Artist: Ulver
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Fresh from the rumor mill is news that Last Days of April will indeed be heading over to America to promote the US release of "Ascend to the Stars" on Crank! Records. No exact dates yet, but I'm hearing they'll be doing something like six weeks, so they'll be sure to play nearly everwhere. More news when I get it.
Scratchie Records recently relaunched their website including a page dedicated to their darlings The Sounds. And in case you didn't know, the band cancelled those rumored headlining gigs they had scheduled before their upcoming Ravonettes/Vue jaunt. Oh, and Rolling Stone recently did a feature on the band, too.
Hell n' Diesel will be holding a release party at Timmerstugan in Falköping on May 30 for their new single "Tears for the Wicked".
Mean Street Magazine recently did a short interview with Sahara Hotnights. They also did a feature on TSOOL for last month's Coachella fest issue.
Some of the recent Norweigan bands added to the Quart festival lineup: Tonka, Gaute Drevdal, Bjørn Berge, Panzer, Splitimage, and Guardians of Time.
The Gatethering recently released "You Learn About It", the first single from their newest album "Souvenirs". They also did a video for the song with 13-year old director Tim Blok. Apparently, he's the youngest music video director ever which is kind of cool, I guess. Anyhow, fans of atmospheric rock music should definitely investigate the album. I know I'm really enjoying it.
America's The End Records has announced that it will reissue a remastered version of Ulver's first demo "Vergtatt" (or isn't it "Bergtatt"? not sure if it's a typo) on 10" vinyl. They'll also be doing quite a few other great releases in this new series which they are dubbing 'Infinite Vinyl' such as "Tommorrow Will Never Come", a 7" from Agalloch that will include two unreleased acoustic tracks from the original "The Mantle" sessions. The full list of scheduled releases so far:
IVS 001 Agalloch - Tomorrow Will Never Come 7"
IVS 002 Ulver - Vergtatt 10"
IVS 003 Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
IVS 004 Emperor - As The Shadows Rise 7"
IVS 005 Samael - Blood Ritual
IVS 006 Arcturus - Constellation / My Angel 10"
IVS 007 Katatonia - Saw You Drawn 10"
The Swedish MIC reports that Swedes seem to prefer their own domestically-produced music versus international imports. The latest charts show a 54% dominance in albums and 52% in singles and that data is significant of a trend that has been ongoing all year.
Moneybrother's new album has been generating all sorts of positive reviews, such as this one from Aftonbladet and yesterday's Dagensskiva review. Personally, I think the single ("Reconsider Me") is fantastic, but I'm not sold on the entire album just yet. Anyway, it's up to you to decide for yourself. Aftonbladet has a couple sound samples for you to hear, too.
This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:
01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. HIM - Funeral of hearts
03. Outlandish - Guantanamo
04. A-Teens - Perfect Match
05. Jennifer Brown - Weak
06. Darude - Music
07. Kwan - Shine
08. Equicez - Live From Pass It
09. Mew - Comforting Sounds
10. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
11. Paragon - Försök Förstå
12. The Jessica Fletchers - Let´s Go
13. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
14. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
15. Moon Gringo - Buzz Aldrin
16. Nik & Jay - Elsker Hende Mere
17. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
18. Surferosa - Neon Commando
19. Melody Club - Cover Girl
20. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz
Challengers:
01. Homy - Bus Stop
02. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - One Good Moment
03. Magnet - The Day We Left Town
04. Monastir - Teenage Years
05. Stephen Simmonds & Dilba - For Father
Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.
Here's something interesting that came to me by way of the pHinnweb list: www.radiofetthode.no. Streaming Internet radio featuring all sorts of various Scandinavian artists + more. Very cool.
Speaking of yesterday's Cdoass signing news, it has been pointed out to me that they used to be a demowebben band. Check out some old tracks from the band right here.
Finland's Amorphis has completed work on a video for the song "Evil Inside", their first single from the upcoming album "Far From The Sun". Taku Kaskela directed. The record comes out in Scandinavia on May 26 from Virgin Records and you can listen to streamed versions of a couple from their web jukebox, located here.
Did you realize that Turbonegro's new album "Scandinavian Leather" went straight to #1 on the Norweigan charts, selling twice as many copies as Madonna's "American Life" at #2? Pretty crazy, eh? They also added one more date to their current tour itinerary: May 30 in Fredrikstad, Norway. For those still unfamiliar with the band, perhaps this e-card will help.
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Homy's debut album "Music Box" comes out May 15 in Sweden. The single "Bus Stop" has already been receiving college radio airplay in the US and was released in Sweden just this past week. Look for the band to hit the festival circuit this summer.
Johan Bergqvist has announced a new pair of gigs in Sweden:
5/3- Mondo, Stockholm
5/17 - Diezel, Halmstad
Ulver has decided to push back the release of the upcoming "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" EP so it does not interfere with promotion of the "1st Decade..." remix comp. No exact date yet, but you can download a sample exerpt to whet your appetite.
Ex-Haunted frontman Peter Dolving has reportedly rejoined with his old bandmates in Mary Beats Jane to write and record a new album. Read more. (from Blabbermouth)
The Rasmus are making a bid for a wider European audience by signing to MotorUrbanDefJam Group in Germany, a division of Universal Music. The first single "In the Shadows" comes out this summer. "I look forward to working together with the nice people at MotorUrbanDefJam Group, they seem to know what they are doing and they are already totally in love with the music," says Lars Tengroth, the band's A&R rep at Scandinavian label Playground Music.
Cult of Luna have been nominated for 'Best Underground Act' at the 2003 Metal Hammer Awards along with Opeth, Arch Enemy, Satyricon and lone Americans Shadows Fall. More info and voting instructions are here. CoL also recently wrapped up the filming of a video for "The Watchtower" with Pete Bridgewater and George Steel at HemnMagasinet. More info about that when I get it.
HIM shot a video for the song "The Sacrament" at Ploskovice Castle near Prague last weekend. It was shot on 33mm film stock and should be edited and ready by sometime in mid-May. View pictures from the shoot here.
Car Crash Records has announced that they have signed C.Aarmé to their label. Look for a full length this fall or check out the just-released 7" on Deleted Art. A sample mp3 of the track "Tu puta mi casa" is available here.
How timely is this? Here's a MIC Norway profile on Jaga Jazzist. Look another big feature in May's issue of The Wire.
More from MIC Norway, here's some info about the upcoming Music Under Oslo Festival (MUO) which takes place in the city's subway stations. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. The entrance fee is only the cost of a regular token. Artists scheduled to play include Fox&Wolf, Thomas Dybdahl, Thulsa Doom, and more.
From the Finnish Music Information Centre (FIMIC), check out Finland's 2002 year-end wrap-up.
Aftonbladet has a review and samples of the long-awaited debut from The Concretes.
Finland's Bangkok Impact has the album of the month over at Jockey Slut magazine.
If you can't get enough of that high-quality Swedish garage-rock, The Dandelions are heading over to London for a number of dates at the end of May:
5/22 - Gaz's Rockin' Blues
5/23 - Dragon Bar
5/24 - Cobden Club
5/27 - Eyelash at Pop
They've also got quite a few mp3s over at their site if you're interested.
Vote for "Playboy's Sexiest Women of Indie Rock" featuring the Sahara Hotnights. Um, whatever. And yeah, the link is safe for work.
