Bootleg Booze/Rock Alliance is starting to take pre-orders on the new album "All time high" from The Accidents: http://www.bootlegbooze.com/
If you're into punked-out rockabilly with maybe a touch of Oi!, you should check these guys out. Members of Voice of a Generation and Genocide Superstar, for those that care about such things.

New pics of Voice of a Generation up at Musique One Stop: http://www.photohenrik.com/mos/

Rockfoto.nu is updated with pics of Randy, Voice of a Generation and more.

Voice of a Generation will also be playing support for those upcoming Swedish Bad Religion gigs as well.

Upcoming tourdates for The Peepshows:

07/01 - Mau Club, Rostock (GER)
07/02 - Wild at heart, Berlin (GER)
07/03 - With Full Force Festival, Roitzschjora (GER)
07/05 - Bei Chez Heinz, Hannover (GER)
07/08 - Underground, Köln (GER)
07/10 - tba, St. Niklaas (BEL)
07/13 - tba, Kassel (GER)
07/17 - tba, Wien (AUS)
07/19 - Glashaus, Bayreuth (GER)
07/23 - Kreuz, Fulda (GER) w/Voice of a Generation
07/24 - Open Air, Glaubitz (GER) w/Movement

New at Musique One-Stop: Pics of Voice of a Generation from the record release show for their new album "The Final Oddition".

The latest Scandinavian music reviews from the German webzine Sellfish:

Between Us - Regrets & Apologies
The Change - s/t
Gluecifer - Automatic Thrill
J's Plain Band - Colour of Today
Voice of a Generation - The Final Oddition

Between Us has announced that they'll be heading out on the road in March with fellow Burning Heart bands Randy and Voice of a Generation on the 'In Close Up We Trust' tour. Full dates for the band (all in Sweden unless otherwise noted):

01/30 - Tilflykt, Kongsberg (NOR) w/Damage Control, The Change, Award and Turn Cold
01/31 - Magasin 15, Trollhättan The Change releaseparty w/Damage Control and The Change
02/13 - Slakthuset, Nyköping w/Award and Labour
02/14 - Calhall "Heartbreaks and Fights", Falun w/The Change, Path of No Return, Award and Parade
02/19 - Ungdomens Hus, Uppsala w/Bruce Banner and Hero Dishonest
02/20 - Kungen, Sandviken w/Hero Dishonest
02/21 - Stallet, Umeå w/Rabid Grannies and Auktion
02/22 - Club 25, Vaasa (FIN)
02/23 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä (FIN) w/Security Threat and Abduktio
02/24 - Tvo, Turku (FIN) w/On a Solid Rock, While I'm Alive and Unity Murder
02/25 - tba (FIN)
02/28 - LKPG HC Fest, Linköping
03/05 - Kartago, Sölvesborg w/Voice of a Generation

In Close Up We Trust w/Randy and Voice of a Generation:
03/06 - Festival 035, Halmstad
03/11 - Debaser, Stockholm
03/12 - Sticky Fingers, Göteborg
03/13 - The Rock, Linköping
03/17 - Ungdomens Hus, Uppsala
03/18 - Club 35, Strängnäs
03/19 - Klubb Kaliber, Mariestad
03/20 - Garage, Oslo (NOR)
03/24 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
04/01 - Inkonst, Malmö
04/02 - Perrong 23, Hässleholm
04/03 - Stengade 30, Copenhagen (DK)

Voice of a Generation got their new website online: http://www.burningheart.com/voice/

The new Voice of a Generation album "The Final Oddition" is now confirmed for a February release on Burning Heart. Tracklist (and some samples):

01. Cause for alarm
02. Itching fingers
03. Decadent & confident
04. Democracy is dead
05. Bastard
06. The upbringing
07. Casulties of war
08. Verbal abuse
09. Baseballbat
10. Crap recieved
11. 450 days
12. Justice

They've also got a ton of live dates lined up, too:

