If I installed a message board, would you use it? Just curious - let me know. Otherwise, there's always the guestbook.

Here's the winners of today's P3 Gold Awards:

Best Male Artist – Håkan Hellström "Det Är Så Jag Säger Det"
Best Grouppp – Kent "Vapen & Ammunition"
Best Female Artist – Marit Bergman "3.00 A.M. Serenades"
Best Newcomer – The Sounds
Best Live – The Ark
Best Dance – Håkan Lidbo "Sexy Robot"
Best Rock/Metal – Opeth "Deliverance"
Best Hiphop/Soul – Looptroop "The Struggle Continues"
Best Pop – Doktor Kosmos "Reportage!"

For more info and to listen to the presentation, go here. And don't forget to check out P3 Live over the next two days as a lot of the nominees will be performing.

More dates have been added to the upcoming Sahara Hotnights tour with Ikara Colt and Washdown. They are as follows:

02/27 - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
02/28 - Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
03/01 - North Star Philadelphia, PA
03/02 - Black Cat Washington, DC
03/03 - Alley Katz Richmond, VA
03/04 - Cats Cradle Carborro, NC
03/05 - The Echo Lounge Atlanta, GA
03/06 - Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL
03/07 - The Social Orlando, FL
03/08 - The Orpheum Tampa, FL
03/10 - Shim Sham Club New Orleans, LA
03/13 - TBA Austin, TX
03/14 - Stubbs Austin, TX
03/15 - Trees Dallas, TX
03/16 - Green Door Oklahoma City, OK
03/17 - TBA Albuquerque, NM
03/18 - Mason Jar Phoenix, AZ
03/19 - Roxy Los Angeles, CA
03/20 - TBA Los Angeles, CA
03/21 - Slim's San Francisco, CA
03/22 - Dantes Portland, OR
03/23 - The Royal Vancouver Canada 03/24 - Graceland Seattle, WA
03/28 - El Torreon Kansas City, MO
04/02 - Mohawk Place Buffalo, NY

As previously noted here, there's going to be quite a few Scandinavian acts at this year's SXSW festival in Austin Texas. Ten from Sweden, seven fren Denmark and Norway and 3 from Finland and Iceland. The three bands Sondre Lerche, Madrugada and Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band will perform together at a Scandinavian showcase show and the rest will be playing other seperate dates during the event. For more info about the Norweigan acts go here. For a list of all the bands performing, go here.

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

01. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
02. A Teens - New arrival
03. The Sounds - Living in America
04. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
05. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
06. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
07. Melody Club - Music machine
08. Barbados - Rewind
09. Thåström - På röda sten
10. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
11. Johannes Kotschy - And that's why I love you
12. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
13. The Knife - Deep Cuts
14. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
15. v/a - Fame factory vol 2
16. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
17. Tyskarna från Lund - Metamorphobia
18. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
19. The Hellacopters - By the grace of god
20. Benny Anderssons orkester - Benny Anderssons orkester

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

Leaving the chart:
(14) The Raveonettes "Attack of the Ghost Riders"
(15) Oasis "Songbird"
(17) Massive Attack "Special Cases"
(18) Johnny Marr & The Healers "Bangin' On"
(19) Teenage Idols "Teenage Idols from Outer Space"

Sigh. It was only a matter of time, but Virgin Records Sweden has contacted me and kindly asked me to remove the mp3s from their artists (Nicolai Dunger, Melody Club, Caesars Palace and The Ark). And I do mean kindly - no threats or anything, just a polite request. Maybe we'll work something in the future for authorized downloads, but until then there will be no more Virgin artists represented on the playlist. Kind of a pity since they are some of my favorites, but that's the way it goes.

UPDATE: The nice people at Virgin are looking into working out an arrangement in the future. Nothing yet, but we'll see. As for now, get a preview of "Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils?", the new 2xCD from Virgin/Dolores showcasing the label's past and present artists. It comes out February 24 and will be celebrated with a party at Club Debaser in Stockholm. Scheduled to appear and spin records are Ebbot from The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Jocke Åhlund from Caesars Palace, Reine Fiske from Dungen and more. Tickets go on sale on the 7th. Oh, and the tracklist for the album:

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

And on a similar note, increased traffic levels mean I need to cut back on the amount of music I have for download anyways. If someone else is willing to externally host the stuff, by all means, let me know. Otherwise, five tracks at a time going forward plus the usual live sets.

Beyond Dawn reports that they've finally solidified a release for their new album "Frysh". Look for it in May from Peaceville.

