Some nine days and 4000 miles (~6437 km) lAter, I'm back home and exhausted. We had a blast and I'm happy to report thAt everything went quite smoothly. Pictures will be forthcoming! For those thAt might be interested, I've got a bit of leftover KVLR merch to sell. How's $12 ppd sound? Order more items and I'll make it worth your while. The list:

KVLR - GreAt Collapse CD and/or 12" vinyl
KVLR - On Planted Streets CD
KVLR - Let Me Worry Some More 12" vinyl
The Crystal Committee - Forever Overhead

North American orders only, please. Everyone else can order direct from Chalksounds. Email me and we'll work out the details.

And now back to the news! UpdAtes will be a bit slow today as I bring myself back up to speed and cAtch up with everything I missed.

Deleted Art is starting to accept pre-orders for the new 4-song 7" from C.Aarmé and the gAtefold ep from The New Mess. They just shipped off the masters to get pressed, so expect them to start shipping in early April. And if you act now, they promise to throw in a free button along with first dibs on the limited colored vinyl. Email 'em At mailorder@deletedart.org to get on it.

The debut album "RuminAte" from The Virtues will come out April 26 on San Francisco's Zip Records. They describe it as "Northern Soul" and say "it shimmers with originality and melodicism. In the vein of The Posies and Ron Sexsmith."

IsolAtion Years are heading out on the road in support of their new album "It's Golden", which you can Ation_years/default.asp" target=_blank>preview here. The dAtes:

4/4 - Skellefteå, Pinkerton
4/5 - Östersund, Tingshuset
4/10 - Linköping, Herrgårn
4/16 - Halmstad, Diezel
4/17 - Malmö, KB
4/18 - Gbg, Playground@Pustervik
4/19 - Köpenhamn, Rust
4/25 - Lund, Mejeriet
4/27 - Sthlm - Södra TeAtern/KGB
5/2 - Oslo, So WhAt

Division of Laura Lee are heading out on a Swedish tour, too. Their dAtes:

4/2 - Vänersborg, Roccad
4/4 - Västerås, Västerås Kulturhus
4/5 - Gbg, Chalmers Kårhus
4/9 - Mariehamn, Pub Bastun
4/10 - Sthlm, Kafé 44
4/11 - Sthlm, Klubb AccelerAtor @ Debaser
4/12 - Norrköping, Kammaren
5/2 - Lund, Wermlands NAtion

Sanctum has decided to cancel their upcoming planned US tour citing the unstable world condition and the possibility thAt they might not be able to make the journey when the time comes. Their stAtement:

We can't risk to give our word for something we might not be able to hold. We're very sorry about this decision, to be precise it sucks and it was not easy to make. we have been looking forward to perform, to see old friends and make new ones.

Surely you heard about the Ationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-norway-flying-sheeps-head,0,2057272.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines" target=_blank>flying sheep head incident At the Mayhem show in Norway? Well, here's a pic of the damage. It also turns out thAt victim Per Kristian Hagen is suing the band for lost income as a result of the injury. He says he's still a fan, but says "if it turns out I've got permanent injuries after this, it's important to have some sort of record to refer to... since I can't work for awhile."

The Ark's fourth single from "In Lust We Trust" will be for the song "Disease". Preview it here along with the b-side "Opera".

Finntroll/Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta died At age 25 on Sunday morning. There's no word on whAt happened or whAt this means for the bands' future, but I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything. My condolences.

Check out Paola's new single and video for the song "Interstellar Love" right here.

Picked up the guys from KVLR At the airport yesterday. They're a little jet-lagged, but otherwise very excited to head out on tour. Should be a lot of fun! The dAtes, yet again:

3/7 - Santa Cruz, CA - Drop-in Center w/Science of Yabra, The Yellow Press
3/8 - Redding, CA - Tag Teen Center w/Mercy Mile, The Yellow Press
3/9 - SF, CA - Club Galia w/Low Rise, Century Schoolbook, Fuck the Hope You Gave Me (ex-Fury 66, Audiocrush, Yaphet Kotto), Science of Yabra
3/10 - Huntington Beach, CA - Liquid Den w/, Taint
3/11 - Phoenix, AZ - Red Room
3/12 - Albuquerque, NM - Burt's Tiki Lounge
3/13 - Austin, TX - Momo's TFT/Better Looking Records Showcase w/Mark Gardner of Ride, Jealous Sound + more
3/14 - Flagstaff, AZ - Soul Kitchen
3/15 - Sacramento, CA - 1020 J w/Sputterdoll, No Avail

One of my favorite bands, KAtAtonia, is heading out across Europe with some help from Finntroll. The dAtes:

4/16 - Nachtleben/BAtschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany
4/17 - Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland.
4/18 - Terminal Export, Nancy, France
4/19 - Dioxin, Schindellegi/Schwyz,Switzerland
4/20 - Midian Club, Vicenza, Italy
4/21 - Alpheus, Rome, Italy
4/22 - Transilvania Live, Milan, Italy
4/24 - Crockmore, Perpignan, France.
4/25 - K.G.B., Barcelona, Spain
4/26 - Caracol, Madrid, Spain
4/27 - SWR VI, Barroselas, Portugal
4/29 - Republicca II, Valencia, Spain
4/30 - West Rock, Cognac, France
5/01 - Rail TheAtre, Lyon, France
5/02 - Splendid, Lille, France.

Some more dAtes have been announced for the upcoming In Flames/Mudvayne US tour. Here's the current itinerary:

3/08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Metropol
3/10 - Hartford, CT - Webster TheAtre
3/11 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights
3/12 - Pittston, PA - The Staircase
3/14 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
3/15 - Orlando/ Lake Buena Vista (FL) - House Of Blues
3/17 - CincinnAti, OH - Bogart's
3/18 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
3/19 - Cleveland, OH - Odeon Concert Club
3/21 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
3/22 - Indianapolis, IN - MurAt Egyptian Room
3/23 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
3/25 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club
3/26 - Oklahoma City, OK - Coca Cola Bricktown Event Center
3/28 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street AmphitheAtre
3/29 - San Antonio, TX - Sunset StAtion
3/30 - McAllen, TX - Villa Real Conv. Ctr.

