It took quite some time, but the long-awaited "Carheart" album from Norway's Virus is due to be released on September 15 (22nd as printed in this ad). As also evidenced in said ad, is the new release of the Ulver "Svidd Neger" soundtrack, "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" EP, and the new album "Pearl-harvest" from When. So much good stuff! VME handles distro for Scandinavia, Shellshock in the UK, and The End in the US. Download a sample of the Ulver track "Vowels" Ulver_quick_vowelsexcerpt.mp3" target=_blank>right here.

Apeshit.org has put up a nice, informative interview with The Gathering that discusses their collaboration with Trickster G/Garm of Ulver, their current place in the music scene, among other topics.

Check out this site to watch the new European version of "In the Shadows" from Finland's The Rasmus. And after twenty record-setting weeks on the MTV Nordic's UpNorth chart, they have decided the retire the single from further competition so as to give other acts more chance for exposure. In other news, the band was supposed to be supporting Evanescence on their upcoming German tourdates, but those shows have unfortunately been cancelled by the headliner. They still plan on going out and doing promotion in Hamburg and Berlin regardless.

Randy has posted a bunch of new pics from their recent European tour.

From thearkworld.com comes yet another live video. This is one is "Tell Me this Night is Over", live from Stockholm.

Ebbot hurt his back after drinking too much and failing to navigate some stairs so, under doctor's orders, he's had to cancel the scheduled Soundtrack of Our Lives show at Roskilde.

C.Aarmé just put up a couple videos on their homepage. They also report that they will be entering the studio on July 7 to record 'at least' 15 new songs.

Bear Quartet has put up an old mp3 of "Guilt Jazz/High Noon" from a live Luleå radio broadcast in 1995.

One more band has been added to the Uppsala Hardcore Fest: Parade. They'll play Tuesday at 18:00. See previous days news for more details.

Denmark's Ravonettes will appear on 'Late Night with David Letterman' this coming September 10. Obviously, the previously announced date in July will not be happening as planned. The band also will be supporting Beck at the Brixton Academy in London on August 21.

The band Dechas won the Emergenza demoband fest and they now get to play at the Taubertal festival in Germany this coming August. More on Dechas here. More on Taubertal here. Other bands playing the fest include The Cardigans and HIM.

The latest edition of the Brainwashed Brain reviews Ulver's "1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines", among other fine releases.

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley is working on a new solo album with Swedish songwriter Andreas Carlsson due out sometime early next year. Andreas' previous credits include working with artists such as Celine Dion, Def Leppard, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Bon Jovi and Britney Spears.

Here's an update from Borknagar drummer Asgeir Mickelson concerning the recording of their forthcoming album and other current activities, as posted on their message board:

"I've recorded all the acoustic drums. I still have to do some V-drums stuff on one of the two Lars-instrumentals (don't know what to do yet...), and I'll spend a couple of hours going through all the drum tracks fixing small errors (like when I hit the snare or a tom a little bit wrong I can replace it with a better take, or move the bassdrums if they're not dead on the snare). Lars has recorded all keyboards (very happy with the sounds!) and Hammond (different one than last time - even more organic sound), but still have to record the grand piano in Fagerborg studio. Andreas is doing all his vocals next week (starting tomorrow). Øystein recorded most of the rhythm tracks in April and will continue recording his endless amounts of guitars the same week as Andreas is doing the vocals. Tyr was supposed to record bass this week but had to postpone it to the second week in July due to not getting his new fretless bass in time."

"Other news is that we've chosen to release the album early next year. We have way too much material so we'll probably save some songs for a Japanese release or something else. We still haven't found a title for it, but it's decided that I will - as usual - do the cover design + this time shoot the band pictures (the problem with being in front and behind the camera at the same time is solved with a remote control and then some hours with Photoshop...). Other reasons for releasing the album next year is that we need more time to find and record "the snacks". We want it to be better produced - more sound effects, more intros/outros, whatever... We have found a possible session guitarist to replace Jens, but still need to learn him the songs before playing live. Looks like we will have to cancel the (only) two scheduled shows and come back stronger next year. Who knows, maybe it's worth the wait..."

Some of the bands confirmed for the upcoming 4th annual Norbergfestival for modern electronica which takes place in Norberg, Sweden on July 24-26: Pan Sonic (FIN), Philip Jeck (UK) & Jacob Kirkegaard (DK), Gert-Jan Prins (NL), Mikael Stavöstrand (S), Björn Svin (DK), Håkan Libdo (S), Karsten Pflum (DK), Bauri (S), and Wäldchengarten (DK). More info: www.norbergfestival.com

Via pHinnWeb, comes these pictures from a recent Pan Sonic show in Russia.

In what is being billed as a 'knight to remember', Sweden's power-metal superstars Dream Evil will be playing the Camden Underworld in London on September 27. Dream Evil features Studio Fredman owner/engineer Fredrik Nordström and ex-Mercyful Fate drummer/Notre Dame frontman Snowy Shaw and have two albums out. Fellow Swedes Falconer open, and as the press release says, "Prepare to do battle against false metaaaal with thy sword held on high!!!"

Added the rest of those Madrugada live mp3s on the right. Enjoy.

That charming young Norweigan, Sondre Lerche, just posted a new tour diary entry on his website.