In BD related news, side-project Wrongside has finished recording their debut MCD for a release in April on Duplicate Records. Described as "a strange mix of noisy rock, playful electronica and lo-fi melancholy among other things," they say "it should appeal to BD fans and probably a lot of other people as well." Preorder it now: duplicaterecords@hotmail.com.

Also from the BD camp, word is that Virus is nearly done with their debut album for Jester Records. Now tentively titled "Carheart" (as opposed to the original title "The Drama Hour") they describe it as "outlandishly cool and mindbogglingly mindboggling." To me that describes most everything from Jester, but hey, check it out and decide for yourself.

The new Katatonia album has been finalized. It's called "Viva Emptiness" and you can preview the cover here. It'll be out on March 24 from Peaceville. The tracklist:

01. Ghost of the Sun
02. Sleep
03. Criminals
04. A Premonition
05. Will I Arrive
06. Burn the Remembrance
07. Wealth
08. One Year from Now
09. Walking by a Wire
10. Complicity
11. Evidence
12. Omerta
13. Inside the City of Glass

The band promises preview mp3s shortly. I'll keep you posted.

Here's a message of interest from Burning Heart that may be worth investigating:

We have a very special treat for you. In cooperation with Burning Heart Records Turbojugend members will have the chance to listen to the new Turbonegro album "Scandinavian Leather" before everybody else!!! The official street date is the 28th of april. If your chapter is interested in setting up a pre-listening party, have your President get in touch a.s.a.p. with El Presidente (party@bitzcore.de) and Montse (montse@burningheart.com)

I updated yesterday's post with new info about Nicolai Dunger's backing band and their other music experience. Thanks again Niklas!

Dates are currently being booked for KVLR's West Coast/Southwest tour in early March. If you can help, please let me know.

Stickman Records reports that Motorpsycho has US and Japan tour plans in the works. No dates yet, but I'll keep you posted. The label also has revealed the title for the forthcoming Isolation Years record: "It's Golden". Again, no date yet, but I'll let you know.

Amorphis is working on mixing their new album with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Moonspell, Sentenced) at Finnvox Studios. They expect to finished by the end of the month. No word yet on a new label for the band.

Keep your eyes on Norweigen electronic act Röyksopp as they're touring seven US cities in March. European sales are already climbing and accolades are accumulating, but they've yet to catch on fully over here. Will they break? Hype sure is building.

In a sign of potentially bigger things to come, booking agency Luger has now taken on the band Paris. Is the return of new-wave nigh?

DJ Embee (Loop Troop) is currently finishing up work on his new EP with Organism 12 and PSTQ. Four tracks and instruments, two produced by Embee, two by Breakmecanix. Look for it around late February or early March on JuJu Records.

Also from JuJu is the new Timbuk/Promoe (also Loop Troop) "Blind Justice" 12". It comes out on the 27th.

Here's an interesting short interview with Galder of Old Man's Child and Dimmu Borgir. Now resigned to just being a studio-only project, OMC's new album "In Defiance of Existence" just came out in Europe and will be out in the US on March 25 from Century Media.

Darkthrone will be adding exclusive new film footage to the Peaceville CDrom reissues of four of their old albums. As for what the footage will contain, here's what they had to say:

Fenriz and Nocturno Culto will film many hours at their stronghold somewhere in the wilderness in Norway. Like a reality-Darkthrone documentary. Every of the four album will contain at least 5 minutes of this rare piece of filming. They will drink, drink, listen to music, drink etc.....many things will be revealed. They will also interview eachother about all the Peaceville-albums. They will film that much, so it can edited to be a 30 min. documentary

NorthSide Records has new preview mp3s up on their website for upcoming releases from Värttinä and Mari Boine. Check 'em out. (scroll about 2/3rds of the way down the page)

Classic Swedish deathmetal band Dismember is currently working on their next album. The title is "Where Ironcrosses Grow" and it's due out around September on Hammerheart Records. Produced once again by drummer Fred Estby with help from engineer Olle Sandqvist, the new material is described as "darker, a little less melodic and more aggressive than ever" and lyrically "headed even more in the direction of describing war at its ugliest, stories about sick minds creating sick situations and loads of religious criticism." In other words, business as usual.

New live set today! This time we've got The Ark live from Hultsfred 2001, as broadcasted on P3. I edited out all the between song banter, but if you're also interested in the full version, just ask.

The Sounds got themselves a new, internationally flavored website. Well, it's actually not that different, but they do have quite a bit more info in English. Like I've said before, keep your eyes on this band - they have a lot of potential to be big.