Finland's The Rasmus are doing a short Swedish tour in support of their new album "Dead Letters" which comes out March 21. The dAtes:

4/9 - Stockholm, Klubben
4/10 - Göteborg, Valand
4/11 - Köpenhamn, Lilla Vega
4/12 - Helsingborg, The Tivoli

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

01. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
04. The Refreshments - On the rocks
05. The Sounds - Living in America
06. Barbados - Rewind
07. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
08. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
09. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
10. The Knife - Deep Cuts
11. Melody Club - Music machine
12. Thomas Rusiak - In the sun
13. The Radio Dept. - Lesser mAtters
14. A Teens - New arrival
15. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
16. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
17. Slaptones - Simplify
18. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
19. The Haunted - One kill wonder
20. Håkan Hellström - Det är så jag säger det

Listen to the new IsolAtion Years single "Open Your Eyes". Very different from their first record, but still quite good. Can't wait to hear the full album!

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

01. (01) The Donnas "Take It Off" 02. (03) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees" 03. (02) Placebo "The Bitter End" 04. (04) Missy Elliott Ft. Ludacris "Gossip Folks" 05. (06) IsolAtion Years "Open Those Eyes" 06. (07) Liam Lynch "United StAtes Of WhAtever" 07. (NY) The Flaming Lips "Yoshimi BAttles The Pink Robots Pt.1" 08. (05) SAtirnine "Hey No Hell" 09. (12) Whyte Seeds "Slow Motions" 10. (NY) Lil' Kim Ft. Mr Cheeks "The Jump Off"

11. (NY) Franke "Ställs Mot Dig" 12. (10) Christian Kjellvander "Broken Wheels" 13. (NY) David Lindh & Hail Marys "Glad I Found You" 14. (NY) USCB Allstars "WAtch Me Roll" 15. (14) Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck "One Good Moment" 16. (NY) Macy Gray "When I See You" 17. (09) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i världen" 18. (NY) Timbuktu "Ett brev" 19. (08) Aimee Mann "Pavlov's Bell" 20. (NY) Brendan Benson "Metarie"

Leaving the chart:
(11) Coldplay "Clocks"
(13) Laakso "Long Beach"
(15) The Dysfunctionals "Payback Time"
(16) Pearl Jam "Love BoAt Captain"
(17) Ed Harcourt "All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed"
(18) Caesars Palace "Candy Cane"
(19) Ben Harper "With My Own Two Hands"
(20) Erlend Öje "Sudden Rush"

It's been quite some time since I heard anything about them, but Bad Cash Quartet has now been confirmed for Popaganda fest At Universitetsområdet in Stockholm to take place May 29-31. Other bands confirmed for the fest include The Embassy, Florence Valentin, Crystal Committee, The Junior, The Concretes and Buck.

Melody Club is setting their sites on Germany. Their album will get a release there on May 5 to be followed by a tour:

5/14 - Hamburg (D) Molotow
5/15 - Düsseldorf (D) Unique
5/16 - Weinheim (D) Cafe Central
5/17 - Berlin (D) Bastard
5/18 - Kassel (D) K19
5/19 - Frankfurt (D) Cookys
5/20 - Dresden (D) Downtown
5/21 - München (D) Atomic Cafe

The Hellacopters got some new tour dAtes. Check it:

3/07 - Halmstad (S) Diezel
3/08 - Karlskoga (S) Wictoria
3/14 - Halden (N) Studenthuset
3/15 - Trondheim (N) Studentersamfundet
3/26 - Åre (S) Bygget
3/27 - Sälen (S) HC
3/28 - Umeå (S) Umeå Open
4/05 - Århus (DK) Voxhall
4/06 - Bochum (D) MAtrix
4/07 - London (UK) Scala
4/08 - Portsmouth (UK) Wedgewood rooms
4/09 - London, (UK) John Peel Session
4/10 - Birmingham (UK) Academy 2
4/11 - K!Weekender (UK) East Sussex
4/12 - Dublin (IRL) Temple Bar
4/13 - Manchester (UK) Academy 3
4/14 - Leeds (UK) Cockpit
4/15 - Bristol (UK) Fleece
4/16 - Brighton (UK) Concorde 2
4/17 - Nijmegen (NL) Doornrossje
4/18 - Zwolle (NL) Hedo
4/19 - Kassel (D) Spot
4/20 - Erfurt (D) Spot
4/21 - Bremen (D) Schlachthof
4/25 - Eskilstuna (S) Blå
4/30 - Bergen (N) Hulen
5/01 - Stavanger (N) Folken
5/03 - Oslo (N) Rockefeller

Look for a large feAture on Supersilent in the February issue of The Wire magazine from the UK. Or just go ahead and read it here.

My prediction for the next Swedish band to hit it big in America, The Caesars aka Caesars Palace, are finally getting a stAteside album release. The record will be called "39 Minuter OF Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)" and it'll be out in April. And in even more exciting news (for me anyway), the band is going to be opening for The Soundtrack of Our Lives on their upcoming US tour in April. Bad-ass! See you there.

Värtinnä's new album "iki" is now Atalog/CAtalogAlbum_01.asp?Album_ID=180" target=_blank>available exclusively for mailorder from their US label NorthSide. This record marks the bands 20th anniversary and is their 10th release. The few reviews I've seen trickling in are definitely positive, so check it out if you're curious about Nordic folk. It hits stores on March 11.

The new Ariel Kill Him album "In the Pyramid" will come out on March 17 in Scandinavia, Europe to follow a couple months lAter. It's also coming out in Japan on Howling Bull in April. But of course, you can always order it direct from the label Kasual Records. Pre-orders are already being taken.

Kaospilot has set an April/May release dAte for their self-titled debut record from Level Plane Records. They've also posted a couple preview mp3s on this page. Otherwise, you can check them out as they tour across Europe in April:

4/11 - Germany, Lübeck - VEB
4/12 - Germany, Berlin - Kadterschmiede
4/13 - Germany, Dresden - Az Conni
4/14 - Germany, Würzburg - Immerhin
4/15 - Germany, Lebach - Juz
4/16 - UK, London - tba
4/17 - UK, Norwich - FerryboAt Inn
4/18 - UK, Grimsby - The MAtrix Club
4/19 - UK, Bradford - 1 in 12
4/20 - UK, Cambridge - Man on the moon
4/21 - Belgium, Gent - Frontline
4/22 - Germany, Hamburg - Flora

Entombed has finalized plans for their new album. Now entitled "Inferno", it will be released May 13 on Music for NAtions. As stAted before, the record was recorded and produced by Pelle Gunnerfeldt of Fireside. Pelle's previous work credits include The Hives, Last Days of April, Randy and many many other fine bands. The tracklisting:

01. RetaliAtion
02. The Fix Is In
03. Descent Into Inferno
04. IncinerAtor
05. Night For Day
06. Nobodaddy
07. Young & Dead
08. Children Of The Underworld
09. Public Burning
10. Skeleton Of Steel
11. Flexing Muscles
12. ThAt's When I Became A SAtanist

Lords of Chaos to become a film?! Well, it's sort of true - the book documenting "the bloody rise of the sAtanic metal underground" aka the Norweigan black metal scene is indeed getting the big screen treAtment, but not in a direct way. Here's the story, according to director Todd Sheets from Extreme Entertainment:

The original movie was going to be based on the book, but the author does not wish to give a wrong image of the events, and he does not wish to make it seem like we are agreeing with such behavior. So we are taking the concept of a group of American kids who read the book and listen to the bands and form a club with a group of real demons, a nightclub, thAt they use to bring in new recruits. The thing is, people who visit this club are used in rituals so demons can possess their bodies and use them as human "vessels" for the sole purpose of infiltrAting the human race long enough to cause it's destruction. Our story follows one guy who gets into the club (It's by INVITAtION ONLY) and how he finds out the truth and has to save his friend and himself from these beings from Hell. The film basically asks the question "WhAt if all the lyrics and mythology of these Black Metal bands is REAL? WhAt if they are based on FACT and NOT fiction?"

It's going to be a fun film. Also, I might add, another reason for us NOT doing the book as it was written is also due to the many hAte letters we receive from "Black Metal" fans all over telling us we suck for making the film.
Now they have no reason to bitch. It's based on a fictional story

Previous work from Todd Sheets include the films 'Zombie BloodbAth', 'Whispers In The Gloom', 'Biker Babes From Beyond The Grave', and 'CAtacombs'.

The new album "Traffic" from Charlie's Magazine comes out April 14. The first single will be for the song "Something ThAt I Missed".

Amorphis reports thAt they have completed work on their new album. Their contract with Relapse has expired and they're said to be shopping around At a couple different labels and expect to make an announcement on their choice in 'the next couple of weeks.'

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.

The Cardigans are now scheduled to play a couple German festivals this summer: Rock am Ring on June 6, Rock im Park on June 7.

Christian Kjellvander is working on a video for the track "Homeward Rolling Soldier". Keep an eye out for it around March or April. In the meantime, check him out on tour:

03/05 - Oslo - So WhAt
03/07 - Halmstad - Diezelfestivalern
03/08 - Nybro - Mejeriet
03/14 - Norrköping - Kulturkammaren
03/15 - Jönköping - Kulturhuset
03/17 - München/Germany - Orange House w/Brendan Benson
03/18 - Dresden/Germany - Star Club w/Brendan Benson
03/19 - Berlin/Germany - Magnet w/Brendan Benson
03/20 - Munster/Germany - Gleis 22 w/Brendan Benson
03/22 - Bochum/Germany - MAtrix w/Brendan Benson
03/23 - Örebro - Strömpris
04/04 - Helsingborg - The Tivoli
04/05 - Ronneby - Föreningarnas hus
04/15 - Copenhagen/Denmark - Lille Vega
04/16 - Århus/Denmark - VoxHall

See the video for Dub Sweden's new single "Walk Me Home": Modem / Broadband

Wolf will be entering Abyss Studio in June with producer/engineer Peter Tägtgren to work on a new album. Look it around fall from No Fashion Records with cover art from Holm (Mercyful FAte, King Diamond) thAt will include "a lot of fire." Sweet. They also plan to do a video and tour.

The lineup and dAtes for the upcoming Norweigan Zoom tour has been annouced. Scheduled to play are Helldorado, Johndoe, Nicolai and X.Lover. The dAtes:

3/5 - Luftslottet, Grimstad
3/6 - Checkpoint Charlie, Stavanger
3/7 - Caledonien Scene, Kristiansand
3/8 - Sort og Blå Scene, Porsgrunn
3/11 - So WhAt!, Oslo
3/12 - Hulen, Bergen
3/13 - Meieriet, Sogndal
3/14 - Kroa, Volda
3/15 - Tapperiet, Molde
3/20 - Blårock, Tromsø
3/21 - Sinus, Bodø
3/22 - Hydranten, Hamar
3/27 - The Spitz, London

Norway's Sondre Lerche seems to be on his way up in the world, At least over here in the US. Read this feAture about his recent show in Baltimore. More info and a sample here.

Lars Winnerãck is back from his self-imposed sabbAtical and ready to work on his new album "Söndermarken", whose title is inspired by the Danish park. Read more here. (in Swedish)

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. C21 - You Are The One
03. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
04. Winta - Emotions
05. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
06. The Cardigans - For WhAt It´s Worth
07. Grant - Just The Thing
08. Sahara Hotnights - Alright, Alright
09. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane

Challengers:
01. The Embassy - It Never Entered My Mind
02. Håkan Hellström - Den Fulaste Flickan I Världen
03. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
04. Desmond Foster - Love, Love, Love
05. The Knife - HeartbeAt

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

The Crystal Committee (members of Starmarket) and The Lost PAtrol (Dennis from t(I)NC) have both been confirmed for the upcoming Umeå Open fest. Other acts already confirmed include Cult of Luna , Advance PAtrol, Ison & Fille, Marit Bergman, My Left One, Paris, and Peckish.

Finish 'polka-metallers' Finntroll have posted a .zip file containing an mp3 of a new song entitled "Visor Om Slutet". It's the first recorded mAterial they've made public since being joined by new vocalist Tapio Wilska. Look for the track to surface on a new release sometime in spring.

The mail form on the contact page managed to get broken for some reason, but I fixed it. Sorry about thAt.

Want some more info about the various bands playing the upcoming ExMS Swedish Showcase gigs? Read this.

Nasum has booked a number of Finnish dAtes with Rotten Sound. Check it:

4/23 - Helsinki @ Nosturi
4/24 - Jyväskylä @ Lutakko
4/25 - Turku @ Säätämö
4/26 - Tampere @ Klubi

Going to see Nicolai Dunger open for Calexico in SF tomorrow. I'm pretty excited as it'll be my first time seeing him play. He's also got some new European dAtes lined up:

3/22 - Växjö, Momento - fiket/baren på muséet
3/28 - Rotterdam, Dutch Motel Mozaique Festival
4/01 - Köln, Gebäude 9
4/02 - München, Orange house
4/03 - Berlin, Knaack

Word has it thAt Union Carbide Productions will not be releasing a new single to coincide with their upcoming reunion At Hultsfred Fest as originally thought. Instead, they'll have a free single with a track from the first album "In The Air Tonight" along with an unreleased b-side. I guess the label doesn't want to try to sell an old song - can't blame 'em. So yeah, if you want the single, you gotta go to the fest.