Rec90 artists Lorraine are heading to Germany on tour this month with the band Delaware:

06/08 - Berlin, Magnet
06/09 - Hannover, Gig
06/10 - Leipzig - Moritzbastei
06/11 - Hamburg, Tanzhalle
06/12 - Kassel, K19
06/15 - Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei
06/16 - Köln, MTC
06/17 - Frankfurt, Nachtleben

Those of you in Deustchland can look for a track from the band on the sampler CD from the May edition of Zillo magazine, too. They also play the Working Class Hero Festival in Drammen Norway on August 6 and expect to have their debut full-length "The Perfect Cure" out in September.

Some news from Norway's Jester Records, the label of Ulver mainman Garm aka Kristoffer Rygg aka Trickster G:

September 15 marks the day that both Ulver's soundtrack to the film "Svidd Neger" and Virus' new album hit the stores. The other upcoming Ulver release, "A Quick Fix" EP, is now slated for August. Ulver even got a write-up in the Village Voice awhile back, too.
The new single and video "Sleepers" from Kåre João is out and getting spun NRK2 and ZTV. I haven't seen it myself, but they say it was shot on 16mm b&w film and resembles "such fine pieces of art as Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger than Paradise" and Gus Van Sant's "Drugstore Cowboy".
When's new album is due to be mixed in July with a release sometime this winter.
And lastly, the label is in negotiation with Tigerbeat6, the label of Kid606 for licensing of Jester's "cut-cool electronic" catalogue. The other part of their catalogue (or however you want to refer to it) is currently distributed by The End Records in North America.

The Crown has finished the recording of their album "Possessed 13" and is currently taking a three-week break before entering the mixing stage back at Studio Fredman. This release will be the band's sixth album and is the first one back with original vocalist Johan Lindstrand after a one-off with Tomas Lindberg (ex-At the Gates).

Due to singer Maja Ivarsson's bronchitis and over exhaustion, The Sounds have been forced to cancel a number of upcoming gigs. THe following dates are affected:

06/07 - Nuremberg, Germany
06/08 - Eifel, Germany
06/12 - Hultsfred Festival, Sweden
06/13 - Norwegian Wood, Norway
06/14 - Nyköping, Sweden
06/17 - Gothenburg, Sweden
06/18 - Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
06/20 - Wiesen, Austria
06/21 - Southside, Munich, Germany
06/22 - Hurricane, Hannover/Hamburg, Germany
06/27 - Kiruna Festival, Sweden
06/28 - Skellefteå Festival, Sweden

The band plans to recover at their home in Helsingborg, Sweden before setting back out on the road again.

Amorphis has posted a video interview with vocalist Pasi Koskinen and guitarist Esa Holopainen as part of their electronic press kit.

The UK's XL Recordings (Electric Six, Badly Drawn Boy, White Stripes, The Prodigy, etc) imprint Rex Records will put out the Radio Dept.'s album "Lesser Matters" this coming fall.

All six bands representing Finland's Popcity 2003 will perform at the Provinssirock festival in their own hometown Seinäjoki and takes place June 13-15. They are: Georg Kalliola & JooJoo Miehet, Kayah, Kuolleet intiaanit, Stigma, Trigon and Velvetcut. The Finnish Music Information Centre launched the Popcity project as a way to promote as-yet unknown bands from a different annually chosen town. Read more.

Saami artist Mari Boine has won the 2003 Nordic Council Music Prize of 47k EUR. "Mari Boine is one of the leading lights on the new Saami music scene. Boine's music defies facile attempts at labelling. It is based on joik but the complimentary stylistic ingredients include African rhythms, world music and rock-funk." Read more.

Confirmed bands for Festival Mission Impossible which takes place August 23 at Smedjebacken in Dalarna: The Hellacopters, The Ark, Pugh Rogefeldt, Docenterna and The Mainliners. At total of 16 acts will perform and tickets will cost 200 SEK.

The full lineup for Göteborgskalaset: Looptroop, Fireside, Moneybrother, Raised Fist, Mory Kante, Christian Kjellvander, Franke, Hammerfall, Evergrey, Cult of Luna, Her Majesty, Isolation Years, Florence Valentin, Shout Out Louds, Mando Diao, The Latin Kings, Advance Patrol, Ison & Fille, The Ark, Komeda, Paola, The Concretes, Satirnine, Thomas Rusiak, Dub Sweden, Kajsa Grytt, Kamera and Kristian Anttila.

The Maggots' new album "Do The Maggot" doesn't come out until August 25, but they're already heading out on tour in the UK:

06/12 - Sheffield, Casbah
06/13 - Aberdeen, Dr Drakes
06/14 - Edinburgh, Studio24
06/15 - Day off
06/16 - Newcastle
06/17 - York, Fibbers
06/18 - Nottingham, Junktion7
06/19 - High Wycombe
06/20 - London, Dirty Water
06/22 - Stockholm, Debaser/Gearclub

In case you were unaware, Timbuktu addressed stateminister Göran Persson in his song "Ett Brev" and now Göran is just about ready with his response. Apparently he wrote something together with an unnamed colleague in rap form (!!!) and it will be published in SSU's magazine Frihet on June 18. What comes next is anyone's guess.