Read a short, gushing review of the new album "Souvenirs" from the Netherland's The Gathering. As mentioned in therein, the album features guest appearances from Mathias Elk of Jaga Jazzist and Trickster G (Kris Rygg) of Ulver, and yes, I agree that it really is great.
Reviews and samples of new releases from Ulver, Katatonia, JR Ewing and more from Aquarius Records. Mailorder, too.
As already reported, Arve and Jarle from Supersilent will be appearing solo and as part of the Tord Gustavsen Trio on May 10 at the Maijazz festival in Stavanger, Norway. It's not confirmed that Supersilent themselves will also be playing the fest on the day before. In other news, Arve makes a guest appearance on the new Jørn Simen Øverli album "Pengenes Oppmuntrende Virkning" along with Stian Carstensen from Farmers Market.
Mustasch is entering the studio on April 22 to record a new album under the tutelage of producer Jacob Hellner (credits include Rammstein, Clawfinger, and Fläskkvartetten). They expect to have it out around fall.
Here's an interview with Ebbot from TSOOL talking about touring the US among other things. (in Swedish)
25 years ago the first Swedish punk single "Vårdad klädsel" from Kriminella Gitarrer came out. There's gonna be a show celebrating this event at Vågen in Göteborg on October 4 featuring Brända Barn, Asta Kask, Attentat, Stry Terrarie and Freddie Wadling plus more to be announced. Tickets go on sale April 11.
This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:
01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Mew - Comforting Sounds
03. Kwan - Shine
04. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
05. A-ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV
06. C21 - You Are The One
07. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
08. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
09. Winta - Emotions
10. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
Challengers:
01. Left Lane - Walk after you
02. HIM - Funeral of harts
03. Ralph Meyrz & The Jack Herren Band - Think Twice
04. Whyte Seeds - Slow motions
05. Don Diego - Min lat
Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.
Lotta will be playing Tavastia in Helsinki on April 15 with Buddaboys. Even better, Yle Radio X3M will be broadcasting the show live.
Orange Crunch has a new EP coming out on Dead Frog in May. They play Alcazar in Stockholm tomorrow night, too.
The Svensk Rockarkiv will be making a roadshow appearance at Hultsfred fest this year. The archive was started in 1993 as a place to keep documentaries, photos, records and so on from all sorts Swedish artists through the ages.
The winners of the 2002 SAMA awards have been announced:
Best newcomer: Melody Club
Best song: Melody Club – Electric
Best album: Covenant – Northern Light
Best artist: Apoptygma Berzerk
Read more about the SAMAs here.
Download an mp3 of Randy's new single "A Man in Uniform". The new album "Welfare Problems" comes out April 14 on Burning Heart.
Hedningarna, Radio Dept., Tyskarna från Lund, Colony 5, Kamera, Interlace, Stairland, Magenta, Necton and The Celophane Flowers are few of the new Nordic bands confirmed for the upcoming Arvika Festival. Other new bands confirmed include Ministry, Mono and DAF.
The final list of nominees for the Swedish hip-hop awards has been announced. Go here for the full list. The ceremony will April 25 at Nalen in Stockholm. Performing live will be Spotrunnaz, Prominent, Don Diego, Peshi, DJ Confuse, Narcissists, Ison & Fille & Hemmalaget, Ken & BB Entertainment, Sam-E, and Timbuktu.
Speaking of Timbuktu, he'll be hitting the road in May along with Chords, DJ Amato and the live-band Damn!. The dates:
5/6 - Stockholm, Göta källare
5/7 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/8 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/9 - Malmö, KB
Here's a short interview with Jocke Ahlunds from The Caesars talking about the filming of the video for "Jerk it Out" in Havana, Cuba. You can also view the video from that page, too. (in English)
Check this article on up-and-coming Swedish pop groups Franke, Laakso, José Gonzales, The Embassy, Radio Dept., and Her Majesty from Dagens Nyeter. (in Swedish)
Ulf Lundell is hitting the road this summer:
7/4 - Varberg, Fästningen
7/5 - Sundsvall, Gatufesten
7/6 - Leksand, Sammilsdal
7/8 - Visby, Kneippbyn
7/11 - Christinehofs Slott
7/17 - Stockholm, Skansen
7/19 - Karlstad, Mariebergsskogen
7/22 - Borgholm, Slottsruinen
7/24 - Karlskrona, Bastion Aurora
7/25 - Västervik, Gränsö Slott
7/26 - Halmstad, Brottet
7/29 - Fjällbacka, Hamnen
8/1 - Uppsala, Fyrishovsparken
8/2 - Mariestad, Folkets Park
8/8 - Norge, Wrightegaarden
8/9 - Norge, Fredrikstens Festning
8/10 - Norge, Oslo, Rockefeller
8/15 - Linköping, Slottsparken
8/16 - Göteborg, TrSdgsrdsföreningen
Finnish electronic act Mr. Velcro Fastener will be playing at The Egg in London on May 9.
Finland's Amorphis has signed a deal with Virgin Records to release their new self-produced album "Far From The Sun". It will come out May 20 with the first single "Day Of Your Beliefs" coming later this month. Guitarist Esa Holopainen comments:
Having had to go through all the contractual differences in the past, the future does really look bright at the moment. The process of making the album was easy and the schedule for the summer and autumn live dates is developing steadily. We aim to play European festivals over the summer and hit the road on our own in the fall.
Despite the recent death of guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta, Finntroll has decided to soldier on with their upcoming European tour with Katatonia. The official statement:
We do this with heavy hearts, as the sudden loss of Teemu 'Somnium' Raimoranta, a close friend and one of the leading forces behind this band, gave us a blow from which the recovery will take a long time. We feel that dropping everything now, canceling the tour and all the plans we together agreed for this band, would be an insult on Teemu's memory. Going back on the road was also the particular wish of his family and close ones. We feel that this is the best way to honor our friends' memory, taking the music out to the fans. On the following gigs the second guitar will be played by a long-time friend for all of us, Mikael Karlbom (The Seventh Planet), who has played as a stand-in guitarist for us several times in the past.
During the tour, we wish some courtesy on the part of fans, members of the press and others concerning questions about Teemu's departing, future of the band and such. We will share information in due time.
Thanks to all those who have contacted us, expressed their condolences and honored our brother's memory.
Christian Kjellvander will be playing the opening of the Handikappåret 2003 at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm on April 11.
The Caesars are heading back to the UK in May with the French Kicks. The dates:
5/11 - Oxford, Zodiac
5/14 Manchester, Roadhouse
The Swedish pop group Natural scored a number 2 position on the Japanese radio charts last week with the tune "Put Your Arms Around Me".
Charlie's Magazine will release their new album "Traffic" on April 22. The female-fronted band previously enjoyed a taste of success with the single "Sweet Alibi" back in 2001.
A whole bunch of new music today, including the first half of that Hederos & Hellberg concert. Also, the newest single from Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes". It's a little more uptempo and sunny than older IY stuff, but I'm starting to really like it.
Fireside finally got their new website up and running. Check it out.
Dialog Cet is heading out on the road in support of their new album "Konsumera Era", which was released today:
4/12 - Jönköping, Rocks
4/15 - Uppsala, Genomfarten
4/16 - tbc/tbn (to be not)
4/17 - Göteborg, Gump w/Träd, Gräs & Stenar
4/18 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
4/19 - Oslo, Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken, Kungen
Melody Club has posted the video for the new single "Covergirl" on their homepage. Oh, and I also have it on good authority that the bassist also plays in a grind band. Pretty funny, I just wish I could remember their name.
