed's new label Threeman Recording just put out their very first releases, both Entombed side projects. First up is "Ravenous Murderous", Murder Squad's 2nd album. Expect old-school Swedish death metal ala Bloodbath. Next we have a live album recorded in Finland from The Project Hate who are industrial-flavored metal, if I remember right.

And speaking of Entombed, those guys are still wrapping up work on the new album "Inferno" (produced by PMA Gunnerfeldt of Fireside) but have still found time to do a couple gigs down in South Africa. Check this flier for details.

The Sounds will be filming an appearance for Last Call With Carson Daly on May 10 which will air the following week. They've got a couple gigs lined up in Germany, too:

5/5 - Berlin, Magnet
5/7 - Köln, Gebaeue 9

And as I'm sure you can guess from the Carson Daly appearance, the band will indeed be playing more shows in the States, apparently supporting The Ravonettes for most of em. Here's what I can confirm so far:

5/19 - San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill (headlining)
5/24 - Minneapolis, MN, 7th Street Entry
5/25 - Cudahy, WI, VNUK's Lounge
5/27 - Chicago, IL, Double Door
5/28 - Cleveland, OH, The Beachland Ballroom
5/29 - Detroit, MI, Magic Stick
5/30 - Toronto, Canada, Horseshoe Tavern
6/2 - New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom
6/3 - Boston, MA, Paradise Rock Club
6/4 - Philadelphia, PA, North Star Bar

Christian Kjellvander is playing at Mosebacke in Stockholm on April 29.

Children of Bodom will be doing a couple dates in Sweden later in April:

4/18 - Stockholm/Arenan
4/20 - Göteborg
4/21 - Lund/Mejeriet

The new EP from Jettie entitled "Some Stories We Trust" comes out April 15 on Black Star Foundation who are distributed through Kasual Records. Check 'em out on tour while you're at it:

4/15 - Uppsala - Café Genomfarten
4/16 - Göteborg - Jord
4/17 - Gislaved - Gisleparken
4/18 - Uddevalla - Café Hvidtfeldt
4/19 - Oslo - Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken - Kungen
4/21 - off
4/22 - Stockholm - Kaffé 44
4/23 - Lund - Smålands Nation
4/24 - Malmö - Blackstar Foundation
4/25 - Trollhättan - ML5
4/26 - Karlstad - HBFG
4/27 - Eskilstuna - Kaka Releaseparty

I neglected to mention it yesterday, but The Confusions will also be heading out on a few more dates besides those Baltic ones I already posted:

05/16 - Underground, Sundsvall, Sweden
06/02 - Underworld, London, UK, TBC
08/11 - Pärnu, Estonia, TBC

Division of Laura Lee has just announced that they will be cancelling their scheduled appearance at the upcoming Coachella Festival along with the additional US dates they had booked around the event. The full statement from singer Per Stalberg:

I'm very sorry to say Division of Laura Lee cancels Coachella festival + additional dates in the U.S.
Due to the fact that I've been suffering from grave throat-infection, coughing for the last three weeks and have been totally feeble in my body. I've been having fever for the last weeks and as I went to the doctor today for the second time in two days he adviced/ordered me to cancel the trip to U.S. as I need to recover from my illness, or this will lead to further injuries & I would seriously risk my health.
I'm indeed very sorry that we need to cancel, not only due to all the fans that bought tickets to our upcoming shows, but also it feels unfortunate towards my band comrades Hakan, Jonas & David, as they also were very excited on coming back to the U.S. on tour & especially excited about Coachella festival, meeting a lot of new people, receiving new vibes.
We'll definitely be back in the U.S. and by this fall we'll record our second album which will turn out to be The master-piece [sic]. Again I'm sorry that we had to cancel the tour, we'll be back soon.
I also want to take the chance & say THANKS to all the people that came out to our shows, bought our records and supported us in amazing letters, emails, phone-calls, live-conversations, it's been the year of my dreams.
We'll recover and come back more powerful than you could ever imagine.
Take care

Earache Records has posted the uncensored 'controversial' video for the song "D.O.A." from The Haunted on their website.

From nubreaks.com via the pHinnweb mailing list:

Riku Pentti aka Infekto comes from Finland, and when I say Finland, I mean right up in the north of Finland where it is bloody cold!. I remember travelling to a gig he was doing where we guested and it was one helluva mission to get there. Bandits on the road ready to rob you. Big ugly bears taking potshots with their paws at passing cars. Police openly taking bribes for you to proceed on your journey. Naked women just dancing in the undergrowth smeared in Marmite... okay, that was all crap, but it still was quite a drive!!!

Read the full interview: www.nubreaks.com/?dir=features/infeat0406&section=infekto_feature. Some interesting discussion on the Finnish electronic music scene, among other things.

Johan Bergqvist reports he has finished up shooting the video for his new single "This Could Be Our Time". And if you look to your right you'll see that you can download an exclusive mp3 of the track right now. But yeah, the video's done and the CD is being sent off to get mastered, so it's on track for its May release. Johan's also got plans for yet another video - on April 26 he's off to shoot one for the song "Lovelace" as he says he "found a nice location with a grand piano." I'll keep you posted.

People in the US - don't forget about Sahara Hotnights on Conan O'Brien tonight along with guest Adam Sandler.

Here's a bunch of pics from the 2001 Avrika fest, including acts such as The Hellacopters, TSOOL, Mustasch, Nasum, and The Haunted.

Problems arose when the grizzly bear appearing in the video went berserk...

Apparently there were some problems onsite at Turbonegro's video shoot for the song "Sell Your Body (To The Night)" which was being filmed in LA with help from the Jackass dudes. Read more at the the band's website.

"Their mesmerising guitar excursions are worthy of early Pink Floyd; the tunes are beyond brilliant; this is, without question, among the most supremely desirable stoner albums you are likely to hear all year" - James Delingpole, Sunday Telegraph, on "Every Time A Bell Rings An Angel Gets Its Wings"

Folks in London get the lucky opportunity to see Logh for free at 93ft East in London on April 14. The show starts at 7:30 and if I was you, I wouldn't miss it.