The Killers, Gaffaman, Crash, Ziggy Kropp & Karma, Sirqus Alfon and Soul Source have all been added to Hultsfred fest.

Wired for Mono reports they will be heading back over to England in mid-July for a few dates, details to be posted on their website soon. They'll also be back in the studio recording some new material this month along with playing Friday at Debaser in Stockholm.

Okay, I'm totally pissed off because my webhost fucked up and somehow erased all my database information from the last week. Whether or not they'll be able to bring it back remains to be seen, but I am obviously not happy about the situation. So yeah, if you see weird things happening to the site, chances are it is not my fault.

UPDATE: I managed to recover a bit of last week's info from Google's cache (with the kind help of DJ Martian), but not everything is back to normal. I've got the info stashed away somewhere, but I'm still hoping that my webhost comes through for me with the backup.

Sonic Magazine (www.sonicmagazine.com) has a large feature on The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Union Carbide Productions in its latest issue along with a free compilation CD of unreleased tracks for subscribers.

Deleted Art will put out a five-song EP from Threeminutepopsongs later this year that will "destroy everything that preceded it." Look for it around August.

Soviac's album "GMC Out in the Fields" will see a US release later this year on Florida-based Mom Pop Records. The trio also plans for a European tour sometime this fall, but no details are available yet. The latest single "Boogie Woogie" just recently came out and the next full-length "Trilogy Sexlife Rodeo Friscotti" is due out this fall, both from Chalksounds.

In related news, Mom Pop is also the label that will be putting out the post-humous Your Halo Is A Radar self-titled CDEP this summer on July 29. More info here.

The nominees for the twelfth annual P3/Rockparty scholarship award have been announced. The prize is for people or organizations who work hard behind the scenes to make music happen in Sweden. And they are: festival arranger Niklas Jonsson, label Redline Records, manager Stina Lorentz and club organizer Mattias Berg. Read more. (in Swedish)

Denmark's The Raveonettes will appear on David Letterman on July 16.

Statemachine is having a release party for their new album "Short And Explosive" on June 3 at Alcazar/Nalen in Stockholm.

Raised Fist has scored a couple dates opening for Sepultura:

06/10 - KB, Malmö, SWE
06/11 - Rockfeller, Oslo, NOR
06/13 - Loppen, Copenhagen, DK

NRK has posted a photo gallery from the recent Turbonegro show at the Oslo Spektrum.

Ison & Fille make a guest appearance on Kaah's new 'elektro-funk' track "Namnlös", the b-side for the new single "Innan Du Går". They also guest on "Operation : Sverige", a track from Advance Patrol's current album "Utskrivna". And all of Highwon (Ison, Fille, Sabo, Ju-Mazz and Hoosam) appears on the debut-EP from AFC (Allied Forces) on the track "Ögon I Nacken".

For your amusement: Thorsten Flinck on being a body-double in The Sounds's video for the song "Dance with Me" from Expressen. (in Swedish)

Aftonbladet talks with Tomas Ledin about summer touring. His new album I sommarnattens ljus" comes out this week.

"Moodier than a manic depressive 12-year-old girl from northern Minnesota." Delusion of Adequacy Ulver.shtml" target=_blank>reviews the latest album from Ulver, "1993-2003: 1st Decade in the Machines".

There will a 'Swedish Folksongs' evening on June 4 at the Swedish Church in NYC featuring songs by the most popular Swedish composers and poetry from writers such as E. Taube and B. Andersson. The performers will be Asa Rydman (voice), Helena Liljeblad (voice), Eva Engman (voice), Christina Nylund (piano), and Renee Cruz (bass). Admission is $10 and includes post-show cheese and wine.

Adrian Records is going be quite busy this coming fall. David & The Citizens are working on their next album in Malmö and have about eleven or twelve songs ready to go. Laakso are at Christoffer Lundquist's (Brainpool) studio in Skåne with Jari Haapalainen (Bear Quartet) working on their debut full length tentatively titled "– I miss you. I'm Pregnant". And lastly, Björns Vänner is going into the studio in a week to record the follow-up to the "Kvar på film" EP. Christian Kjellvander will be producing and the working title is "Restaurang & Björns vänner".

Upcoming Pink Twins live dates:

06/06 - Galleria Allinna, Riihimäki, FIN (Riihimäki Experiment) w/M.A. Numminen and Kari Peitsamo
06/07 - Kipsari, Helsinki, FIN
06/13 - Sonar Fest in Barcelona, Spain
06/19 - Club DOM, Moscow, RUS (Finnexport 2003)
06/21 - Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl, RUS (Finnexport 2003)

Finnexport 2003 events feature also Pan Sonic and Anton Nikkilä and Alexei Borisov. See more info here: www.nbresearchdigest.com/finnexport/

C.Aarmé has announced they will release a 4-song 7" on Big Brothel Records sometime this summer. The name of the record will be "The Gag" and tracks to be included are the title track plus "Aimless", "Worst Part", and "Gasmask".

Hypocrisy has offered up an explanation for why they decided to pull out of the upcoming X-Mass Festivals European tour which was set to start on December 7 in London:

"We sincerely apologize for the cancellation of the X-Mass Fest. The reason being Dimmu Borgir have offered us to tour with them worldwide. This means we'll be touring Europe from 30th September 'till 29 October and the U.S. from 7th November 'till 14th December. We hope to see you out there this fall or this winter! Tour dates will be posted as soon as they are confirmed."