Get a preview of the new soundtrack music from Ulver for the movie "Svidd Neger". Once the site loads, click the 'musikk' tab. I think it all sounds really cool so far, and there's even a little guitar on excerpt 4.
Hemmalaget will be performing at the upcoming Swedish Hip-Hop Awards to be held at Nalen in Stockholm on April 25. Isn't 'Swedish hip-hop' an oxymoron? Oh, but I kid! More info here or here, at the official site.
Those lucky dogs in The Hellacopters get to open for the Rolling Stones at Cirkus in Stockholm on July 22. First the MC5 invite, and then this? I bet those guys are stoked.
It's been hinted at before with the announcement of Logh as an opener, but I can now reveal the extent of the upcoming Fireside tour:
4/16 - Göteborg Sticky Fingers w/Logh
4/17 - Malmö Voltmeter @ KB
4/18 - Uppsala Grand w/Logh
4/24 - Linköping Herrgår´n w/Logh
4/25 - Västerås Village w/Logh
4/29 - Sthlm Södra Teatern/ KGB w/Logh
4/30 - Oslo (n) Blå w/Logh
5/01 - Lund Mejeriet w/Logh & De Stijl
5/02 - Hamburg (D) Molotow w/De Stijl
5/03 - Köln (D) Underground w/De Stijl
5/04 - Dresden (D) Star Club w/De Stijl
5/05 - München (D) Orange House w/De Stijl
5/06 - Milano (I) Transilvania Live w/De Stijl
5/07 - Lausanne (CH) Bleu Lézard w/De Stijl
5/08 - Bern (CH) ISC w/De Stijl
5/09 - Leuven (B) Stuk w/De Stijl
5/10 - Utrecht (NL) Ekko w/De Stijl
5/11 - Groningen (NL) Vera w/De Stijl
5/12 - Amsterdam (NL) Melkwegw/De Stijl
5/13 - Rotterdam (NL) Waterfront w/De Stijl
5/14 - Brügge (B) Cactus w/De Stijl
5/15 - Berlin (D) Magnet w/De Stijl
5/16 - Helsingborg Tivoli w/De Stijl
The new album "Get Shot" comes out April 7.
Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt will be doing a collaboration with Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson on a Linda Perhacs cover to be used on a tribute CD. Steven has produced the last few Opeth releases, including the much-anticipated "Damnation" album due out next month. Billed as the 'mellow' counterpart to the recently released "Deliverence", I can tell you now that it's easily the best thing they've done for some time. I've been an Opeth fan for sometime, but have felt their musical progression has gotten a bit stagnant recently. Well, no more - "Damnation" shows a whole new side of the band and proves they are easily one of metal's top acts. And no, I don't get paid to say that. I wish.
Pristine Music has a couple new singles in the works. First up is Johan Bergqvist, a singer/songwriter who I've talked about a little before. He's played with bands like The Virtues and Peter, Björn, and John and will have a three-song release out in May. Next is the hard rock act Hell n’ Diesel. The EP "Asphalt Supreme" came out last June and their new single will be recorded in April, in stores by May. Both new releases will be accompanied by videos.
Amorphis side-project Verenpisara have completed work on their second album "Happosadetta" ('acid rain'). Look for it May 15 on BMG.
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.
So that Nicolai Dunger show was, uh, 'interesting'. I know the guys doesn't like playing live, but he really showed a large amount of disrepect to the audience. It's hard to explain exactly, but I felt kinda cheated. He just seemed to be messing around a lot like he didn't care. There probably weren't too many people there just to see him like I was, but I felt let down anyways. I'd say 'maybe next time', but I'm not sure I want to chance it. Oh and for what it's worth, Nicolai was accompanied by a woman on violin and a guy on lead electric guitar and 12-string.
A new song on the right for you this week - this one from David & the Citizens. I don't know too much about these guys, but their album "For All Happy Endings" is just a great pop record. Check 'em out.
www.thearkworld.com just posted some video footage of The Ark's performance on the MTV program 'The Fridge'. Check it: "Calleth You, Cometh I" / "Disease" (requires RealPlayer)
Continuing proof that they're poised to become the "next big thing": Dave Grohl will sport a t-shirt from The Sounds in the new Foo Fighters video "Times Like These". The Sounds also lined themselves up with another show in NYC on their first sweep of America: March 12 at Mercury Lounge.
Watch the video for "Slow Motions" from the Whyte Seeds right here. (requires RealPlayer)
Peter LeMarc got himself a new record deal and will be heading into the studio in April to work on a new album. It will be his first since "Nio Broars Väg" from 1997.
The performance of Sahara Hotnigts doing their new single "Keep Up The Speed" on the Carson Daly Show will air March 7.
Snowy Shaw reports he's back from the recent Dream Evil tour and ready to work on a new Notre Dame record. He promises to have something ready by summer.
The final word on the new Fireside album is out! It's finally finished and it's gonna be called "Get Shot". Look for it on April 7 from Startracks. Frontman Kristofer Åström will also be doing a video for the track "One Good Moment" from his forthcoming solo EP "Dead End". He reports it will be animated and should be ready in about a month.
Askil Holm will be traveling all the way to LA from Norway to attend the "Cody Banks Secret Agent" movie premiere on March 8. He's got a song in the film, in case you were wondering. In other news, his album has been moved up to a March 17 release with a concert to follow the next day in Oslo.
Rune Grammofon has gotten themselves a new subsidiary label called Rune Arkiv to rerelease material from Fra Lippo Lippi, Rune's founder's old pop duo. First up is "The Early Years", a CD that will include the albums "In Silence" (1981) and "Small Mercies" (1983) plus a couple instrumental b-sides. Then there's "The Best Of Fra Lippo Lippi", a compilation of material from 1985-95 including their biggest hit "Shouldn't Have To Be Like That" and more. Read more here.
Timbuktu's new album "The Botten Is Nådd" comes out April 28. The first single will be for the track "Ett Brev", a song about the current world situation directed towards State Minister Göran Persson.
Just in case you weren't paying attention, GSL Records recently released the new JR Ewing album "Ride Paranoia" worldwide. Distro is being done through Mordam for most of the world, so it shouldn't be too hard to track down. As you should already know, the band recently lost the Norweigan Grammies, but says they "got to drink with all the lame Norwegian celebrities, and got a good laugh out of it." Hard for me to even imagine a band like that at the US Grammies, but whatever. Oh, and they also got a bunch of new shows lined up besides that Turbonegro tour (see 2/26). The dates:
3/07 - Bodø @ Samfundet w/Amulet
3/08 - Bodø @ Kulturhus w/Amulet
3/09 - Tromsø @ Blå Rock w/Amulet
3/28 - Namsos, Norway @ Namsos Rock Festival
4/12 - Andøya @ Rock Mot Rus w/Amulet
4/15 - Hannover, Germany @ Korn w/Seven Feet Four
4/16 - Tilburg, Netherlands @ 013 Club w/Seven Feet Four
4/17 - Stuttgart, Germany @ Smith Wigglesworth Festival w/Seven Feet Four
4/18 - Vienna, Austria @ Tuwi w/Seven Feet Four
4/19 - Nurnberg, Germany @ ... (TBC) w/Seven Feet Four
4/20 - TBA w/Seven Feet Four
4/21 - Koln, Germany @ Underground w/Seven Feet Four
4/22 - Berlin, Germany @ SO31 w/Poison The Well, Seven Feet Four
4/23 - Braunschweig, Germany @ Drachenflug w/Seven Feet Four
4/24 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Waterfront w/The Hanson Brothers w/Seven Feet Four
4/25 - Leiden, Netherlands @ LVC w/Seven Feet Four
8/03 - Augustibullar Festival, Sweden
The Moonbabies are currently working on their new album "The Orange Billboard". They say they're going for a bit more or an organic, subtle sound comparable to "Sgt. Pepper[-era] Beatles, Wilco and Kate Bush." Look for a single in May, the album to follow in September from Chalksounds.