Download the new Fireside track "Throw It Away" right here! Startracks is also encouraging people to post responses in their guestbook. My first impression is that it sounds like a mix of the newer "Elite"-style with a touch more of their hardcore roots. Anyhow, I'm still excited for when the new album comes out.

Värttinä celebrates their 20th anniversary this year and has a new album coming out called "Iki". It won't be in stores until March 11, but you will be able to mailorder it weeks ahead of time from NorthSide. The label also promises to provide advance mp3s from the band in the near future, along with previews of new releases from Mari Boine and Frifot.

Photos and video from The Soundtrack of Our Lives/Cato Salsa Experience show at the Graceland in Seattle on 11/23/2002 are available here.

Dimension Zero are set to enter the studio on February 10 with producer/In Flames frontman Anders Fridén to record their new album, to be titled "This IS Hell". Look for it around September/October on Regain Records.

The working-title of the album is "Satan Berzerker-Mongo", which is a quite suiting title. It's gonna be a berzerk album. Many different songs (slow moody ones, to fast insane ones), but still recognizable as Dødheimsgard. Don't know any song-titles yet, they are in still in inside the head of Aldrahn, who's spent the last few months in a phsychiatric hospital.

That's black metal drummer extraordinaire Carl Michael Eide (Cadaver Inc., Aura Noir, DHG, and more) describing the direction of the band's new album in an interview with Voices from the Darkside. Read the rest here.

Corporation 187 will support Arch Enemy on their upcoming Scandinavian tour. The dates:

1/26 - Stockholm, Debaser
1/28 - Oslo, John Dee
1/29 - Göteborg, Musikens Hus
1/30 - Halmstad, Diezel
1/31 - Helsingborg, Tivoli

Here's the dates for the upcoming Melody Club Scandinavian tour:

1/22 - Stockholm, Göta Källare
1/23 - Stockholm, Cafe 44
1/24 - Göteborg, Trädgårn
1/31 - Strömstad ,The Cod
2/01 - Älmhult, Balders Hage
2/06 - Linköping, Corallen
2/07 - Växjö, Folkets Park
2/13 - Uppsala, Harrys
2/15 - Karlskoga, Wictoria
2/18 - Täby, Musikhuset Runan
2/19 - Norrköping, Kulturkammaren
2/20 - Sälen, HC
2/22 - Nybro, Mejeriet
2/26 - Svedala, Gamla Brandstationen
2/27 - Göteborg, Trädgårn
2/28 - Karlskrona, Bio Bar & Matsal
3/06 - Oslo (NO), So What
3/07 - Bergen (NO), Kvarteret
3/08 - Halmstad, Diezel
3/12 - Lund, Mejeriet
3/14 - Malmö, KB
3/15 - Helsingborg, Tivoli
3/28 - Umeå, Umeå Open

Okay, I admit it - I've been a slacker. Two new tunes today on your right. First up is the wonderful Isolation Years. Their debut album "Inland Traveller" gets a US release later this year from Galaxy Gramophone/Parasol and the new one comes out in March. I might've put this track up before, but I can't remember. Anyhow, don't miss it this time. Secondly, we have another track from the great Caesars Palace (aka The Caesars or the Twelve Caesars, as they known in the US). Simply put, a great pop band. More soon, I swear!

Diamond Dogs will be putting out a new CD collection of old and new material called "That´s the Juice I´m On" on January 27. Fans of classic rock style bands like the Hellacopters should check 'em out. And hey, Randy Bachman of Bachman Tuner Overdrive even guests on a track.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be taking the place of Cooper Temple Clause at the NME awards show in London on February 6. Cooper's bassist had his appendix out right before the holidays and has yet to fully recover, so they had to bow out. However, they will do a makeup gig on April 29. Ticketholders can either ask for a refund, opt for the new headliner, or defer their purchase for the rescheduled performance. Otherwise, buy your tickets here.

Speaking of TSOOL, did anyone record that Letterman performance? Can it be found online somewhere yet? Let me know.

Stabb will be travelling to the UK for their first time next week. The show is the 23rd at the Borderline in London. Their debut single "This Joke's On Me" comes out in February with the album to follow in April.