Amorphis' new album "Far from the Sun" debuted on the Finnish charts at #7. Check out the new video for the song "Evil Inside" from here.

Dead Frog Records just put up a brand new website. The label's latest releases include Holden's debut self-titled album and the single "Hard To Be In Love" from Paste. In related news, Holden just signed a publishing deal with Stiggy Music & Management AB. "Holden has everything needed to become a huge success locally and internationally," says Stiggy's Stefan Egmar, "great songs, great look, great album and a fantastic live-act with a brilliant [vocalist] Jenny Öhlund!"

Aquarius Records has put up their latest new arrival list, featuring samples and reviews of artists such as Bjorn Olsson, Johan Berthling, Uton, Markku Peltola and much, much more.

NorthSide Records has announced the upcoming release of Väsen's new album "Trio", due out this August with a US tour to follow in October. The label will also be reissuing Värttinä's classic album from '96 "Kokko", just in time for their 20th anniversary US tour in November. Dates and more details soon.

After the initial success of the festival in Helsinki, the PikseliAHKY / pixelACHE fest is hitting the road for events in New York on June 2-3 and Montreal on June 5-7. The event is billed as "an international laboratory for creative experimenting with audiovisual technologies" and will consist "audiovisual performances, interactive cinema screenings and an exhibition of media art projects." Most of the artists scheduled to appear are from pixelACHE's hometown of Helsinki, but not all. Here's a list of the Scandinavian talent to be represented: Animaatiokone crew (FIN) (Ari Nykanen, Mikko Lindholm, Perttu Hamalainen), Amfibio.org collective (FIN) (Antti A, Halcyon, *Jen, Juhuu, Maippi, Mesq, Teemu K), AVCENTRALEN (SWE) (Olle Huge, Martin Malm, Johan Skugge, Andreas Tilliander), Beeoff (SWE) (Olle Huge, Tomas Linell, Martin Malm, Mikael Scherdin), /dev/null Research Labs (FIN), Helsinki Interactive Cinema Crew & KINO Helsinki (FIN), Jussi Angesleva (FIN) & Ross Cooper (UK), O Samuli A (FIN), Tero (FIN), Tuomas Toivonen (FIN).
More info here: www.pixelache.ac

Fresh from the rumor mill is news that Last Days of April will indeed be heading over to America to promote the US release of "Ascend to the Stars" on Crank! Records. No exact dates yet, but I'm hearing they'll be doing something like six weeks, so they'll be sure to play nearly everwhere. More news when I get it.

Scratchie Records recently relaunched their website including a page dedicated to their darlings The Sounds. And in case you didn't know, the band cancelled those rumored headlining gigs they had scheduled before their upcoming Ravonettes/Vue jaunt. Oh, and Rolling Stone recently did a feature on the band, too.

Hell n' Diesel will be holding a release party at Timmerstugan in Falköping on May 30 for their new single "Tears for the Wicked".

Mean Street Magazine recently did a short interview with Sahara Hotnights. They also did a feature on TSOOL for last month's Coachella fest issue.

Some of the recent Norweigan bands added to the Quart festival lineup: Tonka, Gaute Drevdal, Bjørn Berge, Panzer, Splitimage, and Guardians of Time.

The Gatethering recently released "You Learn About It", the first single from their newest album "Souvenirs". They also did a video for the song with 13-year old director Tim Blok. Apparently, he's the youngest music video director ever which is kind of cool, I guess. Anyhow, fans of atmospheric rock music should definitely investigate the album. I know I'm really enjoying it.

America's The End Records has announced that it will reissue a remastered version of Ulver's first demo "Vergtatt" (or isn't it "Bergtatt"? not sure if it's a typo) on 10" vinyl. They'll also be doing quite a few other great releases in this new series which they are dubbing 'Infinite Vinyl' such as "Tommorrow Will Never Come", a 7" from Agalloch that will include two unreleased acoustic tracks from the original "The Mantle" sessions. The full list of scheduled releases so far:

IVS 001 Agalloch - Tomorrow Will Never Come 7"
IVS 002 Ulver - Vergtatt 10"
IVS 003 Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
IVS 004 Emperor - As The Shadows Rise 7"
IVS 005 Samael - Blood Ritual
IVS 006 Arcturus - Constellation / My Angel 10"
IVS 007 Katatonia - Saw You Drawn 10"

The Swedish MIC reports that Swedes seem to prefer their own domestically-produced music versus international imports. The latest charts show a 54% dominance in albums and 52% in singles and that data is significant of a trend that has been ongoing all year.