Dark Funeral has revealed they have found a replacement guitarist for the recently departed Dominion. "It looks like we finally have found the 'right' guy for the job," says Lord Ahriman, "But there's really no hurry to reveal his name as of yet, but we will give you all a full presentation on him shortly." The band is currently rehearsing, booking shows for late spring and autumn, and starting to think about their next album. When the dates are confirmed, I'll post 'em.
Drummer Hellhammer has left black-turned-goth metalband Kovenant. The new album "S.E.T.I." (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence) comes out March 31 on Nuclear Blast. A limited edition version will include two bonus tracks: "The Memory Remains" (Metallica cover) and "Subtopia".
Øyvind Hægeland (Sprial Architect) has joined Arcturus as a replacement for singer Kristoffer Rygg (aka Garm, from Ulver). In somewhat related news, Spiral Architect/Borknagar drummer Asgeir Mickelson will be filling in for Jon Allen of Testament on the band's upcoming European tour. Jon has family issues which prevent him from joining the band on the road.
Entombed has annouced the following shows for the near future:
3/22 - Esbjerg, DEN @ TBA
3/28 - Björkliden, SWE @ Fjällanläggningen
4/17 - Oslo, NOR @ Inferno Festival
4/20 – Groningen, NETH @ Noordshock
4/21 – Nijmegen, NETH @ Doornroosje
5/02 - Durban, RSA @ TBA
5/03 - Johannesburg, RSA @ TBA
5/07 - Cape Town, RSA @ TBA
5/24 – Alingsås, SWE @ Westgothafestivalen
5/31 - Kranj, SLO @ TBA
6/01 - Milano, ITA @ TBA
6/05 - Leipzig, GER @ With Full Force Festival
The band's upcoming album is currently being mixed by engineer producer Pelle Gunnerfeldt for a May 12 release on their own label Threeman Recordings.
In Flames reports they are currently in the studio working on a new EP to come out by summertime. No other details yet, but I'll keep you posted.
Silence will reissue the 1983 album from Per Cussion on March 24. Hailed as the first Swedish rap record, the new version will be remastered and will include seven bonus tracks.
Turbonegro presents the Scandinavian Leather Tour 2003 w/JR Ewing, Surferosa, and magician Tore Torell. Jeez, too bad I'm not in Norway to see this for myself. The dates:
5/27 - Siddishallen, Stavanger
5/28 - Haukelandshallen, Bergen
5/29 - Nidarøhallen, Trondheim
5/31 - Oslo Spektrum, Oslo
Hyped band-of-the-moment Radio Dept. are heading out on a Swedish tour to support their new album. The dates:
2/28 - Stockholm Accelerator w/The Legends
3/6 - Linköping Herrgår'n
3/7 - Kalmar Din Kompis/Folkets Park
3/12 - Växjö Musikmuset
3/14 - Göteborg Playground @ Pustervik w/Douglas Heart
3/15 - Malmö KB w/Comet Gain
3/26-29 - Umeå Open
4/9 - Lund Buster @ Mejeriet
4/20 - Göteborg Klubb Himlen
4/25 - Uppsala Kalmar Nation
4/26 - Norrköping Kulturkammaren
5/24 - Stockholm Pop Dakar
8/7-9 - Emmaboda
Sam-E's debut album "Om ni bara wuisste" comes out February 28 from Streetzone. It was produced by themselves, along with help from El Sheriffo, Ken, Sekken Thautz, Moonshine, and Masse, who all also make guest appearances.
Cold Meat Industry will be holding a label-fest in Leipzig Germany on June 8. The scheduled lineup: Arcana, Brighter Death Now, Coph Nia, Deutsch Nepal, In Slaughter Natives, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Raison D'étre, and Fetish23. BDN also plays in Chicago on Friday the 13th of June.
MNW (Music Network) has announced they will start offering cheap singles for the price of ten kroner a song. The first slew of artists to benefit from this plan are De Stijl, Isolation Years, Satirnine, and Johan Borgert.
Komeda has announced they are working on a new album, their first since 1998's "What Makes It Go". The title has been announced as "Kokomemedada" and it should be out in May. The first single will be for the song "Reproduce".
Marko from The Crown recently posted an apology on the band's website for their cancellation of two shows in Slovakia. Here's the story:
We came to the border and were denied getting into the country. The reason was that we didn´t have documents from the Swedish and Italian government saying that we were the owners of our equipment. Let me tell you one thing, we have played in 17 countries (EU and non EU countries) and NEVER had a problem like this before. So we decided to go to a second border. And we were denied again to enter the country. And this time NOT ´cause of the equipment but simply ´cause they didn´t want us to get in. SO... we decided to try a THIRD border. And surprise surprise, they let us in with no problems, they didn´t even want any documents. But then they decided to not let in the opening acts, and all the backline (drums, amplifiers etc.) were in their bus. So we waited 4-5 hours on the border hoping that they would let them in. We asked our tourmanager to contact the Slovenian promotor and beg him to provide some drums and amps for us. At this point we were prepared to do a show with one cymbal only if necessary. But the reply was that the promotor couldn´t get us any kind of instruments. We were REALLY looking forward to do these two sold-out shows. We even planned to record them on video.
The bottomline is, we had to go back to Italy and cancel these two shows. Very fucking frustrating, but what could we do? The border acted like they could do whatever they wanted to.
And the fucked up thing is that we heard that people had traveled from Croatia and Austria to see us perform.Trust me, we are as sorry as you that we couldn´t play.
This cancellation was TOTALLY beyond our control!!!
Zyklon have set "Aeon" as the name of their new album, due in September on Candlelight Records. It's currently being recorded at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio and will be mixed at Studio Fredman by the ever-present Fredrik Nordström. According to a posting on the band's website, The material is more varied and the song writing in general is much stronger. The new material is also said to be way more heavy compared to the debut ("World Ov Worms"), probably not as intense in terms of actual speed, but aggressive no doubt!"
Solefald's new album "In Harmonia Universali" comes out March 24 in Europe on Century Media. No US release has been set, but you can download a preview mp3 here for the track "Mont Blanc Providence Crow". Fans of avant-garde metal such as Ulver (older), Arcturus or maybe even Tool should check 'em out.