Been awhile since I heard from these guys, but the Diamond Dogs are going on tour:

4/21 - Monroes, Workingston (UK)
4/22 - Roadmenders, Norhhampton (UK)
4/23 - Markoni Club, Chelmsford (UK)
4/24 - Penningtons Live, Bradford (UK)
4/25 - Baths Hall, Scunthorpe (UK)
4/26 - Cheese and Grain, Frome (UK)
4/27 - Patti Pavilion, Swansea (UK)
4/28 - Camden Underworld, London (UK)
5/02 - Culturen, Västerås
5/08 - El Sol, Madrid (ESP)
5/09 - Stereo, Alicante (ESP)
5/10 - La Casa del Loco, Zaragoza (ESP)
5/13 - University, Granada (ESP)
5/15 - La Nasa, Santiago (ESP)
5/16 - Auditorium Intersecciones, Oviedo (ESP)
5/17 - Azkena, Bilbao (ESP)

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

01. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
02. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
03. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
04. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
05. Mauro Scocco - Beat hotel
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. Jill Johnson - Discography
08. The Refreshments - On the rocks
09. Dilba - Revolution
10. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
11. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
12. Roxette - The pop hits
13. Gloria - People like you and me
14. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
15. The Knife - Deep Cuts
16. The Sounds - Living in America
17. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
18. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
19. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
20. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo

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

Leaving the chart:
(12) The Donnas "Take It Off"
(13) Melody Club "Covergirl"
(16) Kamera "At Work"
(18) Ron Sexsmith Ft. Chris Martin "Gold In Them Hills"
(20) Lil' Kim Ft. Mr Cheeks "The Jump Off"

ZTV will begin broadcasting a TV version of Hitlisten, Sweden's official sales chart, compiled by IPFI affiliate GLF and published every Thursday.

Magnus Carlson from the Weeping Willows has his new Eggstone-produced solo album coming out July 9. Turns out he's getting even more outside help, this time from film director Lukas Moodysson (Fucking Åmal/Show Me Love, Tillsammans/Together)and Radio Dept. Lukas has reportedly helped out with some lyric writing while Radio Dept. and Magnus played together at their home in Malmö. The first single will be for the song "Jag ber dig", a cover of the Northern Soul-hit "Beggin'" with Swedish lyrics.

Moneybrother is heading on tour in support of his new, forthcoming album "Blood Panic". The dates:

5/21 - Stockholm, Södra Teatern
5/22 - Karlstad, Glada Ankan
5/23 - Oslo, So What
5/30 - Göteborg, Playground @ Pustervik
5/31 - Linköping, Rocksensation
5/27 - Malmö, Trenchtown @ KB

Mobbade Barn Med Automatvapen (MBMA) have a new 12" coming out in May called "Nu Ännu Drygare" with four songs. Breakmecanix and Embee (Loop Troop) handled the production and Timbuktu and Chords make guest appearances.

Here's an interview with Sami Liuski of Rovaniemi, Finland aka 8-Bit Rockers and Bangkok Impact among others. He talks about his upcoming touring activities and the Finnish electronic music scene, among other interesting topics. Those dates:

4/23 - Pianos, NYC, NY
4/24 - Rhode Island
4/25 - Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
4/26 - Touch Supper Club, Cleveland, OH
4/27 - Empty Bottle, Chicago, MI
4/30 - Noise Lab, Seattle
5/01 - Blackbird, Portland, OR
5/02 - Obscura Digital, San Fransisco
5/05 - Knitting Factory, Los Angeles
5/06 - Los Angeles
5/08 - Sin 13, San Antonio
5/09 - The Elysium, Austin, TX
5/10 - Mermaid Lounge, New Orleans
5/11 - Miami
5/13 - Highlight, Chappel Hill, North Carolina
5/14 - Heaven and Hell, Washinton DC
5/16 - Ivy South, NYC, NY, USA

Danish dance duo Junior Senior are heating things up over in Britain. Not only are they in the singles chart at #5 with "Move Your Feet", but they're also planning to do either dates over there in May, starting with Glasgow Barfly on the first and ending with Liverpool Barfly on the 11th.

Division of Laura Lee has lined up a few extra dates around their appearance at the upcoming Coachella fest near LA:

4/21 - Houston, Engine Room
4/22 - Austin, Emos
4/23 - Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
4/25 - Phoenix, Mason Jar
4/26 - Indio, Coachella

UPDATED: David & the Citizens will be on P3 Pop on April 14 from 10pm till midnight. They'll be playing live and chatting with Hanna in studio. They'll be sure to play the song "Glued to the Light" from the new EP "New Direction" they say, but they'll also be premiering two brand new tracks. As this news implicates, the band is already making plans for their next record - they'll be hitting the studio in May with plans to get it out around September.

In Flames have revealed the details for their forthcoming EP entitled "Trigger". The track listing is as follows:

01. Trigger (single edition)
02. Watch Them Feed (new song)
03. Land Of Confusion (Genesis cover)
04. Cloud Connected (Club Connected Remix)
05. Moonshield (C64 Karoke Version)

Look for it soon on Nuclear Blast. In other news, the band recently returned home from their most recent trek across the US and had this to say on their website:

Hello all, thanx a million for the GREAT support from both old and new fans on In Flames/Mudvayne tour in the US. We had a great time, and as usual we met some really cool people on the road( talking about you, our wonderful fans) and we made some good friends in the other bands- Mudvayne, Grade 8, and Depswa - we really hope to meet up again soon!!!!
On the way home we were forced to make an emergency landing in New Foundland, due to some strange objects on the aircraft that needed closer attention. This of course scared the hell out of us, but luckily it was false alarm, so as we speak we are in Sweden, jet-lagged as hell, but really glad to be on safe ground at home again.
In the end of June we will go back on the road again on a headline spin across the US, bringing some great acts along with us (see soon for official update on this). The tour will take us to places we didn´t hit on the last tour and some that we did play... Hope to see ALL of you out there. Also, watch out for our video/EP for "Trigger" that will be out very soon

Swedish power-metallers Hammerfall have booked themselves a short Czech Republic tour along with the following festival dates:

6/27 - Bang Your Head - Balingen, GER
6/28 - Masters Of Rock, Vizovice, CZ
6/29 - Centre of Town, Jihlava, CZ
6/30 - Hall Lokomotiva, Plzen, CZ
7/04 - Sundsvalls Gatufest - Sundsvall, SWE
7/05 - Töreboda Festival - Töreboda, SWE
7/25 - Karlskoga Stranddagar - Karlskoga, SWE
8/30 - Bloodstock Metalfest - Derby, UK

Transport League has announced that Crash Music Inc. will license their most recent EP "Grand Amputation" for release in the US. It was originally released last year on their own label Hoffa Communications through MNW distribution. In other news, the band reportedly just did some time in the studio with producer J. Reivén (ex-LOK) working on a new demo.

