Here's this week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Moneybrother - To die alone
02. Christer Sjögren - Love Me Tender
03. Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
04. Timbuktu - Alla vill till himmelen men ingen vill dö
05. Darin - The anthem
06. Håkan Hellström - Ett kölikbarns bekännelser
07. Christian Walz - Paint by Numbers
08. Lars Winnerbäck - Vatten under broarna
09. Anna Ternheim - Somebody Outside
10. Caesars - Paper Tigers
11. Arash - Arash Arash
12. Lena Philipsson - Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan
13. Magnus Uggla - Den tatuerade generationen
14. Stefan Nilsson - Så som i himmelen (filmmusik)
15. Ted Gärdestad - Sol vind & vatten - Det bästa
16. Barbados - Best of Barbados 1994-2004
17. Soilwork - Stabbing the Drama
18. Pain - Dancing with the Dead
19. The Ark - State of the Ark
20. The Real Group - In the Middle of Life

Go here to download some demo tracks from Consequences, a Swedish band consisting primarily of members from Marit Bergman's backing band: https://www.consequences.se/musik.php

Darkane reports that they have started mixing their new album "Layers of Lies", due out June 27 via Nuclear Blast. A video for the track "Secondary effects" is already in production as well.

SF Chronicle pop music crtic Aidin Vaziri reviews the recent Kings of Convenience show: https://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/10/DDGP5BMAEQ1.DTL&type=music

Daily Vault reviews The Mormones: https://www.dailyvault.com/2005_03_10-ch.html

It's not new, but KEXP has some nice on-demand live stuff from The Concretes: https://www.kexp.org/aspnet_client/SpecialMediaGroup.aspx?rID=2299&pID=528&fID=1080
Search their archives for quite a few other Scandinavian artists as well.

New mp3 today from Now, yet another fine instrumental act from the Aa label. The sound quality on this cut may be rough, but I think it just adds to the 70s fuzzed-out vibe. Just listen to that throbbing bass line and the explosive drums - you can tell that these dudes were 100% tuned in and turned on when they tracked this. There's a level of excitement in their performance that simply cannot be faked. And it's infectious. If you like what you hear, be sure to head over to their label's website to download a few other tracks or maybe even purchase the EP.

Plain Fade's debut full-length "Lies, Sanctions and Cruise Missiles" has been confirmed for release on March 25 via Punos Sound. Definitely a record I've been anxiously waiting to hear ever since I first heard soundclip demos.

Swedish power-pop act The Higher Elevations have a new website online with a bunch of soundclips from their new album "Always the same": https://www.thehigherelevations.com/

Finland's Magyar Posse is currently working on their third album, tentatively titled "Terror. Death. Love." Upcoming live dates:

04/13 - Klubi, Turku (FIN)
04/14 - Klubi, Tampere (FIN)
04/16 - Club 25, Vaasa (FIN)
04/17 - 45 Special, Oulu (FIN)
04/22 - Vernissa, Vantaa (FIN)
04/23 - Nosturi, Helsinki (FIN) w/Liekki
04/29 - Club 19, Pori (FIN)
08/12 - Kivistofolk, Vantaa (FIN)

The new Sissy Wish album "Tuning in" has been confirmed for a March 14 release.

Scandinavian Metal interviews oompa-metal band Trollfest: https://www.scandinavianmetal.info/interviews/interviews_detail.php?id=14

Lupatarkastaja passes along word that legendary Finnish act Paska is set to make a comeback: https://lupatarkastaja.blogspot.com/2005/03/paska-banana-butt-plug-mp3.html

For a limited time, Rough Trade Records is offering a free download of the track "Lifesaver" from half-Icelandic/half-Italian artist Emiliana Torrini: https://downloads.7digital.com/downloads/lifesaver/default.asp?partner=0

Download the new Bigbang single "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee": https://www.bureaustorm.no/files/bigbang_fly_like_a_butterfly.mp3

Mp3 blog Uncritical is back and featuring a selection of tracks from Commanche, Fenomenon and more: https://uncritical.blogspot.com/