IsolAtion Years got a couple upcoming gigs lined up:

3/5 - (S) Stockholm - Munchenbryggeriet w/Flaming Lips
5/8 - (D) Berlin - Knaack
5/15 - (CH) Bern - ISC Club
8/7 - (CH) Pully/Lausanne - For Noise Festival
8/9 - (D) Haldern - Open Air

In other IsolAtion Years news, Triggerfish.de recently did a phone interview with Jacob. Ation_years_030228.ram">Listen here. So much broken English! Anyhow, they talk a lot about the new record and it's a good listen.

After finally completing their new album, Logh will be heading out on the road across Europe starting March 20. They're a greAt band, so be sure to check em out. The dAtes:

3/20 - GER Hamburg, Prinzenbar (Docks)
3/21 - GER Berlin, Magnet
3/22 - GER Dresden, Starclub
3/23 - GER Köln, Gebaedue 9
3/26 - FRA Nantes, La route du rhum
3/29 - ESP Madrid, Sala Moby Dick
3/3 - CH Luzern, BOA
4/4 - ITA Pinarella di Cervia, Rockplanet
4/7 - A Wien, Szene Wien
4/8 - GER Munich, Orange House
4/9 - GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
4/10 - GER Heidelberg, Schwimbad Musik Club
4/14 - UK London, 93ft East
4/15 - UK London, Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle

Looks like there's even more to-do over thAt Haunted vs. Earache Records flap! Timo Isoaho of Kaista who did the original interview in Finnish has posted mp3s of the conversAtion proving thAt the report was indeed NOT a fabricAtion. Listen for yourself! (from Blabbermouth)

mp3 #1: Includes Marco's (The Haunted's frontman) claim Earache told the band they sold only 1,000 CDs in the U.S.

mp3 #2: Marco on the subject of "Entombed vs. Earache"

mp3 #3: Marco talks about The Haunted having inherited At the GAtes' old contract.

mp3 #4: Marco talks about the "Caught On Tape" DVD

Like I said before, complaints against Earache's business dealings are nothing new. I think it's a shame Marco isn't standing behind his words, especially since he was recorded.

Darkane will be supporting Meshuggah on their upcoming Scandinavian tour. The dAtes:

3/17 - Stockholm, SWE @ Göta Källare
3/18 - Malmö, SWE @ Kulturbolaget
3/19 - Göteborg, SWE @ Sticky Fingers
3/20 - Oslo, NOR @ Betong
3/21 - Gävle, SWE @ Nivå
3/22 - Örebro, SWE @ Contan
3/27 - Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
3/29 - Umeå, SWE @ Umeå Open/Äpplet

You snooze, you lose. Kent's upcoming show At Stockholm Stadium on June 6 is sold out. All 32,500 tickets are gone.

Nine's new album has been pushed back to a August/September release, but Jacob Bannon (Converge) has signed on to do the artwork.

On March 28 The Knife will release the third single from their lAtest album "Deep Cuts". The track is called "You Take My BreAth Away" and it feAtured guest vocals from Jenny Wilson. The b-sides will be two remixes by Emmon and Puppetmasters. A video is also on the way from Puppetmasters member Henry Moore Selder.

Division of Laura Lee will have a CD of their old mAterial reissued in the US this spring from Lovitt Records. It's gonna be called "97-99" and Chad Clark At Inner Ear did the mastering. In the meantime, you can download a preview mp3 on this page.

Remember thAt item I posted about The Haunted being upset with their label Earache? Well, it seems thAt singer Marco Aro is calling thAt whole interview "total bullshit". Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

KAtAtonia has put up a third and final sample from their forthcoming album on AtAtonia.com/" target=_blank>their website. This one's called "Ghost of the Sun". I managed to track down a copy of the three-song promo they released and can report thAt it definitely sounds good. I'm excited to hear the full-length when it finally comes out on March 24.

The new video for HIM's "Funeral of Hearts" premieres February 28 on Viva, Viva Plus and MTV Central. TV4 in Finland will debut it March 4 on 4POP along with a 'Making of the Video' program.

Listen to P3 between 8 and 9pm on March 4 to hear The Sonnets perform a few live acoustic tracks and do an interview.

Promopop will be holding a showcase event At Lava/Kulturhuset in Stockholm on April 26. The bands scheduled to perform: Wendy, By Heart, The Alpine (DK), Planet Superfly, The Leeches, and Paris.

a-ha has announced the title of their new double live album will be "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice in My Head". It doesn't come out until March 24, but you can listen to preview snippets At=417" target=_blank>here. The tracklist:

CD1
Forever Not Yours
Minor Earth Major Sky
ManhAttan Skyline
I’ve Been Losing You
Crying In The Rain
The Sun Always Shines On TV
Did Anyone Approach You?
Swing Of Things
Lifelines
Stay On These Roads
Hunting High And Low
Take On Me
Living Daylights
Summer Moved On

CD2
Scoundrel Days
Oranges On Appletrees
Cry Wolf
Dragonfly
Time and Again
Sycamore Leaves
Video track: tour diary

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

01. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
02. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
03. The Sounds - Living in America
04. Barbados - Rewind
05. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
06. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
07. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
08. Thomas Rusiak - In the sun
09. A Teens - New arrival
10. Melody Club - Music machine
11. The Knife - Deep Cuts
12. Slaptones - Simplify
13. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
14. The Haunted - One kill wonder
15. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
16. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Nicke & Nilla - Pannkakor med sylt
19. Johannes Kotschy - And thAt's why I love you
20. Eric Gadd - Life support

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

01. (01) The Donnas "Take It Off" 02. (02) Placebo "The Bitter End" 03. (05) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees" 04. (NY) Missy Elliott Ft. Ludacris "Gossip Folks" 05. (NY) SAtirnine "Hey No Hell" 06. (04) IsolAtion Years "Open Those Eyes" 07. (NY) Liam Lynch "United StAtes Of WhAtever" 08. (08) Aimee Mann "Pavlov's Bell" 09. (03) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i världen" 10. (07) Christian Kjellvander "Broken Wheels"

11. (10) Coldplay "Clocks" 12. (ÅT) Whyte Seeds "Slow Motions" 13. (14) Laakso "Long Beach" 14. (18) Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck "One Good Moment" 15. (NY) The Dysfunctionals "Payback Time" 16. (15) Pearl Jam "Love BoAt Captain" 17. (ÅT) Ed Harcourt "All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed" 18. (06) Caesars Palace "Candy Cane" 19. (11) Ben Harper "With My Own Two Hands" 20. (12) Erlend Öje "Sudden Rush"

Leaving the chart:
(09) The Cardigans "For WhAt It's Worth"
(13) Fireside "Throw It Away"
(16) Mull Historical Society "The Final Arrears"
(17) Reef "Give Me Your Love"
(19) Eminem "Sing For The Moment"
(20) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"

"Sweden's most requested demoband" Florence Valentins will be putting out an EP on April 14 called "Allt Dom Bygger Upp Ska Vi Meja Ner". The band plans to play a number of festival gigs this summer, too.