Going to see The Soundtrack of Our Lives and The Caesars in SF tonight. Should be fun! TSOOL is also playing for free over at Amoeba Records at 5, so if you're in the area you may want to check that out as well. I may also have an extra ticket for tonight's show, so if you think you might be interested, let me know.

Hypocrisy report that they are preparing to work on a new album. Frontman Peter Tägtgren posted this message describing the process on their website:

band meeting today, it went well and we have a plan for the next release we're going to get together and practise for the recording for the first time in 9 years! starting mid-may, so everybody will start writing new material a.s.a.p. so we will have anything to practise... the new album will go with the abducted sound (production) the music will go in the sign of abducted and the hypocrisy (self-titled album) working title is "the arrival" and i think the little green men are back in my head!!!

Here's an interview with Startracks label head Fredrik Holmgren from firesideometer.com. Entertaining, informative, and in English, too.

Speaking of Fireside, the video for the new single "All You Had" will be premiered on SVT Spinn this Thursday.

Check out the Whyte Seeds playing live on MTV Morning Glory.

For you audio engineering nerds (guilty!), here's a detailed description of the recording specs for the latest Nasum album from singer/guitarist/engineer Mieszko.

Pictures of The Sounds playing live at the Electroluxe in San Diego are available here.

A couple Bad Taste acts are gonna be hitting the small screen in the future. First off, Last Days of April will have the song "Will The Violins Be Playing" featured on the US TV show "Mysterious Ways" which can be seen on the Sci Fi channel. The band also got the track "I'm Calm Now" on an upcoming DVD promoting the X-Games VIII which are taking place in LA come August. But they aren't the only ones - Logh's song "Yellow Lights Mean Slow Down Not Speed Up" will be played during the show "Boarding House: North Shore" which follows seven pro surfers who live and surf together during the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing competition in Oahu, Hawaii. That one airs on the WB Network in the US.

Carpet People are having a record release party at Scharinska Villan in Umeå on April 12. Show starts at 9 and they hit the stage at midnight. However- you should show up early cuz they promise a secret guest opening act. The album hits stores on the 11th from Chalksounds.

If you want more information about that Swedish punk fest that I talked about yesterday, go to the official site: www.svenskpunk25.nu

Fireside, Dub Sweden, USCB Allstars, Fingathing, The Raveonettes, Miss Universum, Merciless, Radio Dept., Dot Allison, Mary Lou Lord, Surfer Rosa, Pauline and Satirnine are some of the new bands confirmed for Hultsfred Fest.

Moneybrother, Moder Jords Massiva and Trapdoor Fucking Exit are some of the new bands confirmed for Popaganda fest in Stockholm on May 29-31.

Touted as the 'next big thing' from the cold, cold North by Barfly Magazine, The Hommos will be touring the UK next month as they've just signed a deal with Liverpudians Deltasonic Records (home of The Coral) who will be releasing a single in May. The band is also playing Debaser in Stockholm on Thursday with Brenda Harris, so check 'em out before they get huge.

Former popstar Leila K was remanded on charges of assault, robbery and theft. My sources tell me that she's allegedly 'partial to poison powders', so it really shouldn't come as much surprise to anyone who's followed her fall from grace.

Langhorns are playing with buzz-band Shout Out Louds at Club Blender in Lund on April 26.

A sampling of the pikseliÄHKY 2003 festival line-up will be playing at Saunabar in Helsinki on April 8. It also serves as a record release for Antoine Verhaverbeke whose album comes out on Abflug next month. Also performing will be Karri O (also on Abflug), Formatt and DJs Nuutti Koskinen and Michael Heap (VJs.net, UK) along with video artist O Samuli A/Samuli Alapuranen. The music starts at 8 and entry is free. More info here.

XL recordings imprint Rex Records will be putting out a new Radio Dept. single for the song "Liebling" on April 28. There's also word of a London show for around the same time, but no details yet.

Moneybrother has put up the "Reconsider Me" video for download: high / low

JuJu Records has put up an mp3 for the track "Imbumba Unity" which features Swedish MCs Timbuktu, Moe (Spotrunnaz), Promoe (Loop Troop), CosM.I.C. (Loop Troop), and South African MCs RantoBoko, Zweli, Tabs, Sniper and Incredible Hulk. The track was produced by Breakmecanix while the Swedes were on tour performing at Johannesburg, Durban, Capetown and various S. African locales.

Also from JuJu, comes the new Timbuktu album "The Botten Is Nådd" on April 28. Also produced by Breakmecanix, the CD will feature guest appearances from Chords, Supreme (Loop Troop), DJ Amato, Daniel Boyacioglu and Peps Persson.

That new Turboneyepro website www.scandinavianleather.com is now online, including samples and video from the new album.

The Hellacopters, Gate, The Sounds, and a reuniting DumDum Boys are among the bands confirmed for the upcoming Norweigan Wood festival. More info here.

Fireside's new album keeps getting positive reviews such as this one from Aftonbladet. You can listen to the band comment on the record themselves at that link too. (in Swedish)

The new Swedish metal 'supergroup' Nightrage has just signed a deal with Century Media to release the album "Sweet Vengeance" which was recorded at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström. The band consists of drummer Per Jensen (The Haunted, Invocator), 'melodic' vocalist Tom Englund (Evergrey), vocalist Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates, The Crown), guitarist Gus G. (Dream Evil, Firewind), guitarist Marios Iliopoulos (Exhumation), and bassist Brice Leclercq. Sounds like it could be pretty cool.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Ark, and Mando Diao have all been confirmed for a show at Grona Lund in Stockholm on April 30. Tickets are 100 kr.