01/31 - Releaseparty, Örebro (SWE)
02/13 - Kungen, Sandviken (SWE)
02/18 - Wild at heart, Berlin (GER)
02/19 - Conne Island, Leipzig (GER)
02/20 - Cafe Central, Weinheim (GER)
02/21 - Club Vaudeville, Lindau (GER)
02/22 - tba, tba (GER)
02/23 - Hellmut, Saarbrücken (GER)
02/24 - tba, tba (GER)
02/25 - Church, Dresden (GER)
02/26 - Circus Maximus, Koblenz (GER)
02/27 - Cafe Glocksee, Hannover (GER)
02/28 - Tower, Bremen (GER)
04/08 - Molotow, Hamburg (GER)
04/09 - East club, Bischofswerda (GER)
04/10 - K4, Nürnberg (GER)
04/11 - Universum, Stuttgart (GER)
04/12 - tba, tba (AUS)
04/13 - Kulturcafe Schlachthaus, Dornbirn (AUS)
04/14 - tba, tba (IT)
04/15 - ISC, Bern (CH)
04/16 - Kofmehl, Solothurn (CH)
04/17 - Merrker, Baden (CH)
04/18 - tba, tba (CH)
04/19 - tba, tba (FR)
04/20 - tba, tba (BEL)
04/21 - tba, tba (NL)
04/22 - Underground, Köln (GER)
04/23 - FZW, Dortmund (GER)
04/24 - AJZ, Bielefeld (GER)

Voice of a Generation is headlining the Beat Em Down Festival in Nürnberg, Germany on April 10. Details: http://www.beatemdown.de

Voice of a Generation has finished recording their new album "The Final Oddition", due out February 2 on Burning Heart. They'll be supporting the release with two European tours and one Scandinavian tour this coming spring. They also have two 7"s in the works. The first one will be on Germany's Green Hell Records and will feature a single from the album along with two exclusive tracks. The second one will be on Red Angel and is a split with Falköping-based punkrockers Blisterhead, with each band contributing two songs apiece.

Voice of a Generation will enter Soundlab Studios, the studio of Mieszko from Nasum, on September 19 to begin work on their fourth album.

Check out some pics from the recent C.Aarmé/Alarma Man show at Club Surburbia.

The Caesars are doing a quick US tour in support of their recently released compilation album "39 Minutes Of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)". The single "Jerk it Out" continues to gather more and more airplay (I heard it once myself on SF's Live 105) and will also be heard in an upcoming Michelob TV ad. They'll also be playing the Glastonbury in the UK on June 27. Anyhow, those US dates:

06/19 - San Francisco, Popscene
06/20 - Los Angeles, Spaceland
06/21 - Los Angeles, Viper Room
06/23 - New York, Sin'e
06/24 - Brooklyn, Southpaw
06/25 - Boston, Paradise

Fireside has posted a bunch of new pictures over at their website.

Via Home Groan Net comes these lo-fi videos of Groan Alone playing live opening for Lucinda Williams.

Martin Hagfos has now been confirmed to play the Øya festival along with a new backing band called "Cream of the Crop" that will feature some of Norway's best musicians. Check out the cast list: Martin Hagfors (Home Groan), Håkon Gebhardt (Motorpsycho, Tussler and HGH), Martin Horntveth (Jaga Jazzist), Lars Håvard Haugen (Hellbillies, Respatexans), Pål Flaata (Midnight Choir), Vidar Ersfjord (Velvet Belly), and Askil Holm.

Read a short review of the recent Radio Dept. show in London opening for Apples in Stereo.

Unioncarbideproductions.com sends word that they have received twenty promo copies of the new UCP single that will be given out at Hultsfred. Since not everyone can attend said fest, the aforementioned website will be holding a contest to give their copies away. Go here to find out how.

Bridge Records has posted an update on the label's recent activity. Head on over for the full skinny, otherwise note the most important thing is that the new Jam Session album is now out. Their intriguing description:

It all looks awesome, and sounds even better. This record has been doomed, but we stared Satan in his eyes and told him we would not give up until we got this shit out. Since this needs to be heard. Great melodic breakdowns and then it just erupts into manic, furious assault.

In other Bridge news, the label also has plans to release a 7" from The Accidents, a band which features members from Voice of a Generation, or what they call "fyllepunkös". They also have a new 7" coming out from I Ren Desperation, a new crust-style band with members from Nine, Totalitär and Millencolin. That one's a joint release with Finland's Combat Rock and Hater of God in the US, so be sure to check it out.

Some new bands have been announced for the Øyafestivalen Vika-scenen shows: Don Juan Dracula, Oslo Athletico, Wholy Martin, Point Shirley, and Lorenzo. More info here. (in Norweigan)

DigitalMetal.com reviews new albums from Enslaved and Passenger, the side project of Anders Friden from In Flames and Niclas Engelin from "the vastly under-rated" Gardenian.