I mentioned awhile ago that The Venue was another Swedish band travelling to the US to play SXSW and elsewhere. Well, here's their finalized tour plans:
3/5 – the Casbah San Diego, CA (with Silver Sunshine & The Stereotypes)
3/7 – Fullbrook Art & Cultural Center
3/8 – Spaceland, LA, CA (with The Out Crowd & Brian Jonestown Massacre)
3/9 – Sea Level Records, LA, CA (in-store)
3/10 – the Now Sound, LA, CA
3/11 – the Echo, LA, CA
3/14 – Friends, Austin, TX (SXSW Bella Union showcase)
3/16 – Lee Ann Atherton's Post SXSW Barn Dance, Austin, TX
3/18 – the Stork Club, Oakland, CA (with Pineforest Crunch)
3/19 – The Lost & Found, San Fransisco, CA (with Pineforest Crunch)
Okay, here's the winners of the Swedish Grammis:
Best artist: Kent
Best song: Kent - "Dom andra"
Best album: Kent - "Vapen & ammunition"
Best pop/rock group: Kent
Best pop/rock, female: Robyn
Best pop/rock, male: Håkan Hellström - "Det är så jag säger det"
Best newcomer: The Sounds
Best lyrics: Joakim Berg (Kent)
Best composer: Joakim Berg (Kent)
Best producer: Martin von Schmalensee, Zed (Kent)
Best hard-rock: Opeth - "Deliverance"
Best jazz: Oddjob - "Oddjob"
Best folk: Stefan Sundström - "Sundström spelar Allan"
Best club/dance: Koop - "Waltz for Koop"
Best hip-hop/soul: Timbuktu - "Watt's dö madderfakking diil"
Open category: v/a - "Nationalsånger"
Government export prize: The Hives
Jeez, does Kent really need to win any more awards? I mean, c'mon now! Anyhow, for the full list of winners, go here. (in Swedish)
Your Halo Is A Radar have been disbanded. Why? Lack of time, careers, paranoia, creative differences, blah blah blah... The usual crap.
Read the full statement from the band.
In Flames reports they are in the middle of working on new material for an album to come this summer. They also say they're excited about the upcoming Ministry/Mudvayne tour: "We are all getting eager to go out on the road again. After all, we´ve had 2½ months off now, and it´s about time to get out there and have some fun."
Here's some new Peter, Björn & John tourdates:
3/15 - Trondheim
3/16 - Oslo
3/22 - Stockholm, DJing at Debaser
3/25 - Jönköping
3/27 - Linköping, DJing at Herrgårn
3/28 - Hässleholm
Kristofer Åström is heading out on the road for probably the last time in awhile as he will most likely be concentrating on Fireside in the future. Here's the dates and be sure to check out his new EP "Dead End" when it comes out March 10:
3/14 - Helsingborg Tivoli - w/Peter Hermansson on piano
3/18 - Uppsala Katalin
3/19 - Sthlm Nalen
3/20 - Malmö KB
3/21 - Lund Stadshallen
3/22 - Göteborg Bommens Salonger
3/23 - Umeå Stationen - w/Peter Hermansson on piano
A number of new bands have been confirmed for the Emmaboda fest including Cato Salsa Experience, Paris, Björns Vänner, Pamplonas, La Masa and Bring Me The Fucking Riot Man. Paris and Cato Salsa have also both been confirmed for this year's Hulsfred fest along with Cult of Luna.
The winners of this year's Norweigan Alarm awards are as follows:
Best live band: Turbonegro
Best metal album: Satyricon - Volcano
Best pop album: Thomas Dybdahl – That Great October Sound
Best rock album: JR Ewing – Ride Paranoia
Best music video: Kaada – No You Don't
Best hip-hop/rap album: Gatas Parlament – Holdning over underholdning
Best jazz album: Dadafon – Visitor
Best song: Satyricon – Fuel For Hatred
Best electronica/techno album: Jaga Jazzist – The Stix
Alarm prize: Ephemera
Metal-Reference.com recently did an interesting interview with Ulver mainman Trickster G aka Garm. Read it here.
Carcrash Records has set the release dates for Dialog Cet's "Konsumera Era" on March 24 and QGMR's "Quiet Is Not Loud" on March 3.
This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:
01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
03. User - You Belong
04. Trucker - I Feel So Sick
05. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane
06. Beats & Styles - Smilin´
07. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
08. Jon - Right Here Next To You
09. Paperboys - Find My Way
Challengers:
01. Kaah -Du Kan Få Mej
02. Freak Kitchen - Nobody´s Laughing
03. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
04. Winta - Emotions
05. Blues - Gamla Tider
Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.
Check out this video of The Cardigans playing live on MTV's Morning Glory.
All the new material is ready and we have also mastered our own pre-production and it sounds awesome in our ears. We rehearse like we are possessed every day and will continue to do so until we go into studio.
That's Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir talking about the band's preparations to go into Studio Fredman on March 3 to record their new album.
Cult of Luna will touring the UK with ISIS in March. If you like heavy music, I highly recommend you check both these bands out. The dates so far:
3/12 – Manchester, UK - Roadhouse
3/13 – Cardiff, UK - Ms1
3/14 – Brighton, UK - Concorde
3/15 – London, UK - Mean Fiddler
Was it just me, or did World Cafe not stream that TSOOL performance yesterday? Did I miss it? Anyone else record it?
Katatonia has put up a 45-second teaser of the new song "Evidence"on their homepage. As stated before, the new album "Viva Emptiness" comes out March 24.
The Hives won two categories at the recent NME awards: 'Best International Band' and 'Best Dressed'. The full list of winners is here.
Isolation Years will release the first single from the new album "It's Golden" on February 17. The track is called "Open Those Eyes" and I have no doubt it will be awesome. The album follows on March 14.
Madrugada is planning to release the song "Majesty" as the next single. It's already been doing quite well in the charts. The rumor is that they're doing an EP and it'll be out on March 5. No word on the b-sides at this time.
Read the transcript of MTVE.com's webchat with The Cardigans. There's actually some pretty good questions from the fans getting asked and answered.
Ulver reports that the "1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines" remix comp is now complete. Contributors include the band themselves, Alexander Rishaug, Information, Third Eye Foundation, Upland, Bogdan Raczynski, Martin Horntveth, Neotropic, Stars of the Lid, Fennesz, Pita, Jazzkammer, V/Vm, and Merzbow. It'll be out in March on Jester Records.
In other Ulver news, the band also has announced their next EP will be called "A Quick Fix of Melancholy". It will contain three tracks and over 30 minutes of music that they say will "reflect the title." Author Christian Bök provides the lyrics.
Flow Magazine has themselves an exclusive mp3 from Paragon. The track is called "När Gon Spottar" and was produced by Michel Rocwell. Look for it on the upcoming debut album "Stadsbarn".