The Ghoules have set themselves up with a week of shows around Europe. The dates:

5/07 - Goteborg (S), Sticky Fingers
5/08 - Aachen (D), Haupquartier
5/09 - Chemnitz (D), Subway to Peter
5/10 - Hoyerswerda (D), Dock 28
5/12 - Wien (A), Shelter
5/13 - St. Pölten (A), Jesters
5/15 - Lustenau (A), Culturefactory
5/17 - Rheine (D), Dramabar

I've got a busy workday ahead of me, so updates may tend to be a bit slow. Bear with me. And lots of new links coming soon, too.

UPDATE: I'm finally done for the day and the links page has a ton of new sites on it. Enjoy!

Here's some pics from day one of the Umeå Open. Thanks Magnus!

The Cardigans have been confirmed for the Glastonbury festival which takes place on June 27. More info here.

Interested in the new Nasum album? The band has put up a full preview page with the album cover, tracklist and some samples. Check it out.

Thirdimension has added two of their videos to their site. Go to the 'Pleasure' section to check 'em out. The band admits they're kinda old and maybe not "not among our top ten-list of videos", but they say "the latter one ["Yes Equals No"] is quite cool." Works for me.

Get a preview of the new Moonbabies song "Fieldtrip USA". Like I said yesterday, Chalksounds is putting out some great pop records soon and the upcoming album "The Orange Billboard" is no exception. Good stuff.

On April 1, Burning Heart records will unleash the new Turbonegro site www.scandinavianleather.com where they say you'll find "mp3's, tourdates, bio, photos, video, competitions, e-cards and games." As much as I dig some of their old stuff and respect the band, I find the new album to be a bit too polished and boring. Eh, on the other hand, it's still better than most of the dreck out there I suppose. Those of who just discovering the band, buy one of the recent reissues - that's where it's at.

The nominees for the Swedish Hip Hop Awards have been announced. Check it.

Norwegian/Senegalese kora master Solo Cissokho won the BBC World Music Award for his album "Tretakt Takissaba" which was recorded together with Swedish fiddler Ellika Frisell. Cissokho has worked for many years on his goal of fusing "African griot-tradition with traditional Norwegian folk music," as stated by MIC Norway. For those that are unaware (as I was), the kora (or cora) is a Senegalese string instrument. Read more about it here.

More from MIC Norway:

Despite strong presence of Norwegian artists on the national Top 40 album charts, the sales trend is negative. The February figures from the Association of Norwegian Record Distributors indicate a 21% decline in sales of Norwegian records compared to 2002. Despite this, the mood on the Norwegian music scene is still very positive.

Read more.

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

01. v/a - Melodifestivalen 2003
02. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
03. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
04. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
05. The Refreshments - On the rocks
06. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
07. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
08. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
09. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
10. Evergrey - Recreation day
11. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
12. The Sounds - Living in America
13. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
14. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
15. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
16. Kajsa Grytt - Är vi på väg hem?
17. Rikard Wolff - Du får mig (om jag får dig)
18. The Knife - Deep Cuts
19. Ted Gärdestad - Droppar av solregn
20. Isolation Years - It's golden

The Hives have been added to the bill of the V Festival which takes place August 16-17 at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Apparently it will be their only UK appearance this year. Other bands confirmed for this fest include Echo And The Bunnymen, Coldplay and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tickets are available at www.wayahead.com.

The Concretes will finally be releasing their self-titled album on May 1. The lead single "You Can´t Hurry Love" is already out. The band is also opening for Ed Harcourt on the following dates (sorry, no venue information):

3/31 - Stockholm
4/2 - Göteborg
4/3 - Malmö

The mighty Hellacopters are coming over to the UK in April to do some shows and a live session with John Peel. Pretty cool, eh? Now if they'd come back to America. SUpport will come from The Peepshows. Anyhow, the dates:

4/7 - London Scala
4/8 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
4/9 - Live on John Peel, Radio 1
4/10 - Birmingham Academy 2
4/11 - Camber Sands Weekender
4/12 - Dublin Temple Bar
4/13 - Manchester Academy 3
4/14 - Leeds Cockpit
4/15 - Bristol Fleece & Firkin
4/16 - Brighton Concorde 2
And in Europe, too:
4/17 - Nijmegen (NL), Doornrossje
4/18 - Zwolle (NL), Hedo
4/19 - Kassel (D), Spot
4/20 - Erfurt (D), Spot
4/21 - Bremen (D), Schlachthof

Meshuggah has finally got confirmed dates for their upcoming US tour with Strapping Young Lad:

4/25 - Graceland - Seattle, WA
4/26 - Roseland - Portland, OR
4/27 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
4/29 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
4/30 - The Edge - Palo Alto, CA
5/01 - The Palace - Los Angeles, CA
5/02 - The Scene - San Diego, CA
5/03 - Galaxy Theater - Santa Ana, CA
5/04 - Marquee Theater - Phoenix, AZ
5/06 - Stubb's B-B-Q - Austin, TX
5/07 - White Rabbit - San Antonio, TX
5/08 - Canyon Club - Dallas, TX
5/09 - Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
5/10 - The Other Side - Tulsa, OK
5/11 - Headliner's - Louisville, KY
5/12 - Clutch Cargo's - Pontiac, MI
5/13 - The Metro - Chicago, IL
5/14 - Quest Club - Minneapolis, MN
5/15 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
5/16 - Peabody's Down Under - Cleveland, OH
5/17 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA - New England Metal & Hardcore Fest
5/18 - Birch Hill - Old Bridge, NJ
5/19 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA w/Hate Eternal
5/20 - The Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
5/21 - Village Underground - New York, NY
5/22 - North Six - Brooklyn, NY
5/23 - The Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY
5/25 - Les Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QUE
5/26 - Club Rocket - Toronto, ONT

Swedish dis-core band Skitsystem are finally heading out on their first European tour. For those that don't know, the band is fronted by ex-At the Gates/The Crown, current Great Deceiver singer Tomas Lindberg. He plays guitar in this band, too. Fellow crusties Victims are opening. The dates:

4/21 – Hamburg, GER - Rote flora
4/22 – Potsdam, GER - Archiv
4/23 – Mülheim, GER - AZ
4/24 – Bielefeld, GER - AJZ
4/25 – Stuttgart, GER @ TBA
4/26 – Amsterdam, NETH - Villa Friekens

I put up a bunch of the pictures that were taken on the KVLR tour up at Indie Workshop. Kind of a tour diary, more of a photo journal. Anyhow, there's some dece pics worth checking out. Also be sure to check out this site for some great pics from the Flagstaff show. A digital camera just can't really compete with true quality B&W photography.