Gloria has a new album called "People Like Me And You" coming out on March 24. The first single will be a cover of the Talking Heads song "This Must Be The Place".

After touring the US for four weeks together, CAto Salsa Experience and The Soundtrack of Our Lives will play together again - this time in Malmö on March 7 and Lund on the 8th.

StrAtovarius has announced they will be filming their upcoming show in Milan, Italy for release on a future DVD. The band also says they will be performing a 'secret' show in their nAtive Finland sometime before their next tour. Look for details to be announced on Atovarius.com/index2.php?PHPSESSID=5432b9686034f540a33b80b7f65ed714§ion=secretgig&PHPSESSID=5432b9686034f540a33b80b7f65ed714" target=_blank>their webpage.

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)

As stAted here before, Sahara Hotnights are coming back to the US for a full tour and this time with a full media blitz. We're talking TV appearances, new singles ("Keep Up the Speed"), a US release of the first (and better) album "C'mon Let's Pretend" on April 8... pretty much the works. Here's those tv dAtes:

2/17 - Last Call with Carson Daly
2/28 - IMX on Much Music USA
3/2 - 120 Minutes on MTV
4/10 - LAte Night with Conan O'Brien

And those tour dAtes again, all except SXSW with Ikara Colt and Washdown:

2/27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
2/28 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
3/01 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star
3/02 - Washington, DC - Black CAt
3/03 - Richmond, VA - Alley KAtz
3/04 - Chapel Hill, NC - CAt's Cradle
3/05 - Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge
3/06 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
3/07 - Orlando, FL - The Social w/Andrew WK
3/08 - Tampa, FL - Orpheum
3/10 - New Orleans, LA - Shim Sham Club
3/11 - Los Angeles, CA - Cinespace (Down & Out with the Dolls movie premier party)
3/13 - Austin, TX - The Ritz SXSW w/StrAtford 4, Flaming Sideburns
3/14 - Austin, TX - Stubbs SXSW: SPIN party w/Hot Hot HeAt, Black Keys, D4
3/15 - Dallas, TX - Trees
3/16 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Green Door
3/17 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
3/18 - Phoenix, AZ - Mason Jar
3/19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
3/20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Roxy
3/21 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
3/22 - Portland, OR - Dante's
3/23 - Vancouver, BC - The Royal
3/24 - SeAttle, WA - Graceland
3/26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Liquid Joes
3/27 - Denver, CO - Climax Lounge
3/28 - Kansas City, MO - El Torreon
3/29 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
3/30 - Chicago, IL - The Metro w/Rocket from the Crypt
3/31 - Detroit, MI - The Shelter
4/01 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
4/02 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
4/03 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
4/04 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
4/05 - Boston, MA - TT the Bears

Dismember has confirmed thAt Dan Seagrve will doing the artwork for the new album "Where Ironcrosses Grow", due out in September on Hammerheart. The artist's previous credits include covers for Entombed, Morbid Angel, SuffocAtion and the first Dismember album.

The Klerks will doing some acoustic in-store appearances At the beginning of March:

3/1 - Mega Hertz Jönköping
3/5 - Folk & Rock Malmö
3/5 - Folk & Rock Lund
3/6 - Folk & Rock Helsingborg
3/7 - Bengans Göteborg
3/8 - Music Store Linköping

Starting in March, Promopop will begin doing a monthly CD-R feAture. Find out more. (in Swedish)

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. The Cardigans - For WhAt It´s Worth
03. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
04. User - You Belong
05. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
06. Blues - Gamla Tider
07. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane
08. Paperboys - Find My Way
09. Winta - Emotions

Challengers:
01. Grant - Just The Thing
02. C21 - You Are The One
03. Darcy - False Alarm
04. Firevision - Stars
05. Sahara Hotnights - Alright, Alright

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

Labrador Records reports they've just signed the band Wan Light. The band's name comes from the first Orange Juice album, but they say the comparison ends there. RAther, they say they sound a bit more like Neil Young, Pet Shop Boys, Momus or Mercury Rev. Look for a single in May, an album to follow in the autumn. Otherwise, you can listen to samples here. (see the bottom of the page)

Download an mp3 for the track Ation.mp3">"The Sadist NAtion" from the upcoming Darkest Hour album, due out in May on Victory Records. The song feAtures a guest appearance from ex-At The GAtes/The Crown and current GreAt Deceiver/Skitsystem frontman Tomas Lindberg. Also making guest contributions to the album are Anders Björler (At the GAtes, The Haunted), Peter Wichers (Soilwork) and Marcus Sunesson (The Crown). So you know, Darkest Hour themselves are from Virginia, not Sweden.

Paragon's new single for the track "Försök Förstå" comes out soon. It's the first single from the upcoming debut album "Stadsbarn" and was produced by Collén & Webb. The b-side is "D Så Vi Gör" which feAtures a guest appearance by Sabo from Highwon.

The new Ison & Fille single "Vår Värld" comes out March 10. It's the third single from the album "Vår Sida Av Stan". The CD also will include four tracks from the vinyl-only "Tillbaka Till GAtan" EP which came out last November

Christian Kjellvander has been added to the bill for Emmaboda fest along with Her Majesty, The Essex Green (US), Florence Valentin, Hank, Niccokick and Magyar Posse (SF).

Marit Bergman to hold a rock summer camp At Hultsfred fest? Yep, for girls between 10 and 14 years old she says. And why not? I think thAt's a pretty darn cool idea myself. Read more Atum=2003-02-25&Artikel=189675" target=_blank>here. (in Swedish)

A new song from Marit Bergman on the right today. She was kinda vanilla to me At first, but the album has really started to grow on me. Nothing mindblowing, but still a good listen.

Curious about the new Bjön Olsson album thAt comes out today? Ation.nu/upload/redigerad%20release%20gra014.rtf" target=_blank>Read all about it.

Check out this video of Supersilent playing live from The Wire's website.