Norway's Extol is heading over to the States for a number of dates. Shows on June 13 through July 1 are with Demon Hunter, Still Breathing and The Agony Scene and their latest album "Synergy" is out now from Century Media. The dates:

06/13 - Club Impact - Tacoma, WA
06/14 - Fat Tuesday - Spokane, WA
06/15 - The Zone – Yakima, WA
06/17 - Radio Rendezvous – Twin Falls, ID
06/19 - Meow Meow - Portland, OR
06/20 - JoshuaFest -Quincy, CA
06/21 - The Boardwalk -Sacramento, CA
06/22 - Showcase Theater - Corona, CA
06/23 - The Brickhouse - Phoenix, AZ
06/24 - TBA - Albuquerque, NM
06/25 - Sox Palace - Denver CO
06/26 - Ground Zero - Wichita KS
06/27 - The Door - Dallas, TX
06/28 - TBA - Little Rock AR
06/29 - El Torreon – Kansas City, MO
07/03-05 - Cornerstone Festival – Bushnell, IL
07/06 - The Oracle – Atlanta, GA
07/07 - Rocktown Skatepark – Nashville, TN
07/08 - Emerson Theater - Indianapolis, IN
07/10 - Sonshine Festival - Wilmar, MN

Children of Bodom and Soilwork will be teaming up for Japanese tour in September. Dates so far:

09/05 – Osaka, JAP - Big Cat
09/06 – Nagoya, JAP - Club Quattro
09/07 – Tokyo, JAP - Shibuya AX

MTV Nordic will broadcast their footage of this weekend's Stockholm Calling Festival on June 15 at 22:00 CET. Some of the bands scheduled to play the event include Christian Kjellvander & Lazy Grace Frontier, The Cardigans, De Stijl, and Thomas Rusiak.

P3 Musikjournalen reports that Håkan Hellström will be making a guest appearance on the upcoming Universal Poplab cover of the Morrissey classic "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Succesful". The song will be on the band's as-yet-untitled debut album, due out this coming fall. Their first single "Casanova Fall" is out now.

The new Accelerator comp comes out this week and it features some of the best indierock that Sweden has to offer. The tracklisting:

The Embassy - It never entered my mind
Radio Dept. - 1995
The Concretes - Forces
Laakso - Out of taste
Johan Borgert - Smal
David & the Citizens - Stop!
Bear Quartet - Load it
Isolation Years - Open those eyes
Moneybrother - Reconsider me
Franke - Aldrig förstå
Paper - Gone today gone tomorrow
The Knife - You take my breath away
Fireside - Thing on a spring

View the coverart here. Check out Club Accelerator's site here. To download the D&tC track, go here.

Da Buzz are hitting the road in support of the new single "Alive":

05/30 - Umeå, Umeåfesten
07/31 - Eskilstuna, Ungdomsfestivalen
06/06 - Katrineholm, Stadsparken
06/07 - Malmö, Dockan
06/13 - Sollentuna, Sollentunamässan
06/27 - Ludvika, Ludvikafesten
06/27 - Motala, Vätternfestivalen
06/28 - Enköping, Enköpingsfestivalen
06/29 - Uppsala, Birjer Jarl
07/03 - Halmstad, Halmstad stadsfest
07/03 - Sölvesborg, Killibomdagarna
07/04 - Töreboda, Torget
07/10 - LYSEKIL Meddelas
07/11 - Luleå, Hamnspelet
07/12 - Lekvattnet, Sommarens höjdare
07/19 - Åsele, Åsele marknad
07/24 - Karlskoga, Stranddagar
07/25 - Sävsjö, Sävsjöfestivalen
07/26 - Visby, Burmeister
07/31 - Karlstad, Hamnfestivalen
08/01 - Skellefteå, Underbar
08/02 - Öostervåla, Folkets park

Green Carnation's new album "A Blessing in Disguise" is gathering all sorts of accolades including Album of the Month in the magazines Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and BW&BK. They play the Quart Festival on July 5.

The Peepshows just posted a couple photos from their recent tour with The Hellacopters. Check them out here.

Voice of a Generation just posted a bunch of new pics, too. Theirs are from the band's recent shows in Marburg and Berlin.

The Cardigans have revealed that their upcoming performance at the Rock am Ring fest on June 6 will be webcasted by WDR Rockpalast. Go to their homepage on that date to view the stream. The band will also be doing a live chat the same day at 8:30pm mid-european summer time.