Moneybrother's new album has been generating all sorts of positive reviews, such as this one from Aftonbladet and yesterday's Dagensskiva review. Personally, I think the single ("Reconsider Me") is fantastic, but I'm not sold on the entire album just yet. Anyway, it's up to you to decide for yourself. Aftonbladet has a couple sound samples for you to hear, too.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. HIM - Funeral of hearts
03. Outlandish - Guantanamo
04. A-Teens - Perfect Match
05. Jennifer Brown - Weak
06. Darude - Music
07. Kwan - Shine
08. Equicez - Live From Pass It
09. Mew - Comforting Sounds
10. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
11. Paragon - Försök Förstå
12. The Jessica Fletchers - Let´s Go
13. Timbuktu - Ett Brev
14. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
15. Moon Gringo - Buzz Aldrin
16. Nik & Jay - Elsker Hende Mere
17. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
18. Surferosa - Neon Commando
19. Melody Club - Cover Girl
20. Pauline - Runnin´ Out Of Gaz

Challengers:
01. Homy - Bus Stop
02. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - One Good Moment
03. Magnet - The Day We Left Town
04. Monastir - Teenage Years
05. Stephen Simmonds & Dilba - For Father

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

Here's something interesting that came to me by way of the pHinnweb list: www.radiofetthode.no. Streaming Internet radio featuring all sorts of various Scandinavian artists + more. Very cool.

Speaking of yesterday's Cdoass signing news, it has been pointed out to me that they used to be a demowebben band. Check out some old tracks from the band right here.

Finland's Amorphis has completed work on a video for the song "Evil Inside", their first single from the upcoming album "Far From The Sun". Taku Kaskela directed. The record comes out in Scandinavia on May 26 from Virgin Records and you can listen to streamed versions of a couple from their web jukebox, located here.

Did you realize that Turbonegro's new album "Scandinavian Leather" went straight to #1 on the Norweigan charts, selling twice as many copies as Madonna's "American Life" at #2? Pretty crazy, eh? They also added one more date to their current tour itinerary: May 30 in Fredrikstad, Norway. For those still unfamiliar with the band, perhaps this e-card will help.

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Homy's debut album "Music Box" comes out May 15 in Sweden. The single "Bus Stop" has already been receiving college radio airplay in the US and was released in Sweden just this past week. Look for the band to hit the festival circuit this summer.

Johan Bergqvist has announced a new pair of gigs in Sweden:

5/3- Mondo, Stockholm
5/17 - Diezel, Halmstad

Ulver has decided to push back the release of the upcoming "A Quick Fix of Melancholy" EP so it does not interfere with promotion of the "1st Decade..." remix comp. No exact date yet, but you can Ulver_quick_fix_excerpt.mp3?PHPSESSID=c4745fe14b9bade2421411927123dd34" target=_blank>download a sample exerpt to whet your appetite.

Ex-Haunted frontman Peter Dolving has reportedly rejoined with his old bandmates in Mary Beats Jane to write and record a new album. Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

The Rasmus are making a bid for a wider European audience by signing to MotorUrbanDefJam Group in Germany, a division of Universal Music. The first single "In the Shadows" comes out this summer. "I look forward to working together with the nice people at MotorUrbanDefJam Group, they seem to know what they are doing and they are already totally in love with the music," says Lars Tengroth, the band's A&R rep at Scandinavian label Playground Music.

Cult of Luna have been nominated for 'Best Underground Act' at the 2003 Metal Hammer Awards along with Opeth, Arch Enemy, Satyricon and lone Americans Shadows Fall. More info and voting instructions are here. CoL also recently wrapped up the filming of a video for "The Watchtower" with Pete Bridgewater and George Steel at HemnMagasinet. More info about that when I get it.

HIM shot a video for the song "The Sacrament" at Ploskovice Castle near Prague last weekend. It was shot on 33mm film stock and should be edited and ready by sometime in mid-May. View pictures from the shoot here.

Car Crash Records has announced that they have signed C.Aarmé to their label. Look for a full length this fall or check out the just-released 7" on Deleted Art. A sample mp3 of the track "Tu puta mi casa" is available here.

How timely is this? Here's a MIC Norway profile on Jaga Jazzist. Look another big feature in May's issue of The Wire.

More from MIC Norway, here's some info about the upcoming Music Under Oslo Festival (MUO) which takes place in the city's subway stations. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. The entrance fee is only the cost of a regular token. Artists scheduled to play include Fox&Wolf, Thomas Dybdahl, Thulsa Doom, and more.

From the Finnish Music Information Centre (FIMIC), check out Finland's 2002 year-end wrap-up.

Aftonbladet has a review and samples of the long-awaited debut from The Concretes.

Finland's Bangkok Impact has the album of the month over at Jockey Slut magazine.

If you can't get enough of that high-quality Swedish garage-rock, The Dandelions are heading over to London for a number of dates at the end of May:

5/22 - Gaz's Rockin' Blues
5/23 - Dragon Bar
5/24 - Cobden Club
5/27 - Eyelash at Pop

They've also got quite a few mp3s over at their site if you're interested.

Vote for "Playboy's Sexiest Women of Indie Rock" featuring the Sahara Hotnights. Um, whatever. And yeah, the link is safe for work.

Read a short, gushing review of the new album "Souvenirs" from the Netherland's The Gathering. As mentioned in therein, the album features guest appearances from Mathias Elk of Jaga Jazzist and Trickster G (Kris Rygg) of Ulver, and yes, I agree that it really is great.

Reviews and samples of new releases from Ulver, Katatonia, JR Ewing and more from Aquarius Records. Mailorder, too.

As already reported, Arve and Jarle from Supersilent will be appearing solo and as part of the Tord Gustavsen Trio on May 10 at the Maijazz festival in Stavanger, Norway. It's not confirmed that Supersilent themselves will also be playing the fest on the day before. In other news, Arve makes a guest appearance on the new Jørn Simen Øverli album "Pengenes Oppmuntrende Virkning" along with Stian Carstensen from Farmers Market.