Umeå Open, the first big fest of the year starts tonight. I'll try to get reports and photos as soon as I can.

Mattias from The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be on 104.3 FM in NYC on March 30 at 9pm. More info and streaming information can be found here.

Word has it that "You're The Storm" will be the next single from The Cardigans. Apparently the band has even re-entered Tambourine Studios to record some brand new b-sides for it to be included along with a few earlier versions of the song.

Arve from Supersilent will be performing solo on 5/10 at Mai Jazz, an international jazz festival in Stavanger, Norway. More info here. In other Supersilent-related news, Helge aka Deathprod has finished mixing and mastering the new album from Shining. The band is a jazz quartet from Norway led by Jørgen Munkeby (ex. Jaga Jazzist) and the record will be out 5/12 on Jazzland.

Sahara Hotnights are going worldwide! They'll be playing in Australia with The Datsuns beginning in late April/early May and also hitting Tokyo, Japan on May 6. The details:

04/24 - Brisbane Australia, The Waterloo
04/26 - Sydney Australia, Metro
04/28 - Melbourne Australia, Hi Fi Bar
05/01 - Adelaide Australia, Enigma Bar
05/02 - Perth Australia, The Globe
05/06 - Tokyo Japan, Astro Hall

Kristofer Åström has hinted that he might be doing another EP this summer and definitely a new album next year. Nothing definite yet, as he says it's mostly up to Startracks, his label.

The Legends will be featured on the May single from Labrador Records. They are described as "C-86 and northern soul influenced punkpop" by the label and they put up a preview mp3 for the track "Make It All Right". Check em out this Friday at Klubb Instant Feelings in Stockholm.

The new single from Carpet People was sent out to Swedish radio today, so be sure to call in and request it. I've got a promo copy of the album and can confirm that it's really, really good. Lots of good stuff coming from Chalksounds in the near future, so pay attention! The album hits stores April 11.

Here's some video footage of Surferosa playing at So What in Oslo. The band will be opening for Turbonegro with JR Ewing on the upcoming big Norweigan tour. I think they sound kinda like the Norweigan version of The Sounds, but whatever.

Monastir is hitting the road in support of their new album "The Modern Sound For A Loser Generation" which comes out Monday. The dates so far:

3/28 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
3/29 - Oslo, Mono
4/10 - Stockholm, Tantogården
4/31 - Göteborg, Sticky Fingers
5/2 - Hässleholm, Perrong 23
5/3 - Lidköping, Nätverket
5/17 - Gävle, Musikhuset
7/19 - Norberg, Rockaway Beach
7/18 - Skellefteå, Trästock

The details for this year's big Kalas tour have been announced. And yes, the rumors are true: scheduled to perform are Håkan Hellström, Lars Winnerbäck, Timbuktu & Damn, Magnus Carlson, Marit Bergman and Her Majesty. One local band gets to open each show, too. Here are the dates:

7/10 - Norrköping, Folkets Park
7/11 - Kalmar, Kalmarsundsparken
7/13 - Visby, P18/Visborgslätten
7/17 - Örebro, Brunnsparken
7/18 - Skövde, P4/Heden
7/19 - Lysekil, Pinneviken/Gullmarsvallen
7/24 - Malmö, Mölleplatsen
7/25 - Varberg, Varbergs Fästning
7/26 - Göteborg, Bananpiren
7/31 - Säter, Skinnbo Udde
8/2 - Stockholm, Universitetet

In Flames, Mando Diao and The Sounds have been confirmed for the Piteå Dansar Och Ler fest which will take place July 23-27. More info here.

The two HIMs of the world have apparently come to an agreement over use of their names. The 'evil' H.I.M. of Finland (which stands for 'His Infernal Majesty') has finally settled with the Chicago band of the same name and will now be able to release records in the US under their acronym. The details of the deal have not been released, but you can read a touch more of the back story here. (from Blabbermouth)

Hi, I'm a moron. In my haste of getting those Hederos & Hellberg mp3s up, I didn't properly investigate the song titles well enough. The first track is actually called "Songs from Silence" and I should've known that. It's not like I don't have the album or anything. Thanks Steffo.

Solefald reports they will soon have a video for the track "Mont Blanc Providence Crow". It will contain material from Oslo, Paris, and Manchester, along with various TV studio-filmed segments. The band also recently received money from Norsk Tekstforfatterfond to put towards a new album, so they will be heading over to Iceland in June "in order to get inspired and to write new material expanding the musical expression even further." The latest album "In Harmonia Universali" just came out this week and is already gathering positive reviews. I have yet to hear it, but they have definitely proven to be one of the most interesting 'metal' bands in the past. Probably worth checking out. And yes, metal is in quotes for a reason.

MTV UK has put up a Cardigans micro-site featuring all sorts of goodies like an album preview, videos, and photos. There's also another one from One.Tel here. And lastly, people who have already purchased the album can go here for even more exclusive content.

Randy has put up some pictures from recent video shoot for the new song "A Man in Uniform".

Here's some pictures of TSOOL playing Philadelphia on March 22.

The Sounds say they are planning to come back to the US in May before the start of the European festival season. Details when I get 'em. They've also announced that Kamera will be the openers on the upcoming Swedish tour. I've never heard them, but they have samples on their website.

In other rumor news, that MC3 show featuring Nicke from The Hellacopters (among others) was apparently recorded for a future DVD release. Again, no details yet, but I'll pass news along when I hear it.

No rest for the weary, eh? KVLR will be hitting the road again in June to support their latest release "On Planted Streets". A new single might even be in the works, too. Only Germany has confirmed dates so far, but here they are:

6/12 - Ex House, Trier
6/13 - Atomic Cafe, München
6/17 - Cafe Trauma, Marburg
6/20 - Molotow, Hamburg
6/21 - Kieler Woche (Delta Radio Stage), Kiel

Askil Holm's first show on the 'Daydream Receiver Tour 2003' will be in his hometown of Namsos, Norway on March 29. Tickets and more info can be found here. The rest of the dates will be announced shortly.