This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):
01. (01) The Cardigans "For What It's Worth"
02. (06) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i hela världen"
03. (09) Coldplay "Clocks"
04. (05) The Knife "Heartbeats"
05. (03) Fireside "Throw It Away"
06. (08) Caesars Palace "Candy Cane"
07. (02) Foo Fighters "Times Like These"
08. (NY) Erlend Öje "Sudden Rush"
09. (NY) Laakso "Long Beach"
10. (11) Ms Dynamite "Put Him Out"
| 11. (NY) Placebo "The Bitter End"
12. (16) Paris "Streetlights"
13. (18) N.E.R.D. "Provider"
14. (04) Badly Drawn Boy "Born Again"
15. (NY) Maceo Parker "Come By And See"
16. (14) Eve "Satisfaction"
17. (13) The Libertines "Time For Heroes"18. (NY) Calexico "Quattro"
19. (15) Zwan "Honestly"
20. (NY) Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"
|
Leaving the chart:
(07) Turin Brakes "Pain Killer"
(10) Supergrass "Seen the Light"
(12) Ed Harcourt "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed"
(17) Dub Sweden "Walk Me Home"
(19) Paola "Interstellar Love"
(20) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"
Big Bongo Records is doing a comp to be called Twenty Years Too Soon One Year Too Late - A Tribute To The Nomads" featuring contributions from Sewergrooves, The Hellacopters, Maryslim, bob hund, The Dictators, Entombed, Sons of Cyrus and Nitwitz. In case you are unaware, The Nomads are the forefathers of Swedish garage rock and two of the members now make up The Hellacopters' rhythm section. I don't have a release date, but it should be out soon.
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. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
04. Barbados - Rewind
05. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
06. A Teens - New arrival
07. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
08. Melody Club - Music machine
09. The Knife - Deep Cuts
10. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
11. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
12. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
13. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
14. Thåström - På röda sten
15. Joybells gospel choir - Oh happy day - 14 gospel klassiker
16. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
17. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
18. Eric Gadd - Life support
19. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
20. v/a - Fame factory vol 2
Swedish singer/songwriter Sofia Loell has done a song to be featured in the upcoming Gwyneth Paltrow film "A View from the Top". Read more here. (in Swedish)
The new Lost Patrol record is scheduled to be out in May. For those that don't know, LP is the solo side project of Dennis Lyxzén from The (International) Noise Conspiracy. Among the various guests to appear on the album are singer/songwriter Lisa Miskovsky, David Sandström (The Facers, ex-Refused), Stefan Granberg (Randy), and Peder Stenberg (Bittersweet). Read more here. (in Swedish)
Nasum reports they have completed their new album "Helvete" which was recorded at the band's own Soundlab Studios by singer/guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk. The tracklisting:
01. Violation
02. Scoop
03. Living Next Door to Malice
04. Stormshield
05. Time to Discharge
06. Bullshit
07. Relics
08. We Curse You All
09. Doombringer
10. Just Another Hog
11. Drop Dead
12. I Hate People
13. Go!
14. The Final Sleep
15. Slaves to the Grind
16. Breach of Integrity
17. The Everlasting Shame
18. Your Words Alone
19. Preview of Hell
20. Illogic
21. Whip
22. Worst Case Scenario
Read my reviews of the new albums from Ulver and Björn Olsson over at indieworkshop.com. Look for the links on the right, under 'Featured Reviews'.
TV4 Gothenburg has put up an acoustic set from The Soundtrack of Our Lives back on their website. Check it. (thanks to tsool.tk)
The movie Jungle Book 2 comes out in February featuring a track called "Jag vill va som du" from Dungen. A double A-side single with that song plus "Har du vart i Stockholm" comes out February 10.
Energy Rekords has signed EBM/Electro act 8kHz Mono. You can sample them on the "Virtual Energy vol.4" comp.
Even more award nominees! This time, the Manifest awards, Sweden's alternative to the (Swedish) Grammy:
Pop/Rock
The Bear Quartet - Ny våg (A West Side Fabrication/MNW)
David & The Citizens - For All Happy Endings (Adrian Recordings/Border)
Doktor Kosmos - Reportage! (NONS/MNW)
Marit Bergman - 3.00 A.M. Serenades (Sugartoy/Border)
Embassy - Futile Crimes (Service/Border)
Hardcore/Punk
In Flames - Reroute to remain (Nuclear Blast/MNW)
Thåström - Mannen som blev en gris (Mistlur/MNW)
Spiritual Beggars - On fire (Music For Nations/Zomba)
Totalt Jävla Mörker - Det ofrivilliga lidandets maskineri (Distortion/Border)
Vomitory - Blood rapture (Metal Blade/Border)
Hip Hop/R&B/Soul
Loop Troop - The Struggle Continues (David Vs Goliath/Burning Heart)
Timbuktu - Wåtts Dö Madderfakking Diil? (Juju/Playground)
Heli - Öronknark (Streetzone/Border)
Masayah - Masayah (Swing-A-Ling/MNW)
Ison & Fille - Vår sida av stan (Hemmalaget/V2)
Postrock/Electronica
Hans Appelqvist - Tonefilm (Komplott)
Mokira - Plee (Mille Plateaux/Border)
Nova Express - One (Rocket Number Nine)
Pallin - Far From Yokohama (URU)
Testbild! - The Double Life Of Testbild! (Radio Khartoum)
Dance
Adam Beyer - Ignition Key (Truesoul)
The Mighty Quark - Silverdale (Play)
Eerik & Arvid - Shimmer (Raw Fusion)
Koop - Waltz for Koop (Superstudio/Diesel/Sony)
Sunday Brunch - No resistance (SVEK/Goldhead/Next Stop)
Folk/Worldmusic
Ellika Frisell & Solo Cissokho - Tretakt Takissaba (Xource/MNW)
Golbang - Saali nó (Stran)
Harv - Töst (Drone/CDA)
Olle Lindvall (Drone/CDA)
Sumer - Iraq (Sw/Eden/Border)
Lyrics
Mattias Alkberg (Bear Quartet)
Timbuktu
Uje Brandelius (Doktor Kosmos)
Ison & Fille
Petter Herbertsson (Testbild!)
Live Artist
Doktor Kosmos
Jmyhaze Beatbox
Spotrunnaz
In Flames
Ellika Frisell and Solo Cissokho
Best Newcomer
Totalt Jävla Mörker
Hans Appelqvist
Marit Bergman
Sunday Brunch
Embassy
Winners will be announced at the ceremony on January 31 at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The Teenage Idols, Ison & Fille, Totalt Jävla Mörker, and Jmy Haze Beatbox will perform.
The good people over at Chalksounds have finally gotten their online store up and running. The featured album for sale is "On Planted Streets" from KVLR, one of my faves. Highly recommended. Besides their own label's goodies, you can also order records from bands such as Fireside and Isolation Years. Again, both highly recommended.
Grave will be playing this year's coming March Metal Meltdown V to take place in Irvington, New Jersey on March 7-8. The new album "Back From The Grave" comes out January 28th on Century Media.
Dismember bassist Richard Cabeza recently got married in Las Vegas to a woman he met while on tour with Dark Funeral. The name of the lucky bride and the time of the wedding are unknown, but you can view the proceedings for yourself in its full, Vegas-style glory.
Jean-Pierre De Sade has decided to leave Notre Dame right in the middle of recording their new album. Some of his tracks will remain, but the rest of the guitars will be covered by ND's multitalented mainman Snowy Shaw. Of course, this also means the band now has an opening. If you feel like you've got what it takes, send your pic, bio and demo to:
S.O.S management
gamla tuvevägen 16
417 05 gothenburg
Sweden
The Soundtrack of Our Lives are nominated for a U.S. Grammy! The album "Behind the Music" got the nod in the 'Best Alternative Music Album' category. See the rest of the list here.
Here's some of the nominees for the Spellemannsprisen, the Norweigan version of the Grammies. Read the full list here. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on February 22.