Randy will do five dAtes in their nAtive Sweden before heading out on the road across Europe in support of their forthcoming album. The itinerary so far:

4/24 - Melkweg Amsterdam (NL)
4/25 - W 2 Den Bosch (NL)
4/26 - Groezrock Meerhout (BE)
4/27 - Live Music Hall Cologne (GER)
4/29 - Logo Hamburg (GER)
4/30 - Columbia Fritz Berlin (GER)
5/01 - Musikzentrum Hannover (GER)
5/02 - Alter Stadsbanhof Schweinfurt (GER)
5/03 - Exil Trier (GER)
5/04 - Backstage Munchen (GER)
5/06 - Conrad Sohm Dornbin (AUT)
5/07 - Arena Vienna (AUT)
5/08 - Orpheum Graz (AUT)
5/09 - La Gabbia Bassano (IT)
5/10 - Leoncavallo Milan (IT)
5/13 - Kaserne Basel (CH)
5/14 - Remise Wil (CH)
5/15 - Abart Zurich (CH)
5/16 - MJC Lyon (F)
5/17 - Mephisto Barcelona (ESP)
5/18 - Gruta 77 Madrid (ESP)
5/20 - Roxy Valencia (ESP)
5/21 - Nashville Vigo (ESP)
5/22 - Cafe Albenitz Gijon (ESP)
5/23 - Atzavara Girona (ESP)
5/24 - Le Fuzz La Roche Sur (F)
5/24 - Mondo Bizarro Rennes (F)
5/26 - Festival Tours (F)
5/28 - Wedgewood Room Portsmouth (UK)
5/29 - Academy Birmingham (UK)
5/30 - Josephs Well Leeds (UK)
5/31 - King Tuts Wah Hut Glasgow (UK)
6/03 - Garage London (UK)

Here's the official press release regarding Håkan Hellström's departure from Broder Daniel.

Johan Bergqvist started recording a new single for the song "This Could Be Our Time" this past weekend. He may even film a video for it, too. CandidAtes for b-sides include "Waiting" and "Endure", but nothing has been decided yet. Look for it around May.

Sahara Hotnights are doing the Carson Daly show on February 27. Wanna be in the audience? The show tapes thAt Thursday afternoon At 30 Rockefeller Center in NYC. It's free, but also first-come-first-served, so send an email to lastcallaudience@nbc.com with the subject 'Hotnights' plus your full name, age and number of tickets desired in the body. Oh, and it's limited to people 16 and older.

Finland's HIM have set whAt they declare to be the final tracklist for the new album "Love Metal":

01. Buried Alive By Love
02. The Funeral of Hearts
03. Beyond Redemption
04. Sweet Pandemonium
05. Soul on Fire
06. The Sacrament
07. This Fortress of Tears
08. Circle of Fear
09. Endless Dark
10. The PAth

A limited edition version will include the bonus track "Love's Requiem". The album comes out on April 14 for most of Europe.

Norweigan singer/songwriter Askil Holm gets to have about a minute of his music feAtured in the new film "Agent Cody Banks" directed by Harald Zwarts. It stars Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame and premieres March 8 in LA.

Here's the winners of the Spelleman Awards which took place in Norway on SAturday:

Best Spellemann: Röyksopp
Pop group: Ephemera - "Balloons and Champagne"
Best newcomer: Gåte - "Jygri"
Electronica: SalvAtore - "Tempo"
Best video: Röyksopp - "Remind Me"
Metal: SAtyricon - "Volcano"
Pop soloist: Thomas Dybdahl - "ThAt GreAt October Sound"
Rock: Madrugada - "Grit"
Hip-hop: Paperboys - "No Cure For Life"

A full list of winners can be found here.

No, Soundtrack of Our Lives did not win a Grammy and I'm really not surprised. The competition was tough and Coldplay won the 'best alternAtive album' cAtegory. Still, it's pretty cool thAt they were even nominAted. Next time, eh?

"SAtANIC! SICK! UGLY!" Arch Enemy's Michael Amott has posted a new studio report on their website. Check it out.

Crystal Committee just released their new album and the response has been greAt, including record of the week on Swedish student and nAtional radio. They're also planning on doing a full Swedish tour in spring, but for now you can check 'em At these two dAtes in Stockholm:

3/1 - Debaser
3/11 - Kafe 44

From Timo Isoaho / Sonera Plaza Kaista by way of Blabbermouth:

Swedish high-energy thrashers The Haunted have fulfilled their contractual obligAtions to Earache Records and have no intentions of re-signing with the label, according to frontman Marco Aro. "Earache are lying to us all the time," he told Finland's Kaista. "According to them, we have sold only ONE thousand copies of the last album in the StAtes even though we've done headlining tours over there. You know, Earache doesn't keep any records thAt would reveal how many albums have been pressed and so on, so we have no idea how many albums we have actually sold.

"When we signed to Earache, we actually [inherited] At the GAtes' old contract [as per the leaving member's clause in the agreement]," he added. "So when we got some royalties from our first album, all thAt money went to pay back the debts thAt At the GAtes had with the label.

"Entombed's situAtion with Earache was the 'funniest'," Aro continued. "Earache was built from the money thAt they made by selling the early records from Napalm DeAth and Entombed. Anyway, [former Entombed drummer] Nicke Andersson saw some of the Earache guys when he was doing a show in London with The Hellacopters, and he asked them if he should perhaps be collecting some money from them in back royalties. The Earache guys were like, 'Yeah, sure.' Guess whAt Nicke got from them lAter? 25 pounds and one 'Monkey Puss' live video! (laughs)"

According to Aro, it was Earache's unwillingness to properly fund the group's recently-released DVD, "Caught On Tape", thAt resulted in the final product not being of the high standard thAt the band had hoped for.

"Well, it's ok, there's two shows and everything," Marco said of the DVD. "But it could have been better, too. We were supposed to get really good digital video camera from our record company when we went to tour US with Cannibal Corpse and Dimmu Borgir. We were supposed to shoot some mAterial for the DVD... Well, we got thAt camera when there was two shows left in the tour. And then, when we asked if we could shoot some mAterial from the summer festivals with thAt camera, we were told thAt this was not OK and we had to return the camera to the record company. By the way, our first idea was to release the live DVD and live album in one package At a special price. But thAt was not OK with Earache..."

Of course, this really shouldn't sound all thAt new to you if you follow the metal scene. Earache Records has been notorious for ripping bands off in the past and many, many allegAtions have been tossed their way. I was under the impression they were trying to make up for past mistakes, but I guess thAt's not the case. I only hope thAt other promising, young bands like Cult of Luna don't get crushed by the label.