Madder Mortem has been confirmed as the opening act for Opeth's upcoming European tour. Opeth singer/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt himself highly recommend the band's latest record "Deadlights", too. The dates:

02.09 - Paris, La Locomotive
02.11 - Vittoria, Sala Azkena
02.12 - Porto, Hard Club
02.13 - Lisbon, Paradise Garage
02.14 - Madrid, Sala Caracol
02.15 - Barcelona, Razzmatazz
02.16 - Lyon, Transbourdour
02.17 - Milan, Transilvania
02.18 - Treviso, New Age
02.20 - Zurich, Abart
02.22 - Graz, Orpheum
02.23 - Munich, New Backstage
02.24 - Frankfurt, Batschkapp
02.25 - Essen Zeche Carl
02.26 - Halle, Easy Schorre
02.27 - Berlin, Columbia Fritz
02.28 - Hamburg, Schlachthof
03.01 - Groningen, Oosterport
03.02 - Tilburg, 013
03.04 - Utrecht, Tivoli
03.05 - Vosselar, Biebob
03.06 - Lille, Le Spendid
03.07 - Poiters, Chatellerault-Gornie
03.08 - Rennes, L' Antipode
03.10 - Portsmouth, Wedgwood Rooms
03.11 - Manchester, Hop & Grape
03.12 - London, Mean Fiddler
03.13 - Exeter, University
03.14 - Glasgow, Garage
03.15 - Nottingham, Rock City
03.16 - Bradford, Rio
03.17 - Birmingham, Academy
03.19 - Dublin - Whelan's

Watch singer/songwriter Johan Bergqvist's show from his January 15 performance in Hultsfred right here: modem / broadband. (Windows Media)

Watch the "director's cut" of the Wannadies video for "Little by Little". I've never seen the original, but this version contains 50 seconds of extra footage and is quite hilarious. Recommended. (requires Quicktime)

The new album "Love Metal" from HIM has now been confirmed for release in Germany and Finland on April 14. Most likely, the rest of the Europe will get it on the same day, but they aren't saying for sure. Also, the band's official site says the track listing leaked by the UK press is incorrect and they will be posting the correct one shortly.

See you on tour and remember to play "Below the Lights" at extreme volume levels. For even better results, try altered states of conciousness (knock yourself over the head, do yoga-jumping or stay awake for two weeks without food before you check out the album). If it doesn't fuck you up, we'll give you (fake monopoly) money back.

That's Enslaved talking about their new album, due out now in April from Osmose Productions. The band also has a live DVD in the works from MetalMind Productions entitled "Live Retaliation".

The up and coming band Wendy just got signed to Monarch Music by A&R man Magnus Nygren, the guy responsible for finding Jakob Hellman, Lars Winnerbäck and Lambretta. Expect a single by springtime.

Get a preview of hyped band-of-the-moment The Klerks over here and click the "Album Preview" link. Fans of Swedish pop such as The Motorhomes or Kent may want to check them out.

From Blabbermouth, comes this letter from a number of Swedish hard rock musicians accusing England's Z Records of "unscrupulous business practices." Some of the bands signed on the letter include Southpaw, Talisman, Humanimal and more. Of course, it's not really news that labels often screw bands out of money, but if you're interested in these artists or the label in question, please take note.

Word on the street is that you Europeans dig ICQ over AIM and the like, so I went and got myself a number. It's over on the contact page. Go ahead and bother me at work, why doncha?

"I poured water over the microphone because I wanted to die. I didn't think, I just wanted to do something "on life and death"......"

Håkan Hellström tries to kill himself? Apparently so according to this article (in Swedish). Thanks to Zander for the scoop.

Looks like The Sounds are gonna get their chance to make it in America. James Iha (ex-Smashing Pumpkins) will be releasing their album on his label Scratchie Records in association with New Line. They'll also be making an appearance at the legendary Austin, TX South by Southwest Festival. Next big thing? My money's still on Caesars Palace aka The Caesars, but we'll see. The Sounds may be a bit easier on the eyes, though.

Speaking of South by Southwest, here's some of the other Scandinavian acts already confirmed: Bergman Rock aka Bob Hund, Madrugada, Children of Bodom, Meanwhile, The Teenage Idols, Sondre Lerche, RinneRadio, Pineforest Crunch and The Venue. For the full list, go here. It's already shaping up to be a bad-ass lineup, so make your travel plans now if you can.

Turbonegro are getting two of their old albums reissued with new bonus features. The album "Apocalypse Dudes" will have three added video tracks including "Get It On" and "Are You Ready For Some Darkness" plus a live version of "Age Of Pamparius". As for "Ass Cobra", that CD will now have the video for Denim Demon" on it. Look for 'em both on Epitaph Records in the US or Burning Heart in Europe. The band is also still hard at work on their comeback album now that they're reunited. Bassist Happy Tom promises it will be "most destructive party record you've ever heard!"