Rock
AI Phoenix - "Lean That Way Forever"
Gluecifer - "Basement Apes"
JR Ewing - "Ride Paranoia"
Madrugada - "Grit"
Vidar Vang - "Rodeo"
Metal
Immortal - "Sons Of Northern Darkness"
Red Harvest - "Sick Transit Gloria Mundi"
Satyricon - "Volcano"
Pop
Dadafon - "Visitor"
Ephemera - "Balloons And Champagne"
Minor Majority - "If I Told You, You Were Beautiful"
Popium - "Permanently High"
The Margarets - "What Kept You?"
Electronica
Biosphere - "Shenzhou"
Kim Hiorthøy - "Melke"
Salvatore - "Tempo"
Open Class
Mari Boine - "Eight Seasons"
Sidsel Endresen and Bugge Wesseltoft - "Out Here, In There"
Jaga Jazzist - "The Stix"
Nils Petter Molvær - "nP3"
Ulver - "Lyckantropen Themes"
Song:
"Forever Not Yours" - a-ha
"Mysteriet Deg" - Bjørn Eidsvåg
"My Lullaby" - Maria Mena
"Barcelona" - Paperboys
"Remind Me" - Röyksopp
Black metal-turned goth-electronica act Kovenant has their new album "S.E.T.I" (The Search For Extraterestial Intelligence) coming out in Europe March 31 on Nuclear Blast Records.
Northside Records reports that Mari Boine and Frifot will both have new records coming out soon in the new year.
A ton of news today! My goodness! Read on...
Björn Olsson will NOT be participating in the upcoming Union Carbide Productions reunion at Hultsfred. "Sure, it might be fun to play, but it's more fun not to play." says the man himself in this interview. (in Swedish) Of course, this may be subject to change. You never know. Also, the boxset is now expected around mid-May, but still no exact date has been set. And lastly, I just my hands on a copy of "UPA" and will try to put up a track a bit later today. Full review next week at the latest. Check back, y'hear?
In somewhat related news, TSOOL's latest album "Behind the Music" made GQ Magazine's top 10 of the year. What they said:
Cranking guitars and clean, poppish melodies make you think of 1960s British bands, but this time it's the Scandanavian Invasion. Will Norrkoping or Malmö be the next Manchester?
Check out the video for "By the Grace of God" from The Hellacopters, courtesy of NME.
The finalists for Rockbjörnen have been announced! Vote here! Here's the list of the nominees for the Swedish categories:
Best female artist:
Robyn
Marit Bergman
Paola
Carola
Awa Manneh
Best male artist:
Håkan Hellström
Ulf Lundell
Joakim Thåström
Brolle Jr
Markoolio
Best group:
Kent
The Ark
The Hellacopters
In Flames
The Sounds
Best song:
Dom andra (Kent)
Kom igen Lena (Håkan Hellström)
FF (Kent)
Kärleken Väntar (Kent)
Vinternoll2 (Kent)
Best album:
Vapen och Ammunition (Kent)
Det är så jag säger det (Håkan Hellström)
In lust we trust (The Ark)
Club Zebra (Ulf Lundell)
Reroute To Remain (In Flames)
Best newcomer:
The Sounds
Mando Diao
Brolle Jr
Melody Club
Awa Manneh
Randy is currently in the studio and have completed 17 songs for their next record. Not all of em will make the cut, but they have until the 22nd to keep cranking out more. Mixing will convene in January.
Bad Taste Records says they're gonna put the recently completed Bad Taste Festival up for online viewing! No exact details yet, but they say to check their website tomorrow for the scoop. Danko Jones, Langhorns, Logh and Last Days of April were the bands that played and you can read more about the event here.
Håkan Hellström's next single will be "Det är så jag säger det". Look for it in January.
Dolores Recordings is gonna release a compilation of the best pop/rock from today and from 1966-1971 in February. Here's the track listing:
CD1.
01. Caesars Palace - Subhuman Girl
02. Håkan Hellström - Fulaste Flickan I Världen
03. Dungen - Horizon
04. Alf - Mitt I Malmö City
05. Grammar School Boys - Baby Blue
06. Franke - Aldrig förstå
07. Jose Gonzales - Dead Waits On Velveteen
08. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Jehova Sunrise
09. Broder Daniel - You Bury Me
10. Silverbullit - I Had To Tell You
11. Hello Goodbye - Pussycat
12. Whyte Seeds - Lost My Love
13. Sagor & Swing - Flickan & Jätten
14. The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Up For Sale
15. Paola - Rainbow In The Dark
16. Nicolai Dunger - Hey Mama
CD2.
01. The Mascots - The Girl That You Are
02. The Shakers - Who Will Buy (These Wonderful Evils)
03. The Wizards - See You Tonight
04. The Jackpots - King Of The World
05. Tages - Fantasy Island
06. Annaabee-Nox - Always On My Mind
07. Outsiders - Iside Of Me
08. Fabulous Four - 438 South Michigan Avenue
09. T-Bones - I Want You
10. Charlie & Esdor - Dagen Är Över
11. Steampacket II - Fruitseller Oldman's Song
12. Pugh - Här Kommer Natten
13. Ola And The Janglers - I Can't Wait
14. Mecki Mark Men - Midnight Land
15. Hansson & Karlsson - Tax Free
16. Trolls - Alone
17. The Deejays - Striped Dreams Checked Fear
Lots of news from Ulver today:
The soundtrack to "Svidd Neger" is just about finished and will be released in conjunction with the film in March 2003.
The all-string remake of "Nattens Madrigal" is delayed yet again and the prospects of it ever getting done are looking dimmer and dimmer.
The upcoming remix album will be called "1st Decade in the Machines" and it should be out around February. Some of the contributing artists include Merzbow, Neotropic, Bogdan Raczynski, Third Eye Foundation, Kevin Drumm, Fennesz and Stars of the Lid.
The band recently recorded a cover of Lee Hazelwood's "The Night Before" and it may surface on a Jester Records cover album sometime in the future.
T-shirts are now available from Plastichead in the UK.
And finally, the band has yet another new release coming up. It will be an EP entitled "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" and it will be out sometime next year.
phew.
In other Ulver-related news, their self-run label Jester Records has a bunch of new stuff on the horizon.
Kåre Joaö will release the single "Sleepers" in February. The CD will also contain the video.
Lars Pedersen of When says a new album is in the works. March 2003? Here's an interview you can read where he discusses his plans, along with some other topics. (In English, too!)
Jester will also release a new album from Lord Bård (aka 1349 Rykkinn, founding member of Masters of Møh and Superskill) entitled "Brown Ring of Fury". The artist's own description of his work: "Brown Ring of Fury is the sound of growing up in the suburbs west of Norway’s capital. 1349 Rykkinn. The sound of glue and magic mushrooms. Ghettoblasters. Daddy drowning in his own vomit. Amphetamines. Fireworks. The sound of getting laid for first time. Of filming one’s first orgasm. My life. A tribute to blowing oneself up. For to repent till tears gush forth. Again and again. An anaesthetic circle."
Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson says the inspiration for his band's latest album came from the Swedish metal bands Meshuggah and Opeth. Of course, he did produce Opeth's last couple records, but anyhow - here's what he had to say on the subject:
For years I had dismissed metal as music for adolescents, which a lot of people do, because I was only exposed to the stuff that is in the mainstream. And then suddenly I tapped into this whole group of bands from the underground. Actually, it's because I read a book called 'Lords Of Chaos', because I was fascinated with this guy from Burzum, that led me into the whole world. So I started listening to bands like Morbid Angel, some of the doom bands and eventually found my way to Meshuggah and Opeth, which to me, were the holy grail of that whole scene. I suddenly realized where all the musicians that were making truly progressive music had gone. They weren't making old-style progressive music, they were making a completely contemporary form of progressive music by using metal as their kind of conduit, if you like. I mean, Mike from Opeth is completely into progressive rock. But he's not doing it in a nostalgic way, he's doing it in a completely cutting edge contemporary way, using metal as his vehicle. And he loves metal just as much as anything, and so do I. And that was kind of a real eye-opener for me, to find musicians who are obviously very much coming from the tradition of the way people made records in the '70s, but doing it in a completely new and contemporary way and with musicianship that I just didn't think existed anymore.
Amorphis has completed the recording of the instrumental parts for their new album. Frontman Pasi Koskinen will begin working on his parts under the tutelage of producer Hannu Leiden shortly.
BREAKING NEWS: A reformed Union Carbide Productions will be playing the Hultsfred Festival next year. The band broke up many years ago and members went on to form The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but they've decided to come together again in celebration of their upcoming box set release. More news about Hultsfred here. No time has been set yet for the box set's release, but we're hearing that an April or May date is expected.
Speaking of TSOOL, here's some photos from their recent tour with Oasis. (Text in Swedish)
Watch a video of The Ark's performance from Faddergalan over at the Arkfreaks website.
Mustasch is in the studio once again. Jakob Hellner (Rammstein, Clawfinger) is producing and it is expected to be out late 2003.
The Plan are working on their next album. Ronald Bood is producing once again and it should be out by Autumn next year.
Darkthrone managed to record and mix their new album in 26 hours. That's pretty damn fast! Described by singer/guitarist Nocturno Culto as "spontaneous black metal with spirit", it will be released on Moonfog in February.
The tracklist for the upcoming 2xCD Emperor greatest hits and rarities collection "Scattered Ashes - A Decade of Emperial Wrath" has been revealed. Here it is:
Disc One:
01. Curse You All Men
02. The Tongue Of Fire
03. The Majesty Of The Night Sky
04. Cosmic Keys To My Creations & Times
05. Wrath Of The Tyrant
06. The Loss & Curse Of Reverence
07. An Elegy Of Icaros
08. I Am The Black Wizards
09. Thus Spake The Nightspirit (live)
10. Ye Entrancemperium
11. In The Wordless Chamber
12. With Strength I Burn
13. Inno A Satana
Disc Two:
01. A Fine Day To Die
02. Aerie Descent
03. Cromlech
04. Gypsy
05. Funeral Fog
06. I Am
07. Sworn (Ulver remix)
08. Lords Of The Storms
09. My Empire's Doom
10. Moon Over Kara-Shehr
11. Witches Sabbath
12. Ancient Queen
13. In Longing Spirit
Sanctum is scheduled to play the Cornerstone Festival in the US in July. They're also working on booking a west-coast tour to follow. The band is also said to be demoing material for their next album, with the goal of getting started in the studio around February. In related news, the Crescens Collective is doing another collaboration with the dance group Agnes. The topic will be "choices" and they are expected to finish around March.
New music today: Motorpsycho and Ulver from Norway plus super-hype band of the moment, The Sounds. Look to your right.
Believe it or not, but The Haunted are set to appear on the MTV show "Cribs". Apparently MTV newsman Iann Robinson is a big fan of the band. So yeah, if you want to see a tour of the band's homes, check out the show on December 4.
Finnish doom band Shape of Despair has a new bassist, Sami Uusitalo. The band is scheduled to enter the studio early next year to record their next album. Expect a late 2003 release on Spinefarm Records.
Crystal Committee (ex-Starmarket) will have their debut album out in February on Chalksounds Records. Entitled "Forever Overhead", it was recorded at Studio Gröndal. I'm not positive, but I assume it was produced and engineered by studio owner Pelle Gunnerfeldt of Fireside.
Also out on Chalksounds in the near future is the new album from Moonbabies. The band is still working hard in the studio, so a release isn't expected until around March.
Export Music Sweden (ExMS) reports that net earnings for exports from the Swedish music industry grew 37% in 2001 from the year previous for a total of 500M euros. And that wasn't even all that great, they say as sales weren't quite as good as hoped for. 2002 looks to be better though. with good sales coming from TSOOL, In Flames and others.
The Ark, Håkan Hellström, Robyn, and The Sounds will be performing on the Swedish TV show Faddergalan on December 9th.
See the new Madrugada video for the song "Majesty" here: High or Low. The band has also put up a tour diary on their website. Check it out.
Rumor has it that The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be back to tour the U.S. in February and March with a stop at South by Southwest along with Citizen Bird/Silverbullit and Isolation Years. Look for them on Late Night With David Letterman in late January, too.
Okay, here's the real scoop about ex-Emperor drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun. He's due to be released from prison in December after serving nine years and four months for murder and he recently made a statement to Terrorizer magazine discussing his feelings about his past and his upcoming plans (from Blabbermouth):
"I am really excited about the Dissection involvement," Faust said, "It will be an honor to perform the classic tracks as well as the new ones that Jon [Nödtveit] has created while behind bars. He assures me that it will be in the classic Dissection vein."
Regarding a rumored collaboration with former Emperor guitarist Samoth, Eithun commented: "Other possible plans are very much in the air and we have decided to not reveal anything since nothing is cleared. I am sure people are generally fed up by projects being hyped up and then eventually falls out into nothing."
Despite his lengthy incarceration, Faust has remained conspicuously active during his time in the slammer. "I concluded eight years of education while being in prison," he said. "Most notably, I got a bachelor-grade at the University Of Oslo in the history of religions and the history of ideas. I also fulfilled a year of E-Business at a private facility school in Oslo. Secondly, I tried to stay in touch with the scene and I did some literary work. Most important are the lyrics I do for Zyklon but also other bands like Sigh and Aborym. Then I managed to do some guest appearances for bands like Ulver, Cadaver Inc. and Sirius, all of whom I am proud to have participated. I also did some writing for magazines around, basically Slayer mag and Descent, who also remain, besides Answer Me!, my fave magazines.”
Having kept in touch with the scene, Eithun has observed the changes within it as closely as anyone has. "I think it has changed both for the better and the worse," he said. "For one, I like extremity, progression and innovation in music, but on the other side, I dislike the shallow and superficial attitude that follows in the vortex of major trends. Needless to say I appreciated the comradeship, loyalty and integrity of the scene at the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. I think a major turning point was when the majority of the black metallers actually became musicians in the real sense, probably in the middle of the 90s. I also like the fusion of different styles of metal and no matter how much Slipknot is labeled nu-metal, they represent something fresh and brutal for me. I would much rather see the majority of the population being drawn to Slipknot's decadent semi-satanic ideology and propaganda instead of the brainless muzak that fills our world."
With regards to his time in prison, Eithun said: "It has taught me a lot about myself, my limits, my psyche and my will. I think it as a positive thing that I was removed from the black metal scene because I was heading towards a very destructive path. Sure, I thought about what went wrong, trying to analyze where things took the wrong turn, but I never really sat down and thought what I should have done different and if I would live my life the same way again. Life's too short to worry about the things you did wrong."