As hinted at before, Norway's St. Thomas is starting to make headways in the UK. "Hey Harmony" is the Album of the Week for the Sunday Times and the magazine Bang gave it a 5 out of 5. Here's the full review from the former:

Looking back on the success of "Harvest", Neil Young famously commented that he had found himself in the middle of the road and, not much liking it there, "headed for the ditch". While many of us have enjoyed the erratic, ditch-bound career that followed, those who own "Harvest" and no other Young albums should consider getting better acquainted with St. Thomas — aka Norwegian Thomas Hansen — whose quavering falsetto, simple mixture of folk and alt-country and tendency to leave a chorus just sort of hanging there all recall Young at his kindest and gentlest. Hansen had his own middle-of-the-road moment when his previous album, "I'm Coming Home", made him a star in Norway. He reacted in the traditional way — drinking too much, behaving badly at gigs and ending up in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. But you wouldn't know it by listening to "Hey Harmony". Light, fluffy, upbeat and irrepressibly catchy, the songs suggest a sunny view of the world. The musicians — including Howe Gelb and various Lambchop members — play with tasteful simplicity. And when Hansen sings "we're having a Sunday party, come on over and be our friends" it sounds like an invitation you should accept.

Nasum has posted an extensive tour diary on their site with photos and video footage from their recent trip to Finland. Definitely entertaining. Also, for those that missed it, Shane Embury of Napalm Death and original Nasum member Rickard Alriksson recently joined the band onstage at their record release show this past weekend. See pictures here.

In Flames reports they have completed pre-production on six new songs at their house/studio in Denmark. They plan to spend about another week there writing and recording before heading back to Sweden where they will record the actual album this coming fall. Check out some pics from the so-called "Tuborg Sessions" right here.

The first dates of the rumored HIM tour supporting Ozzy Osbourne have been announced:

09/05 - London, Wembley Arena
09/07 - Birmingham, NEC
09/08 - Rotterdam, Ahoy
09/10 - Oberhausen, Arena
09/13 - Helsinki, Arena
09/15 - Stockholm, Globen
09/16 - Oslo, Spektrum
09/19 - Zurich, Hallenstadion
09/20 - Salzburg, Stadion
09/22 - Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle
09/24 - Vienna, Stadthalle
09/25 - Munich, Olympiahalle

Godsmack opens the shows and HIM plays right before Ozzy for about 45-50 minutes. After this tour HIM also plans to head out on their own around Europe on their own tour. More info when I get it.

Export Music Sweden is planning an outing in Tokyo, Japan for October 16-19. The event has been dubbed 'Swedish Style' and details are currently being worked out in conjunction with the embassy. No bands have been announced yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. Read this for more.

Digfi.com has published the schedule for Stockholm's Popaganda fest which takes place this coming weekend. Be sure to check it out so you don't miss the bands you intend to see.

Bands now added to the Avrikafest tour with Kamera now include Quit Your Dayjob, Alice In Videoland, Kristian Anttila, Don Juan Dracula, Nina Natri and Kitty.

And speaking of Avrika, here's some more bands added to the regular fest bill: Fireside, Mikael Wiehe, Paola, Moneybrother, Dub Sweden, USCB Allstars, De Stijl, Seven, the Monotypes, Love Olzon, Franke, Kristian Anttila, Nine, Dozer and TPIKSA.

Fireside, Burek V, David & The Citizens, Cult of Luna, and Heikki have now all been confirmed for the lineup of the free Trästock festival which takes place at Nordanå in Skellefteå on July 17-19.

We are now almost finnished with the recordings. We have until sunday this week and then we take a break for 3 weeks before we enter again for the final mix in mid June. It sounds very fuckin' great and we can't wait to release this fury upon your souls. It has gone very smooth in the studio, no problems at all and everybody is working their asses off. When we're not beating our instruments we are kickin' eachothers asses in Tekken 4 and the undisputed champion is for the moment Janne. We have now tuned down the guitars even more to get a more deadly sound to the songs and it fuckin' working, and the fast songs have become even more faster than the pre-production we did. As I'm writing this I have only one more song to do vocals on and that's "Dawn of Emptiness" , a mid tempo song that's gonna end the album along with the instrumental piece "The Endless Gate". Marcus has also some solos left to do and the shit he's done so far has fuckin' blown me away.

That's The Crown's vocalist Johan Lindstrand discussing the band's progress on the new album "Possessed 13" from their message board. The tentative release date is set for September.