Mustasch is entering the studio on April 22 to record a new album under the tutelage of producer Jacob Hellner (credits include Rammstein, Clawfinger, and Fläskkvartetten). They expect to have it out around fall.

Here's an interview with Ebbot from TSOOL talking about touring the US among other things. (in Swedish)

25 years ago the first Swedish punk single "Vårdad klädsel" from Kriminella Gitarrer came out. There's gonna be a show celebrating this event at Vågen in Göteborg on October 4 featuring Brända Barn, Asta Kask, Attentat, Stry Terrarie and Freddie Wadling plus more to be announced. Tickets go on sale April 11.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Mew - Comforting Sounds
03. Kwan - Shine
04. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
05. A-ha - The Sun Always Shines On TV
06. C21 - You Are The One
07. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
08. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
09. Winta - Emotions
10. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth

Challengers:
01. Left Lane - Walk after you
02. HIM - Funeral of harts
03. Ralph Meyrz & The Jack Herren Band - Think Twice
04. Whyte Seeds - Slow motions
05. Don Diego - Min lat

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

Lotta will be playing Tavastia in Helsinki on April 15 with Buddaboys. Even better, Yle Radio X3M will be broadcasting the show live.

Orange Crunch has a new EP coming out on Dead Frog in May. They play Alcazar in Stockholm tomorrow night, too.

The Svensk Rockarkiv will be making a roadshow appearance at Hultsfred fest this year. The archive was started in 1993 as a place to keep documentaries, photos, records and so on from all sorts Swedish artists through the ages.

The winners of the 2002 SAMA awards have been announced:

Best newcomer: Melody Club
Best song: Melody Club – Electric
Best album: Covenant – Northern Light
Best artist: Apoptygma Berzerk

Read more about the SAMAs here.

Download an mp3 of Randy's new single "A Man in Uniform". The new album "Welfare Problems" comes out April 14 on Burning Heart.

Hedningarna, Radio Dept., Tyskarna från Lund, Colony 5, Kamera, Interlace, Stairland, Magenta, Necton and The Celophane Flowers are few of the new Nordic bands confirmed for the upcoming Arvika Festival. Other new bands confirmed include Ministry, Mono and DAF.

The final list of nominees for the Swedish hip-hop awards has been announced. Go here for the full list. The ceremony will April 25 at Nalen in Stockholm. Performing live will be Spotrunnaz, Prominent, Don Diego, Peshi, DJ Confuse, Narcissists, Ison & Fille & Hemmalaget, Ken & BB Entertainment, Sam-E, and Timbuktu.

Speaking of Timbuktu, he'll be hitting the road in May along with Chords, DJ Amato and the live-band Damn!. The dates:

5/6 - Stockholm, Göta källare
5/7 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/8 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/9 - Malmö, KB

Here's a short interview with Jocke Ahlunds from The Caesars talking about the filming of the video for "Jerk it Out" in Havana, Cuba. You can also view the video from that page, too. (in English)

Check this article on up-and-coming Swedish pop groups Franke, Laakso, José Gonzales, The Embassy, Radio Dept., and Her Majesty from Dagens Nyeter. (in Swedish)

Ulf Lundell is hitting the road this summer:

7/4 - Varberg, Fästningen
7/5 - Sundsvall, Gatufesten
7/6 - Leksand, Sammilsdal
7/8 - Visby, Kneippbyn
7/11 - Christinehofs Slott
7/17 - Stockholm, Skansen
7/19 - Karlstad, Mariebergsskogen
7/22 - Borgholm, Slottsruinen
7/24 - Karlskrona, Bastion Aurora
7/25 - Västervik, Gränsö Slott
7/26 - Halmstad, Brottet
7/29 - Fjällbacka, Hamnen
8/1 - Uppsala, Fyrishovsparken
8/2 - Mariestad, Folkets Park
8/8 - Norge, Wrightegaarden
8/9 - Norge, Fredrikstens Festning
8/10 - Norge, Oslo, Rockefeller
8/15 - Linköping, Slottsparken
8/16 - Göteborg, TrSdgsrdsföreningen

Finnish electronic act Mr. Velcro Fastener will be playing at The Egg in London on May 9.

Finland's Amorphis has signed a deal with Virgin Records to release their new self-produced album "Far From The Sun". It will come out May 20 with the first single "Day Of Your Beliefs" coming later this month. Guitarist Esa Holopainen comments:

Having had to go through all the contractual differences in the past, the future does really look bright at the moment. The process of making the album was easy and the schedule for the summer and autumn live dates is developing steadily. We aim to play European festivals over the summer and hit the road on our own in the fall.

Despite the recent death of guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta, Finntroll has decided to soldier on with their upcoming European tour with Katatonia. The official statement:

We do this with heavy hearts, as the sudden loss of Teemu 'Somnium' Raimoranta, a close friend and one of the leading forces behind this band, gave us a blow from which the recovery will take a long time. We feel that dropping everything now, canceling the tour and all the plans we together agreed for this band, would be an insult on Teemu's memory. Going back on the road was also the particular wish of his family and close ones. We feel that this is the best way to honor our friends' memory, taking the music out to the fans. On the following gigs the second guitar will be played by a long-time friend for all of us, Mikael Karlbom (The Seventh Planet), who has played as a stand-in guitarist for us several times in the past.
During the tour, we wish some courtesy on the part of fans, members of the press and others concerning questions about Teemu's departing, future of the band and such. We will share information in due time.
Thanks to all those who have contacted us, expressed their condolences and honored our brother's memory.