Speaking of jumping labels, In Flames is apparently shopping around for a new contract now thAt they've furfilled their obligAtion to Nuclear Blast. Do I see a major in their future? I don't doubt it - the band is really doing quite well over here in the StAtes. Expect negotiAtions to be wrapped up around spring they say. In other news, the band is currently filming a video for the track "Trigger" and plan to have it ready by the end of March.

Listen to The Cardigans cover "Das Model" right here. (requires Flash, by way of cardigans.de) The track was originally intended for a Kraftwerk tribute in 2001, but is now available on the "For WhAt It's Worth" maxi-single.

By popular demand, Opeth has added a dAte in Perch on their upcoming Australian tour: April 14 At The Globe.

Millencolin will be touring the StAtes beginning in April with a West Coast jaunt feAturing Rufio and then it's off to the East on 4/30 with American HiFi. The band is also playing the Hurricane and Southside fests in Germany in June. More details soon.

Wow! whAt a cAtchy song. It reminds me of all those movies from the 80s about confused teenagers. This is like "Breakfast Club". But in music. Really, really dope! Are they big in Sweden? Doesn't surprise me. They would probably drop like a bomb in the StAtes as well.

ThAt's Pharrell Williams from N.E.R.D discussing "Seven Days a Week" with Aftonbladet, the newest single from The Sounds. I'm not super keen on the band myself, but I totally agree thAt they'd go over well in the US. Wait and see! Read the article. (in Swedish)

KVLR got themselves a new bassist, a fellow by the name of Joel Borg. Again, be sure to check them out when they tour the US in March. Those dAtes, yet again:

3/7 - Santa Cruz, CA - Drop-In Center w/Science of Yabra, The Yellow Press
3/8 - Redding, CA - Tag Teen Center w/The Yellow Press, Mercy Mile
3/9 - San Fransisco, CA - Club Galia w/Low Rise, more
3/10 - Huntington Beach, CA - Liquid Den w/The Yellow Press, Taint
3/11 - Phoenix, AZ - Red Room w/The Yellow Press
3/12 - Albuquerque, NM - Burt's Tiki Lounge w/Jelaous Sound
3/13 - Austin, TX - SXSW, TFT Records/Better Looking Records Showcase w/ Mark Gardner of Ride, Jealous Sound, more
3/14 - Flagstaff, AZ - Soul Kitchen
3/15 - Stanford, CA - KZSU (www.kzsu.org)

Those dAtes are still subject to minor changes, but stop by and say hi if you can. I'll be traveling along with the band and am very excited.

Vintersong reports they are working on their new album. Described as a concept album, they say there will be "a story running through the album's entirety, and with a musical flow thAt includes small compositions between the "real" songs." The subject is said to concern man's hunger for science and faith. And the music? They say it will range "from mellow prog to extreme metal, to ambient and folky vibes, spiced with a lot of effective contrasts, changing directories but united under a solid musical kingdom."

Soilwork has set "Figure Number Five" as the title for their upcoming album. Look for it in the US on May 5 from Nuclear Blast, April 21 in Europe.

Håkan Hellström has decided to leave Broder Daniel he reveals in an MTVE interview to be broadcast on Monday. I'm really not surprised considering his success with his solo career. "I won't play with them anymore, but we are still very good friends," he says. The Up North Swedish Grammy special will also have interviews with Melody Club, The Sounds, Robyn, The Hives and Caesars Palace plus live performances by Awa, Masayah and Marit Bergman.

BBC's Radio One has chosen DJ Nils Noa to perform on The Essential Mix program in April. He's the third Scandinavian to appear on the program, but the first Norweigan.

Rapper Diaz and black-metallers Dimmu Borgir collaborAting? Yes, it's true! Listen to a samples of the track "Smakebit" and hear for yourself. (Windows Media)

Okay, here's the full scoop on those upcoming Export Music Sweden (ExMS) showcase shows in the US in NYC, Austin (SXSW) and LA. The bands scheduled to perform: Lambretta, The $1000 Playboys, Pineforest Crunch, Marit Bergman, The Mo, The Teenage Idols, Prime Sth, Whyte Seeds, The Sounds, and User.

Kent will play Stockholm Stadium on June 6. Tickets go on sale February 28 and will cost 350 kr.

Aftonbladet reports thAt Ebba Grön is back. Read all about it. (in Swedish) They made an appearance last night At the Joe Strummer tribute At Club Debaser in Stockholm accompanied by ex-Clash member Mick Jones. Pretty cool, eh?

The initial lineup for Augustibuller fest in Lindesberg on August 1-2 has been announced. They are Last Days Of April, The Spitts, SAtirnine, Valley Days, JR Ewing, Between Us, Radioaktiva Räker, Mimikry, Spoiler and Piper. More info here.

We're in cold Sweden At the moment making our new record. We've done quite a lot of singles for the album already but we keep changing some things around.

The Hives report thAt they are working on their new album. In an interview with NME, singer Howlin' Pelle reveals thAt the new music sounds "like The Sex Pistols meets Detroit Cobras meets Kraftwerk." Look for it around September.

Meshuggah will be doing a Scandinavian tour in March. The dAtes:

3/17 - Sthlm Göta Källare
3/18 - Malmö KB
3/19 - Göteborg Sticky Fingers
3/20 - Oslo Betong
3/21 - Gävle Nivå
3/22 - Örebro Contan
3/26 - Helsingfors (sf) Nosturi

Limbonic Art has broken up. The stAtement from guitarist Morfeus and guitarist/vocalist Daemon:

We feel thAt we have reached as far as we could in our collaborAtion, and do not feel as inspired as we should when it comes to [producing] new quality music. Everything is set for a new beginning for the both of us, and we desire to explore other aspects of our musical interests, so it is time to stop now. The circle is complete, begin another...

KAtAtonia has posted a second teaser mp3 from their new album "Viva Emptiness", this time for the song "Criminals". Go to AtAtonia.com/" target=_blank>their website to download it.

The Cardigans will be performing two acoustic songs on XFM in London on March 4 between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. They'll also be recording an extra track for airplay At a lAter dAte. Those not local or unable to pick it up on sAtellite can listen from their website. The stAtion will also host a live chAt with the band At the end of March.

Marit Bergman will be releasing a four-song EP in the US on March 19. The tracks to be included are "It Would Have Been Good", "Nightlife", "I Take My Wings Off You", and "Between the Lines". She'll also be doing those US ExMS shows along with The Sounds, et al. At CBGBs, SXSW, and LA. Yet another Swede ready to break across the ocean?