Millencolin and The Peepshows are gonna be doing a Scandinavian tour in 2003. Here's the dates:

March 13 Stockholm, Arenan
March 14 Skelefteå, Folkparken
March 21 Göteborg, Kåren
March 22 Lund, Mejeriet
March 23 Oslo, Rockefeller

The winners of the P5 Stockholm Badge awards have been announced. They include Kent for best band and best song ("Dom Andra"), Thåström for best male artist, Paola for best female artist, and The Giri Sound for best demo.

Listen to a recording of the Bad Taste Records fest online! Check out performances from the following acts: (requires Quicktime)

DankoJones
Langhorns
Last Days Of April
Logh

Misconduct will touring Europe with 25 Ta Life next June and July. Look here for dates as they are confirmed.

Remember when I said that the video for "Sister Surround" from The Soundtrack of Our Lives was being added to the MTV 120 Minutes playlist? Well, it hasn't happened quite yet, but the video does premiere on there this coming Sunday the 22nd. In the meantime, preview the video here: Real / Windows

Due to increased bandwidth concerns, I may have to limit the number of mp3 downloads on this site in the future. I'd rather not, but bandwidth is expensive and it's not as if I'm making any money here. Anyhow, I don't plan on taking them away completely so don't worry about that. If anyone is willing to remotely host files or has any other ideas, please let me know.

Nojesguiden has published their top 20 Swedish albums for 2002. The list:

1. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a Two-Room Chapel
2. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det
3. Nicolai Dunger - Sweat Her Kiss
4. The Perishers - From Nothing to One
5. Koop - Waltz for Koop
6. Andreas Tilliander - Elit
7. Ison & Fille - Vår sida av stan
8. Mando Diao - Bring 'Em In
9. Sagor & Swing - Melodier och fåglar
10. Timbuktu - Watt¹s dö madderfakking dill?
11. Looptroop - The Struggle Continues
12. Stephen Simmonds - For Father
13. Masayah - s/t
14. Puss - We Are Puss
15. Johan Skugge - Objects and Buildings
16. The Embassy - Futile Crimes
17. Smyglyssna - We Can Fix It
18. Edson - Edson for Strength
19. Hans Appelqvist - Tonefilm
20. Mokira - Plee

Read more here at the bottom of the page. (In Swedish)

Remember those five songs Kristofer Åström recorded about a week ago? Well they are all gonna end up on that upcoming MCD after all. It's gonna be called "Dead End" and will be released in February (on Startracks, I assume). Here's what Kristofer had to say about it:

Personally, I think it's the best recording we've done so far. We recorded it live in studio and did some overdubs on a couple of songs. It's got an energy to it that I miss in the previous albums.

Hardcore Superstar is about to go back into the studio with producer Roberto Laghi to record the follow-up to "Thank You (For Letting Us Be Ourselves)". The planned release date is April 28.

I put up a track from Peter, Bjorn and John today. It's quality power-pop - reminds a bit of British Invasion kinda stuff. Look to your right.

There's a bunch of news today about what bands are gonna be on Musikbyrån and various other Swedish TV programs in the future, but since I can't watch it, I ain't gonna post it. I guess if you really want me to make note of that stuff you can let me know. Otherwise, I'll stick with news relevant to the rest of the world.

Dee Rangers will be travelling to London in January to record their new record at Toe-Rag Studio. Having just finished up with working on the latest White Stripes album, producer Liam Watson will oversee the proceedings.

Dark Funeral has severed their ties with US label Necropolis Records. Their statement on the matter:

Before we signed this North American deal with Necropolis Records, we were warned by pretty much everybody to not sign with them. It is apparently well-known within the scene as well as between various business associates that Paul and his Necropolis record label have routinely not paid most they have worked with.

They have defaulted on payments towards their artists, for studio sessions, to their distributors etc. We had heard these rumours, and the warnings coming in to us, but we didn't want to judge anyone before we had investigated it further by ourselves.

Usually there are too many rumours circulating out there and its way too often they lack evidence and/or any substance. After many discussions and meetings with Paul Thind, we, the band and our label MNW/No Fashion Records decided to sign and license Diabolis Interium for North America to Necropolis Records.

Since we had our suspicions we protected ourselves by Dark Funeral would like to put this unfortunate incident behind them now and move on to the future.

The band plans to continue working on writing and rehearsing new material very soon. Anybody labels interested in working with them should contact either Lord Ahriman and/or Emperor Magus Caligula.

New music to your right. And hey, I even got those Sahara Hotnights mp3s up. An it's a trap! exclusive? It just may be!

No news to report today. You know something I don't? Let me know.