Christian Kjellvander will be playing the opening of the Handikappåret 2003 at the Kulturhuset in Stockholm on April 11.

The Caesars are heading back to the UK in May with the French Kicks. The dates:

5/11 - Oxford, Zodiac
5/14 Manchester, Roadhouse

The Swedish pop group Natural scored a number 2 position on the Japanese radio charts last week with the tune "Put Your Arms Around Me".

Charlie's Magazine will release their new album "Traffic" on April 22. The female-fronted band previously enjoyed a taste of success with the single "Sweet Alibi" back in 2001.

A whole bunch of new music today, including the first half of that Hederos & Hellberg concert. Also, the newest single from Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes". It's a little more uptempo and sunny than older IY stuff, but I'm starting to really like it.

Fireside finally got their new website up and running. Check it out.

Dialog Cet is heading out on the road in support of their new album "Konsumera Era", which was released today:

4/12 - Jönköping, Rocks
4/15 - Uppsala, Genomfarten
4/16 - tbc/tbn (to be not)
4/17 - Göteborg, Gump w/Träd, Gräs & Stenar
4/18 - Lund, Blekingska Nationen
4/19 - Oslo, Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken, Kungen

Melody Club has posted the video for the new single "Covergirl" on their homepage. Oh, and I also have it on good authority that the bassist also plays in a grind band. Pretty funny, I just wish I could remember their name.

Get a preview of the new soundtrack music from Ulver for the movie "Svidd Neger". Once the site loads, click the 'musikk' tab. I think it all sounds really cool so far, and there's even a little guitar on excerpt 4.

Hemmalaget will be performing at the upcoming Swedish Hip-Hop Awards to be held at Nalen in Stockholm on April 25. Isn't 'Swedish hip-hop' an oxymoron? Oh, but I kid! More info here or here, at the official site.

Those lucky dogs in The Hellacopters get to open for the Rolling Stones at Cirkus in Stockholm on July 22. First the MC5 invite, and then this? I bet those guys are stoked.

It's been hinted at before with the announcement of Logh as an opener, but I can now reveal the extent of the upcoming Fireside tour:

4/16 - Göteborg Sticky Fingers w/Logh
4/17 - Malmö Voltmeter @ KB
4/18 - Uppsala Grand w/Logh
4/24 - Linköping Herrgår´n w/Logh
4/25 - Västerås Village w/Logh
4/29 - Sthlm Södra Teatern/ KGB w/Logh
4/30 - Oslo (n) Blå w/Logh
5/01 - Lund Mejeriet w/Logh & De Stijl
5/02 - Hamburg (D) Molotow w/De Stijl
5/03 - Köln (D) Underground w/De Stijl
5/04 - Dresden (D) Star Club w/De Stijl
5/05 - München (D) Orange House w/De Stijl
5/06 - Milano (I) Transilvania Live w/De Stijl
5/07 - Lausanne (CH) Bleu Lézard w/De Stijl
5/08 - Bern (CH) ISC w/De Stijl
5/09 - Leuven (B) Stuk w/De Stijl
5/10 - Utrecht (NL) Ekko w/De Stijl
5/11 - Groningen (NL) Vera w/De Stijl
5/12 - Amsterdam (NL) Melkwegw/De Stijl
5/13 - Rotterdam (NL) Waterfront w/De Stijl
5/14 - Brügge (B) Cactus w/De Stijl
5/15 - Berlin (D) Magnet w/De Stijl
5/16 - Helsingborg Tivoli w/De Stijl

The new album "Get Shot" comes out April 7.

Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt will be doing a collaboration with Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson on a Linda Perhacs cover to be used on a tribute CD. Steven has produced the last few Opeth releases, including the much-anticipated "Damnation" album due out next month. Billed as the 'mellow' counterpart to the recently released "Deliverence", I can tell you now that it's easily the best thing they've done for some time. I've been an Opeth fan for sometime, but have felt their musical progression has gotten a bit stagnant recently. Well, no more - "Damnation" shows a whole new side of the band and proves they are easily one of metal's top acts. And no, I don't get paid to say that. I wish.

Pristine Music has a couple new singles in the works. First up is Johan Bergqvist, a singer/songwriter who I've talked about a little before. He's played with bands like The Virtues and Peter, Björn, and John and will have a three-song release out in May. Next is the hard rock act Hell n’ Diesel. The EP "Asphalt Supreme" came out last June and their new single will be recorded in April, in stores by May. Both new releases will be accompanied by videos.

Amorphis side-project Verenpisara have completed work on their second album "Happosadetta" ('acid rain'). Look for it May 15 on BMG.

Got a new mp3 today from yesterday's broadcast of the last Hederos & Hellberg show. I'll put the whole thing up eventually, but for now you can enjoy their Hellacopters cover done in their standard slowcore fashion. Of course, that also means the Kristofer Åstrõm mp3s will go away. Get 'em while you can, I guess.