The Whyte Seeds have announced two dates in Sweden:

3/25 - KB, Malmö
3/26 - Nalen, Stockholm

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
03. Mew - Comforting Sounds
04. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
05. Kwan - Shine
06. C21 - You Are The One
07. Winta - Emotions
08. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
09. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
10. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth

Challengers:
01. Sparkler - Tiger
02. Isolation Years - Open These Eyes
03. Remedeeh - Learning Lessons
04. Evolver - Love Confidential
05. Slalom - Camshaft

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

Export Music Sweden (ExMS) has put up pictures from the recent showcase at SXSW in Austin. Check it.

P3 Swedish radio will be broadcasting from the Umeå Open this Saturday with performances from Isolation Years (acoustic), Paris, and The Crystal Committee. The broadcast starts at 8:03 pm / 11:03 am Pacific Time and you can listen at the P3 website. Click 'lyssna'. I'll try my best to get some recordings, if I can. I might be getting some pictures, too.

Svenska Akademien + Moder Jords Massiva Propaganda, Voice Of A Generation, DGPP, and User have all been confirmed for the upcoming Augustibuller fest to take place in, you guessed it, August. More info here.

"We don't give a fuck! It's not our problem. Let the tanks roll..."

Thank you Marduk for that great commentary on the war in Iraq.

Grave has offered their apologies to fans on account of the cancellation of the planned European tour with Defleshed. The explanation:

The European tour that was planned for March and April 2003 has been cancelled due to problems with the bookings and scheduling of the tour.
With only 3 weeks to go before the start of the tour we had not recieved what was agreed upon in terms of booked and confirmed shows.
We feel that in such a situation we will rather wait until we can go on a full European tour and play for all of YOU rather than just a few selected countries and shows.
We want YOU to know that Grave really wants to and will tour as soon as we get the opportunity to do a successful tour.

The band still plans on doing their upcoming US tour with Goatwhore, Immolation, and December. The dates so far:

05/27 - Don Hills New York City, NY
05/28 - The Depot Baltimore, MD
05/29 - tba
05/30 - Showplace Theatre Buffalo, NY
05/31 - Newport Music Hall Columbus ,OH
06/01 - Agora Theater Cleveland, OH
06/02 - tba
06/03 - House Of Blues Chicago, IL
06/04 - The Lab St Paul, MN
06/05 - tba
06/06 - Graceland Seattle, WA
06/07 - Meow Meow Portland, OR
06/08 - The Pound San Francisco, CA
06/09 - Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana, CA
06/10 - Key Club Los Angeles, CA
06/11 - Brick By Brick San Diego, CA
06/12 - Huntridge Theatre Las Vegas, NV
06/13 - The Mason Jar Phoenix, AZ
06/14 - Launch PAd Albuquerquee.NM
06/15 - E-9 El Paso, TX
06/16 - Canyon Club Dallas, TX
06/17 - The Backroom Austin, TX
06/18 - Zeppelins New Orleans, LA
06/19 - Masquerade Atlanta, GA
06/20 - tba
06/21 - tba
06/22 - tba
06/23 - Factory 324 Roanoke, VA
06/24 - Hooplas Virginia Beach, VA
06/25 - Ziggy's Winston-Salem, NC
06/26 - Jaxx West Springfield, VA
06/27 - Chantilly's Manchester, NH
06/28 - The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
06/29 - Stone Pony Asbury Park, N.J

Download two mp3s samples from the upcoming Nine album "Killing Angels": "Inferno" and "Discontent OD". Look for it in stores around August/September on Burning Heart.

Logh has been announced as the support act for Fireside on their upcoming Swedish tour. Congrats! And besides that, they've got quite a bit of other touring coming up. The dates:

03/20 - Prinzenbar (Docks), Hamburg, GER
03/21 - Magnet, Berlin, GER
03/22 - Starclub, Dresden, GER w/The Kills
03/23 - Gebaedue 9, Köln, GER w/The Faint
03/24 - Normal Records, Köln, GER
03/26 - La route du rhum, Nantes, FRA
03/27 - Local Transmission, Bordeaux, FRA
03/28 - Atzavara Club, St Feliu de Guixols, Girona, ESP
03/29 - Sala Moby Dick, Madrid, ESP w/The Donnas
03/30 - Sala Azkena, Bilbao, ESP
04/02 - Le Gibus, Besançon, FRA
04/03 - BOA, Luzern, CH
04/04 - Rockplanet, Pinarella di Cervia, ITA
04/07 - Szene Wien, Wien, A w/Cameran
04/08 - Orange House, Munich, GER
04/09 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, GER
04/10 - Schwimbad Musik Club, Heidelberg, GER
04/12 - La Guintuette Pirate, Paris, FRA
04/13 - Freebutt, Brighton, UK
04/14 - 93ft East , London, UK
04/15 - Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle, London, UK
04/16 - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, SWE w/Fireside
04/18 - Grand, Uppsala, SWE w/Fireside
04/24 - Herrgårn, Linköping, SWE w/Fireside
04/25 - Village, Västerås, SWE w/Fireside
04/29 - Kägelbanan, Stockholm, SWE w/Fireside
04/30 - Blå, Oslo, NOR w/Fireside
05/01 - Mejeriet, Lund, SWE w/Fireside

The Sounds say they are playing San Diego tonight on their website. No word on what club, but I'm sure if you're down there it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Zillion Digits aka David Sandström (ex-Refused) will be playing Klubb Modos in Umeå on March 22. I've been hearing good things about this, so check it out if you can.

Download an mp3 of 69-Hard's song "The Bullets", taken from the forthcoming album "Blues From Hell" due out April 11 on Idle Hands Records. Preorders are being taken at the label's website so act now, especially if you want a copy of the limited 3-song single.