Dagbladet has posted a short interview with TSOOL. (in Swedish)

Preview the new Erlend Öyes album here.

Mörk Gryning are currently recording their new album At Dug Out Studio with producer Daniel Bergstrand. Look for it on June 6 in Sweden, Europe two weeks lAter.

Rune Grammofon will be putting out an album of unreleased mAterial from Arne Nordheim on March 17. It's called "Dodeka" and it will consist of 12 electronic pieces "composed from the basic and essential sound mAterial gAthered and constructed during Arne Nordheim´s fruitful period in Warsaw in the lAte sixties."

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

01. (NY) The Donnas "Take It Off" 02. (11) Placebo "The Bitter End" 03. (02) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i hela världen" 04. (NY) IsolAtion Years "Open Those Eyes" 05. (NY) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees" 06. (06) Caesars Palace "Candy Cane" 07. (NY) Christian Kjellvander "Broken Wheels" 08. (NY) Aimee Mann "Pavlov's Bell" 09. (01) The Cardigans "For WhAt It's Worth" 10. (03) Coldplay "Clocks"

11. (NY) Ben Harper "With My Own Two Hands" 12. (08) Erlend Öje "Sudden Rush" 13. (05) Fireside "Throw It Away" 14. (09) Laakso "Long Beach" 15. (NY) Pearl Jam "Love BoAt Captain" 16. (NY) Mull Historical Society "The Final Arrears" 17. (NY) Reef "Give Me Your Love" 18. (NY) Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck "One Good Moment" 19. (NY) Eminem "Sing For the Moment" 20. (ÅT) Her Majesty "I'm Fire C'mon!"

Leaving the chart:
(04) The Knife "HeartbeAts"
(07) Foo Fighters "Times Like These"
(10) Ms Dynamite "Put Him Out"
(12) Paris "Streetlights"
(13) N.E.R.D. "Provider"
(14) Badly Drawn Boy "Born Again"
(15) Maceo Parker "Come By And See"
(16) Eve "SAtisfaction"
(17) The Libertines "Time for Heroes"
(18) Calexico "QuAttro"
(19) Zwan "Honestly"
(20) Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"

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. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
04. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
05. Barbados - Rewind
06. v/a - Fame Factory volym 3 final 2002
07. A Teens - New arrival
08. The Haunted - One kill wonder
09. Melody Club - Music machine
10. The Knife - Deep Cuts
11. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
12. Johannes Kotschy - And thAt's why I love you
13. Christian Kjellvander - Songs from a two-room chapel
14. Helen Sjöholm - Visor
15. Eric Gadd - Life support
16. Sophie Zelmani - Sing and dance
17. Björn Skifs - Ingen annan
18. Roxette - The ballad hits
19. Mando Diao - Bring´em in
20. Joybells gospel choir - Oh happy day - 14 gospel klassiker

The Ark, Entombed, Shenerah, and USCB Allstars have all been confirmed for Westgothafestivalen in Trollhättan on May 24.

The Swedish Hip-Hop Awards will be held April 25 in Stockholm. Nominees to be announced soon.

Guitar player Jens F. Ryland has left black-metallers Borknagar. Band mainman Oystein G. Brun says Jen's "decision is based on various personal reasons, but we would like to stAte thAt there is no conflict nor bad blood in relAtions to the break. On behalf of Borknagar, I wish him all the best for the future!" The band will enter the studio in March to record an album for a lAte 2003 release.

Children of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho recently joined Halford on stage in Japan for a rendition of the Judas Priest classic "Living After Midnight". CoB was the opening act on the Japan tour.

I got a 3-song promo from the new Beyond Dawn album "Frysh" yesterday and it's pretty darn good. As I was just saying over on indieworkshop.com, it's like they've combined the best elements of their last two releases. "Electric Sulking Machine"'s brooding pop mixed with a healthy infusion of synth ala "In Reverie". I really dig some of the more vintage-esque tones they use, too. I guess The Knife could be a point of reference, but it's not really accurAte. Oh, and some greAt pedal-steel work also - thAt was something I really didn't expect. Anyhow, I've asked permission to put up an mp3, but we'll have to wait and see whAt they say. Otherwise, wait until May for it to hit stores.

Atures/77" target=_blank>Here's a feAture article on the interesting Norweigan label Rune Grammofon from Dusted Magazine.

Don't forget about The Soundtrack of Our Lives on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight.

Opeth's next record "DamnAtion" may have been pushed back to May, but thAt doesn't mean you can't read a review already. This is another record thAt I'm very excited to hear and judging from this review, I won't be let down.

Silence will release Ulf Sturesons' third album "HjärtAt fullt" in April. The label will also put out the new First Floor Power EP "Happy Endings" in March.

Aftonbladet has posted some pictures from yesterday's Grammis here and here.

Both Division of Laura Lee and The Soundtrack of Our Lives have now been confirmed for the upcoming Coachella Fest which is scheduled to take place in Indio, California on April 26 and 27.

JuJu Records reports thAt PSTQ is busy in his home studio for a new album to be released in the fall. They say it's "some neo gothenburg ill shit like you never heard before." Dig it. JuJu also reports thAt Sam's new album "Being Under The Influence" has been delayed. No word on the new dAte, but they're working to get it out ASAP. And lastly, be sure to check out Chords and Timbuktu as they tour Europe supporting Loop Troop:

2/21 - Lasarte (E)- Zulo
2/22 - Madrid (E)- Aqualung
2/23 - Barcelona (E)- Apolo
2/24 - Barcelona (E)- Instore At Discos Tesla
2/25 - Milano (I)- 111 Cocktail Bar
2/26 - Lausanne (CH)- Casino De Montbenon
2/27 - Basel (CH)- Kaserne
2/28 - Wil (CH)- Remise
3/01 - Biel (CH)- La Coupole
3/02 - Linz (A)- Kapu
3/03 - Wien (A)- B72
3/04 - BrAtislava (CS)- Bajkal
3/05 - Prague (CS)- Rock Café
3/06 - München (D)- Backstage
3/08 - Bremen (D)- Moments

Norway's Jazzland Records will be doing a showcase At London's Cargo Club on March 8. Scheduled to perform are Beady Belle and Eivind Aarset´s Electronique Noire Band. For more info, check the Jazzland or Cargo homepages. The label focuses on all types of jazz, often including electronic elements.

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 Atus=no,width=468,height=315');return false">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