Some words about Katatonia and their new album "Viva Emptiness":

Destructive, finite and somber, Viva Emptiness is, in fact, in a league of its own. - DigitalMetal.com

Katatonia are simply one of the finest European rock bands over the past decade, yet in Britain they remain virtually unknown - apart from readers of Terrorizer magazine. - DJ Martian

I, for one, am in total agreement. Definitely one of my most anticipated releases this year.

I'm happy to report the new Logh album is done! Read all about it.

Last Days of April will finally release their latest album "Ascend to the Stars" in the US on June 3 from Crank! Records.

Starmarket reports they have completed work on a seven-song demo in preparation for their next record to be recorded in June. Tentative titles so far include "Horse On the Run", "Biscuits for Everyone" and "Rendundance".

I missed it when it was first posted, but here's a short interview with Garm (or whatever you want to call him) from the always-interesting Ulver.

If you sign up for The Klerks mailing list, you get to listen to a preview of the new b-side "Moving Much Too Fast" from the single "Shame". Read more.

Check out the video for the new Millencolin single:

Battery Check: high / low
E20 Norr: high / low

For those that might be curious, here's a full report on The Sounds' recent trip to the US. (in Swedish)

The tracklisting for the upcoming Fireside album "Get Shot" (out April 7) has been announced:

01. All You Had
02. Follow Follow
03. The Betrayer
04. Backwards Over Germany
05. Throw It Away
06. I'm Coming Home
07. Problem (to You)
08. All Criminals Are Us
09. Swinging Sid's Chain Around
10. Player

View the cover art here. The next single will be "All You Had" and it'll be out either late March or April. A Swedish tour will follow, along with the following, already-confirmed shows:

5/02 - Hamburg, Molotow
5/03 - Köln, Underground
5/04 - Dresden, Star Club
5/05 - München, Orange House
5/07 - Bleu CH, Lézard
5/08 - Bern, CH, ISC
5/15 - Berlin, Magnet

Ulf Stureson will release his third solo album on April 11 on Silence Records and they swear it's his best to date. He's also playing at Nalen in Stockholm on April 10 with Florence Valentine, so get tickets here if you're interested.

The Swedish snowboarding movie 'Stomped' just came out on DVD over there and features music from Timbuktu, Fjärde Världen, Loop Troop and more.

Organism 12 is back in the studio working on his second album. Look for it this coming fall on JuJu Records. In other JuJu news, PSTQ is also starting to write for his next record. Again, look for it around fall.

Division of Laura Lee report that they are starting to plan for their next record (due out sometime in 2004) and a full US tour in the fall. For now, they just have a few more US dates lined up:

4/21 - Houston, Engine Room
4/22 - Austin, Emos
4/23 - Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
4/25 - Phoenix, Mason Jar
4/26 - Coachella fest

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
02. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
03. Roxette - Opportunity Nox
04. Mew - Comforting Sounds
05. C21 - You Are The One
06. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
07. Winta - Emotions
08. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
09. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth

Challengers:
01. Paris - Streetlights
02. Satirne - Hey No Hell
03. Kwan - Shine
04. Bertine Zetlitz - Girl Like You
05. Ladybird - Dangerous To Me

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

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Ark and Mando Diao will be performing at Grönan Live this summer. If I remember right, something was said about this some time ago. Apparently this will also be TSOOL's only Swedish show this summer as they are expected to be working on a new album.

David & the Citizens have a new EP coming out April 7 called "New Direction". They've also got a couple gigs lined up with Laakso and Björns Vänner. Check it:

4/18 – Stockholm, Accelerator at Debaser
5/16 – Malmö, KB
5/23 – Göteborg, Pusterviksbaren

Aftonbladet is saying today that Lars Winnerbäck och Håkan Hellström are planning on doing the Kalas tour together. Read more. (in Swedish)

There's a new festival coming to Stockholm on May 31 called Stockholm Calling. Already confirmed for this year's event are The Cardigans, Thomas Rusiak and Christian Kjellvander, along with international acts Zwan and Placebo.

Randy is also planning to do some touring after their new album "Welfare Problems" comes out on April 14. The dates so far:

4/20 - Stockholm, Debaser
4/21 - Göteborg, Pusterviksbaren
4/22 - Oslo, So What
4/23 - Lund, Club Buster @ Mejeriet w/The Rogers Sisters

The band also promises to do a few more Scandinavian dates this summer, so don't despair. They also filmed a video for the track "A Man in Uniform" last weekend, so look for it soon.

Kajsa Grytt will hitting the road in support of her new album "Är Vi På Väg Hem?" starting in April. You can read more about her here (in Swedish). Otherwise, here's the dates:

4/13 - Örebro, Klubb Söndag
4/14 - Uppsala, Katalin
4/15 - Malmöm, KB
4/16 - Stockholm, Södra Teatern
4/17 - Göteborg, Nefertiti
5/17 - Jönköping, Kulturhuset

Looptroop and Fireside have been confirmed for this year's Popaganda Festival in Stockholm. Other bands already confirmed include Buck, Bad Cash Quartet, Shout Out Louds and Franke.

And speaking of the Shout Out Louds, they are the band of the week over at MTVE.com. Check it.