There's going to be a new comp coming out called "Nordic Favourites" featuring 17 tracks from 17 artists including Silje Nergaard, Gåte, Bel Canto, Morten Abel, Maria Mena, The Rasmus, Junior Senior, The Sounds, Kristofer Åström, The Crash, and Lordi. Look for a "massive" Nordic TV ad campaign in the near future.

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

01. v/a - Melodifestivalen 2003
02. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
03. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
04. The Refreshments - On the rocks
05. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
06. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
07. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
08. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
09. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
10. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
11. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
12. The Sounds - Living in America
13. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
14. Kajsa Grytt - Är vi på väg hem?
15. The Knife - Deep Cuts
16. Ted Gärdestad - Droppar av solregn
17. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
18. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
19. Barbados - Rewind
20. A Teens - New arrival

Lars Winnerbäck's new album "Söndermarken" has already gone gold in Sweden. Look for him on tour this summer over there.

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

Leaving the chart:
(09) Whyte Seeds "Slow Motions"
(15) USCB Allstars "Watch Me Roll"
(16) Dj Format Ft. Chali 2na & Akil "We Know Something You Don't Know"
(17) Simian "La Breeze"
(18) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i världen"
(19) Lars Winnerbäck "Åt samma håll"
(20) Millencolin "E20 Norr"

Kent has lined up another show this summer: the Park festival in Moss, Norway on June 14. Also playing are Kaizers Orchestra and Vibeke Saugestad.

UPDATED: Finntroll, Impaled Nazarene, and (maybe) Children of Bodom will be doing a benefit/memorial show at Nosturi in Helsinki on March 25 for Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta. The price of entry will be a 10 euros dontation with all proceeds going to cover expenses for Teemu's family. The funeral will be on March 29.

The Finnish band Amorphis have signed with EMI to release their next album, the self-produced "Far From The Sun". The first single "Day Of Your Beliefs" comes out in April, the album to follow in May. This will be the band's first major label release following a long relationship with Relapse Records.

After some time off and membership changes, Leiah is once again preparing to hit the road and tour Europe. Joakim can't make it because of new job obligations, but they think they've found a suitable replacement in Martin aka the "wiz kid" and "the unholy driver." The dates so far:

03/21 - Haldensleben Germany, JFZz "der club"
03/22 - München Germany, Kafe Kult
03/23 - Innsbruck Austria, Workstation
03/24 - Off
03/25 - Budapest Hungaria, Red Hole
03/26 - Cakovec Croatia, TBA
03/27 - Koprivnica Croatia, Kuglana 2
03/28 - Italy, TBA
03/29 - Pescara Italy, TBA
03/30 - Italy, TBA
03/31 - Ferrara Italy, TBA
04/01 - Italy, genova, TBA
04/02 - Toulouse France, Caravan Serail
04/03 - Torrelavega Spain, Ave Turuta
04/04 - Madrid Spain, madrid, Ene Ba
04/05 - Castellon Spain, Ricamor
04/06 - Castellon Spain, Kevin's House, exclusive show
04/07 - St. Feliu Spain, Atzavara Club
04/08 - Off
04/09 - Gent Belgium, Gent, Frontline
04/10 - Leuven Belgium, Leuven, Sojo
04/11 - Athus Belgium, Athus, Le Marignan
04/12 - Recklinghausen Germany, südpol
04/13 - Hamburg Germany hamburg, molotov
04/14 - Off
04/15 - Schwalmstadt Germany , Die Bar
04/16 - Münster Germany, Gleis 22
04/17 - Hohenmölsen Germany, Alte Musikschule
04/18 - Frankfurt/main Germany, Exzess
04/19 - Nürtingen Germany, Kuckucksei
04/20 - Schweinfurt Germany, Stadt Bahnhof
04/21 - Prague Czech, 007
04/22 - Berlin Germany, Kato
04/23 - Dresden Germany, Nubeatz

Supersilent has announced a few new festival dates including the Spot 09 festival in Århus, Denmark on May 30 and Øyafestivalen in Oslo on August 9. A full list of scheduled appearances is here.

The New Mess will touring Europe this June. The (very) tentative dates:

06/06 - Hanau (D) Schweinehalle
06/07 - TBA
06/08 - TBA
06/09 - TBA
06/10 - TBA
06/11 - Dresden (D) AZ Conni w/Off Minor
06/12 - Leipzig (D) Zoro w/Off Minor
06/13 - Cottbus (D) Chekov
06/14 - Berlin (D) Ausland

For more info about that new David & the Citizens EP I talked about yesterday, go to the band's website. They've put up full descriptions of what to expect from each song along with the recording information.

Ludwig from The (International) Noise Conspiracy will be filling on drums for The Soundtrack of Our Lives on the US tour in April. The dates:

4/2 - Minneapolis MN, 400 Bar
4/3 - Lawrence KS, Bottleneck
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
4/13 - Whistler, Whistler Mountain Base

In other t(I)NC related news, Dennis has finished up work on the new Lost Patrol album and will be taking it to stage at the upcoming Umeå Open on March 28. Backing him will be members of Randy, Refused, Isolation Years and The Perishers.

In Flames had to cancel their show tonight in Cleveland with Mudvayne because their bus broke down "in the middle of nowhere." However, they promise to make up for it on their just-announced upcoming US headlining tour. Dates so far:

4/02 - Fayetteville AR, JR's Dickson St. Theatre
4/03 - Houston TX, Fitzgeralds
4/04 - Dallas TX, The Galaxy Club

From Rolling Stone concerning this year's SXSW fest:

Best Swedish Band: The Soundtrack of Our Lives beat Citizen Bird [Silverbullit] here in 2002, but this year it was all about the ladies. We give the nod to Maria Andersson and her hard-rockin' Sahara Hotnights over Maja Ivarsson and the New Wave sounds of the Sounds. The Hives' Howlin' Pelle Almqvist concurs -- he's dating Maria.

The Sounds have confirmed the dates for a Swedish tour in April that will coincide with the release of the new single "Rock'n'Roll". The dates:

4/19 - Helsingborg, The Tivoli
4/20 - Malmö, KB
4/23 - Stockholm, Klubben
4/24 - Göteborg, Trädgårn
4/25 - Sälen, Högfjällshotellet
4/26 - Jönköping, Parken

Håkan Hellström, The Sounds, Mando Diao, Meshuggah, Melody Club, and Loop Troop have been confirmed for the upcoming Arvika fest to take place July 10-12. Other international acts confirmed include Björk, Front 242, and Chicks on Speed.

