A new week and some new tunes: Bloodbath is members of Katatonia and Opeth doing that classic Swedish death metal thing. The Flaming Sideburns got that dirty rock n' roll thing going on. The Motorhomes put out one of the best pop records this year. And Mando Diao's got a sound that's a little bit Motown, a little bit garage rock.
Speaking of Opeth, they just recently completed work on their upcoming album "Damnation", hot on the heels of the just-released "Deliverence". Billed as the mellow companion album to "Deliverence"'s heaviness, the album is presently being mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree for a March 2003 release. The band claims it's "nothing like anything we've ever done before" and has a "strong '70s vibe both in material and production." Opeth will be doing some touring in support of the already-released album with dates already confirmed for London and Greece in December. They say there's more to come, so you may wanna check their website for the latest.
Finland's Children of Bodom have completed work on their next album. It's called "Hate Crew Deathroll" and will be released on January 7, 2003. View the artwork here.
Borknager has announced their plans to record the follow-up to "Empiricism". Oystein G. Brun's statement on the matter:
"We estimate to use about 4-6 months to record the album, as we want to use the time needed to get the album as close to perfection as possible. The album will be recorded in the same recording facilities as last time (Fagerborg and Toproom Studios) with Børge Finstad behind the desk. Musically the album will be a continuation of 'Empiricism'. Apart from that, we deem the right to keep the rest as a secret... he,he.... As of yet, there is no title for the album, but some song titles are ready: 'Cyclus', 'The Inner Ocean Hypothesis', 'The Wonder', 'Quintessence', 'Future Reminiscence' and 'Relate (Dialogo)'."
The Swedish Hit Music Awards were this past weekend. Kent and The Sounds won some awards, along with a bunch of international acts that I don't care about. Check out this article for the scoop. (In Swedish, list at bottom)
The Hellacopters are about the release their the next single from the album "By the Grace of God" on December 2nd. The a-side will be "Carry Me Home" with a cover of Rory Gallagher's "Big Guns" on the flipside. Listen to "Carry Me Home" right here.
I was thinking about these guys just the other day and wondering what they were up to. Amorphis has just entered Finnvox studios in Helsinki, Finland to begin work on their next album. Currently label-less as they have finished out their contract with Relapse, they expect the album to be ready for a summer 2003 release. They also plan to do a couple shows in the near future:
Nov. 30 – Skopje, MAC @ Skopje Trade Fair
Dec. 13 - St. Petersburg, RUS @ Youth Place
Dec. 14 – Moscow, RUS @ DK
Dec. 20 – Tampere, FIN @ Pakkahuone
In the spirit of keeping busy, frontman Pasi Koskinen's "black metal" project Ajattara is currently recording their new album, "Kuolema" (Death). Look for it around March 2003.