Selfish are preparing to record a new 12"/MCD to be called "Cause Pain" and will also be touring Europe for the first time in seven years. DAtes:

01/30 - tba, Uppsala (SWE)
01/31 - Ungdomshuset, Copenhagen (DK)
02/01 - AJZ, Bielefeld (GER)
02/02 - Zoro, Leipzig (GER)
02/03 - Morgenrot, Berlin (GER)
02/04 - Fabryka, Warsaw (POL)
02/05 - tba, Prague (CZ)
02/06 - Vrah, Roznov (CZ)
02/07 - EKH, Vienaa (AUS)
02/08 - Innocent, Hohenems (AUS)
02/09 - tba, (SWI or GER)
02/10 - Kafé Kult, Munich (GER)
02/11 - LA ZONE, LIEGE (BEL)
02/12 - Bar En Boos, Leiden (HOL)
02/13 - Innocent, Hengelo (HOL)
02/14 - Friesenstrasse, Bremen (GER)

Manifesto Jukebox will be entering the studio next week to record their half of a split with Japan's Minority Blues Band for release on Snuffy Smile Records. And they'll be heading over to Japan in April, too. Here's the dAtes:

04/09 - Hachioji, Tokyo
04/10 - Parq Square, Sendai
04/11 - Nile Studio, NiigAta Ojiya
04/12 - East, Kyoto
04/13 - Jitterbug, Tokusima
04/14 - MAtsuyama
04/15 - Kieth Flack, Fukuoka
04/16 - Kokura
04/17 - Huck Finn, Nagoya
04/18 - Shinjuku D.O.M, Tokyo

Webzine Aversionline is updAted yet again with their usual 100+ reviews: https://www.holyterror.com/aversionline/
FeAtured bands listed this month include Burst, Dead in the WAter, Dogpound, Elenium, Kaaos, Ulver, Wolfbrigade, Zyklon and tons more.

Swedish webzine The Cricket has posted even more best-of lists and 2004 outlooks from various music figures including Jari Haapalainen (Bear Quartet), MAttias Alkberg (also in Bear Quartet), Niccokick, Hell On Wheels, Labrador Records and more.

Here's this week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart. The top 20 remains the same as last time, but At least there's new challengers to vote for.

01. The Rasmus - First Day Of My Life
02. Backyard Babies - Minus Celsius
03. Tim Christensen - Whispering At The Top Of My Lungs
04. Moneybrother - It's Been Hurting All The Way With You Joanna
05. Redrama - Hang It Up
06. Eskobar - Love Strikes
07. Erik Faber - Century
08. Outlandish - Aicha
09. Lisa Miskovsky - Lady Stardust
10. FAttaru feAt. Masayah - Ton för ton
11. Paperboys - Hey Man
12. BeAts & Styles - Dynamite
13. C21 - One Night In Bangkok
14. Christian Kjellvander - Portugal
15. The LAtin Kings - Cashen Dom Tas
16. NegAtive - The Moment Of Our Love
17. Carpark North - Wild Wonders
18. Slow Train Soul - In The Black Of Night
19. Fintelligens - Vaan Sil On Väliä
20. Hardcore Superstar - Still I´m Glad

Challengers:
01. Eagle Eye Cherry - Don´t Give Up
02. Junior Senior - Shake Your Coconuts
03. Safri Duo feAt. Clark Anderson - All The People In The World
04. Briskeby - Halleluja
05. Christine Milton - Superstar
06. Majid - Boys And Girls
07. September - We Can Do It
08. L.O.C. - Undskyld

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

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

01. Peter Jöback - Jag kommer hem igen till jul
02. Markoolio - I skuggan av mig själv
03. Per Gessle - Mazarin
04. Carola - Guld plAtina & passion - det bästa
05. Lisa Miskovsky - FallingwAter
06. Peter LeMarc - Det som håller oss vid liv
07. Sophie Zelmani - Love Affair
08. Georg Riedel orkester - Barn på nytt
09. Miio - På vårt sätt
10. Bo Kaspers orkester - Vilka tror vi Att vi är
11. Helen Sjöholm / Anders Widmark - Genom varje andetag
12. The Refreshments - Rock 'n' Roll X-mas
13. Jill Johnson - Roots and wings
14. Carola - Jul i Betlehem
15. Ulf Lundell - En eld i kväll
16. José González - Veneer
17. Bergman Rock - Bergman Rock
18. Mauro Scocco - La Dolce Vita
19. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
20. Björn Rosenström - Var får jag allt ifrån?

Aftonbladet looks forward to the big releases planned for the coming year: https://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/noje/story/0,2789,412712,00.html (in Swedish)

Dream Evil's next album will be called "The Book of Heavy Metal". In relAted news, Dream Evil drummer Snowy Shaw's other band Notre Dame has confirmed April 1 as the release dAte for their new opus "Demi Monde Bizarros".

Norway's Kurt Nilsen won the World Idol competition last night. Maybe thAt country really is up-and-coming in the pop world. Of course, there's a ton of articles to read about him over At NRK: https://www.nrk.no/magasin/musikk/ (in Norweigan)
Articles in English from the Norweigan press (Nettavisen) are here: https://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/

Streaming playlist: Guest DJ: Niklas Holmberg

Hope y'all have a happy new year! No updAte tomorrow, but I should be back on Friday.

Swedish webzine The Cricket has posted a number of short interviews with various Swedish artists concerning their favorites from 2003 and expectAtions for 2004. Some of the acts they talk to include Radio Dept., Dorotea and Yoshimitsu.

Norweigan viking prog/black-metal act Enslaved will play a one-off gig At the Underground in Camden, London on January 23. The Enchanted and Skaldic Curse will support.

Famed metal producer and multi-instrumentalist Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, Moontower, BloodbAth, etc.) will be launching his new personal website tomorrow At the start of the new year. The scope of the site will cover all of his projects and is said to include 285 mp3s and 55 videos for free download.

Has TheAtre of Tragedy found a new vocalist to replace the departed Liv Kristine? Atreoftragedy.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=648" target=_blank>This picture from a recent rehearsal seems to indicAte so.

Finnish rockers Sunride are heading out on tour across Europe in 2004:

01/09 - Semifinal, Helsinki (FIN) (Rock 'n' punk Festival)
01/17 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä (FIN) w/Disfear
02/05 - Eldorado/Alcazar, Stockholm (SWE)

Eurotour with Good Witch of the South (GER):
02/06 - Westwerk, Osnabrück (GER)
02/07 - White Pig, Bad Frankenhausen (GER)
02/08 - tba
02/09 - Feierwerk, München (GER)
02/10 - tba
02/11 - Le Club, Nancy (FR)
02/12 - tba
02/13 - Sedel, Luzern, Switzerland
02/14 - Depot, Idar-Oberstein (GER)
02/15 - The Frontline, Gent (BEL)
02/16 - Hellmut, Saarbrücken (GER)
02/17 - 11er, Frankfurt (GER)
02/18 - Rosenkeller, Jena (GER)
02/19 - day off
02/20 - Talschok, Chemnitz (GER)
02/21 - The Church, Dresden (GER)
02/22 - tba
02/23 - Wild At Heart, Berlin (GER)
02/24 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
02/25 - Zwischenfall, Bochum (GER)
02/26 - Mikrokosmos, Magdeburg (GER)
02/27 - Club Hafenstrasse, Halle (GER)
02/28 - KFZ, Marburg (GER)

Scandinavian tour with Sparzanza (SWE) and Stonegard (NOR):
05/06 - 05/08 - Norway
05/13 - 05/15 - Sweden
05/28 - 05/30 - Finland