Nü-metallers Blindside have been forced to cancel a number of dates on their upcoming European tour. Those affected:

3/28 - Wolverhampton, Little Civic
3/29 - Glasgow, Cathouse
3/30 - Manchester, Roadhouse
3/31 - London, Underworld
4/2 - Berlin, Magnet
4/3 - Cologne, Prime Club
4/5 - Hamburg, MarX
4/6 - Munich, Orangehouse

The Crown has set "Possessed 13" as the title of their upcoming album, due in September on Metal Blade Records.

It has been announced that Finntroll/Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta's death on Sunday was the result of an alcohol-related fall. Again, my condolences to his friends and family.

Got a new mp3 today from yesterday's broadcast of the last Hederos & Hellberg show. I'll put the whole thing up eventually, but for now you can enjoy their Hellacopters cover done in their standard slowcore fashion. Of course, that also means the Kristofer Åstrõm mp3s will go away. Get 'em while you can, I guess.

Some words about Katatonia and their new album "Viva Emptiness":

Destructive, finite and somber, Viva Emptiness is, in fact, in a league of its own. - DigitalMetal.com

Katatonia are simply one of the finest European rock bands over the past decade, yet in Britain they remain virtually unknown - apart from readers of Terrorizer magazine. - DJ Martian

I, for one, am in total agreement. Definitely one of my most anticipated releases this year.

I'm happy to report the new Logh album is done! Read all about it.

Last Days of April will finally release their latest album "Ascend to the Stars" in the US on June 3 from Crank! Records.

Starmarket reports they have completed work on a seven-song demo in preparation for their next record to be recorded in June. Tentative titles so far include "Horse On the Run", "Biscuits for Everyone" and "Rendundance".

I missed it when it was first posted, but here's a short interview with Garm (or whatever you want to call him) from the always-interesting Ulver.

If you sign up for The Klerks mailing list, you get to listen to a preview of the new b-side "Moving Much Too Fast" from the single "Shame". Read more.

Check out the video for the new Millencolin single:

Battery Check: high / low
E20 Norr: high / low

For those that might be curious, here's a full report on The Sounds' recent trip to the US. (in Swedish)

The tracklisting for the upcoming Fireside album "Get Shot" (out April 7) has been announced:

01. All You Had
02. Follow Follow
03. The Betrayer
04. Backwards Over Germany
05. Throw It Away
06. I'm Coming Home
07. Problem (to You)
08. All Criminals Are Us
09. Swinging Sid's Chain Around
10. Player

View the cover art here. The next single will be "All You Had" and it'll be out either late March or April. A Swedish tour will follow, along with the following, already-confirmed shows:

5/02 - Hamburg, Molotow
5/03 - Köln, Underground
5/04 - Dresden, Star Club
5/05 - München, Orange House
5/07 - Bleu CH, Lézard
5/08 - Bern, CH, ISC
5/15 - Berlin, Magnet

Ulf Stureson will release his third solo album on April 11 on Silence Records and they swear it's his best to date. He's also playing at Nalen in Stockholm on April 10 with Florence Valentine, so get tickets here if you're interested.

The Swedish snowboarding movie 'Stomped' just came out on DVD over there and features music from Timbuktu, Fjärde Världen, Loop Troop and more.

Organism 12 is back in the studio working on his second album. Look for it this coming fall on JuJu Records. In other JuJu news, PSTQ is also starting to write for his next record. Again, look for it around fall.

Division of Laura Lee report that they are starting to plan for their next record (due out sometime in 2004) and a full US tour in the fall. For now, they just have a few more US dates lined up:

4/21 - Houston, Engine Room
4/22 - Austin, Emos
4/23 - Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
4/25 - Phoenix, Mason Jar
4/26 - Coachella fest

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
02. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
03. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
04. Mew - Comforting Sounds
05. C21 - You Are The One
06. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
07. Winta - Emotions
08. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
09. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth

Challengers:
01. Paris - Streetlights
02. Satirne - Hey No Hell
03. Kwan - Shine
04. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
05. Ladybird - Dangerous To Me

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

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Ark and Mando Diao will be performing at Grönan Live this summer. If I remember right, something was said about this some time ago. Apparently this will also be TSOOL's only Swedish show this summer as they are expected to be working on a new album.

David & the Citizens have a new EP coming out April 7 called "New Direction". They've also got a couple gigs lined up with Laakso and Björns Vänner. Check it:

4/18 – Stockholm, Accelerator at Debaser
5/16 – Malmö, KB
5/23 – Göteborg, Pusterviksbaren

Aftonbladet is saying today that Lars Winnerbäck och Håkan Hellström are planning on doing the Kalas tour together. Read more. (in Swedish)

There's a new festival coming to Stockholm on May 31 called Stockholm Calling. Already confirmed for this year's event are The Cardigans, Thomas Rusiak and Christian Kjellvander, along with international acts Zwan and Placebo.

Randy is also planning to do some touring after their new album "Welfare Problems" comes out on April 14. The dates so far:

4/20 - Stockholm, Debaser
4/21 - Göteborg, Pusterviksbaren
4/22 - Oslo, So What
4/23 - Lund, Club Buster @ Mejeriet w/The Rogers Sisters

The band also promises to do a few more Scandinavian dates this summer, so don't despair. They also filmed a video for the track "A Man in Uniform" last weekend, so look for it soon.

Kajsa Grytt will hitting the road in support of her new album "Är Vi På Väg Hem?" starting in April. You can read more about her here (in Swedish). Otherwise, here's the dates:

4/13 - Örebro, Klubb Söndag
4/14 - Uppsala, Katalin
4/15 - Malmöm, KB
4/16 - Stockholm, Södra Teatern
4/17 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/17 - Jönköping, Kulturhuset

Looptroop and Fireside have been confirmed for this year's Popaganda Festival in Stockholm. Other bands already confirmed include Buck, Bad Cash Quartet, Shout Out Louds and Franke.

And speaking of the Shout Out Louds, they are the band of the week over at MTVE.com. Check it.