Machine Head, God Forbid and Sweden's Arch Enemy will be teaming up for the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" tour across North America in April. Dates to be confirmed shortly. The bands are already confirmed for the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest at The Palladium in Worcester, MA on April 30 and May 1.

Meshuggah has parted ways with bassist Gustaf Hielm and have replaced him with Dick Löwgren (ex-In Flames, Arch Enemy). Gustaf's statement:

"I'm saddened that they don't want me in there anymore but this is the second time I'm asked to leave so I can handle it by now. And most important, I'm still playing! That will never go away.
As for Meshuggah, I'm glad I got to be in what I consider THE metal band and I wish them and their new bass player the best of luck."

Arch Enemy's latest album "Anthems Of Rebellion" was voted album of the year by readers of the magazine Metal Maniacs.

Zyklon has been tapped to open for Arch Enemy on the latter's upcoming European tourdates:

02/17 - Live Music Hall , Cologne (GER)
02/18 - RockIt, Aalen/Stuttgart (GER)
02/19 - New Backstage, Munich (GER)
02/21 - Cesena, Vidia (IT)
02/22 - Motion, Bergamo (IT)
02/24 - Razzmatazz II, Barcelona (SPA)
02/25 - Caracol, Madrid (SPA)
02/27 - Elysee Montmartre, Paris (FRA)
02/28 - Lantaarrn, Hellendoorn (NL)
02/29 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
03/02 - Logo, Hamburg (GER)
03/03 - Works, Osnabruck (GER)
03/04 - Zeche Carl, Essen (GER)
03/05 - Hof Ter Loo, Antwerpen (BEL)

They'll also be heading to Japan for the first time to play the Extreme the Dojo Festival.

Go here to check out top 2003 picks from various metalheads such as Michael Amott (Arch Enemy), Jonas Björler (The Haunted), Jonas Renske (Katatonia), Kenny R2D2 (...And Oceans) and tons more (incl. a number of hasbeen 80s rockers): http://whiplash.net/forceframe.html?/especiallist.mv?rec=416

Arch Enemy has finally announced some new dates in the UK to make up for the ones they cancelled:

03/07 - The Cockpit, Leeds
03/08 - The Academy II, Birmingham

As mentioned before, tickets purchases for the original shows will remain valid for these new ones.

Here's the nominees for the Swedish Manifest awards:

Pop/Rock:
Hell on Wheels - Oh my God What have I done
Radio Dept. - Lesser matters
Concretes - Concretes
Franke - Optimismens hån
The Knife - Deep cuts

Hardrock/Punk:
Arch Enemy - Anthems of rebellion
Burst - Prey on life
Cult of Luna - The beyond
Katationa - Viva emptiness
Nasum - Helvete

Hip hop/R&B/Soul:
Chords - The garden around the mansion
Speech Defect - Freshcoast gettin' rowdy
Soul Supreme - The Saturday nite agenda
Advance Patrol - Utskrivna
Kaah - Jideblasko international

Postrock/electronica:
Namur - Conquer me
Sagor & Swing - Allt hänger samman
Sophie Rimheden - Hi-fi
Slagsmålsklubben - Den svenske disco
Tape - Milieu

Dance/house/techno:
Hundarna från Söder - Hundarna från Söder
Forss - Soulhack
Plej - Electronic music from the Swedish leftcoast
Stateless - Art of no state
Steve Angello - ...presents tracks

Folk/World music:
Lisa Rydberg - Östbjörka
Frifot - Sluring
Anders Nygårds & Magnus Stinnerbom - Dalahyl
Anders Norrudde, Leo Svensson and Göran Fredriksson - Med hull och hår
Cerro Esperanza Band - Nubes del alma

Singer/Songwriter:
Ane Brun - Spending time with Morgan
Ulf Stureson - Allt jag ville säga
Christian Kjellvander - Introducing the past
Johan Borgert - Johan Borgert
José Gonzàlez - Veneer

Best live artist:
Looptroop
Moneybrother
Randy
Timbuktu med Damn
Killers

Best newcomer:
Miss Universum
José Gonzàlez
Shout Out Louds
Radio Dept.
Paris

Winners are chosen by the SOM (Svenska Oberoende Musikproducenter) (Swedish Independent Musicproducers) and will be announced at an awards ceremony on January 29 at Debaser in Stockholm.

Check out a video of Arch Enemy playing "We Will Rise" at the Mean Fiddler in London on December 21: http://www.archenemy.tv/pictures/reports/ArchEnemy_WeWillRise_London.mpg

Arch Enemy has been forced to cancel the follow two UK shows due to vocalist Angela Gossow contracting the flu:

12/17 – Cockpit, Leeds
12/18 – Carling Academy, Birmingham

Look for rescheduled dates to be announced shortly. Previously purchased tickets will remain valid for the new dates.

Not only does Arch Enemy get to open for legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden, but they will also be opening for them in January at four (!!!) shows in NYC and a few Canadian dates to boot. Full dates:

01/20 - Bell Centre, Montreal, QUE (CAN)
01/21 - Colisee Pepsi Arena, Quebec City, QUE (CAN)
01/23 - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY (US)
01/24 - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY (US)
01/26 - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY (US)
01/27 - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, NY (US)
02/07 - Jo Hall, Osaka (JAP)
02/08 - Saitama Arena, Tokyo (JAP)

The Hives will premiere their brand new single at the P3 Gold Awards on January 23 at Storan in Göteborg. Other acts set to play include Nicolai Dunger, Lisa Miskovsky, Patrik Isaksson, Elin Sigvardsson, Timbuktu, Broder Daniel and Soundtrack Of Our Lives. As for the awards themselves, here's the nominees:

Guldmicken (best live act):
José González
Moneybrother
Randy
Robyn
Timbuktu

Best song:
The Cardigans - "For What It's Worth"
Per Gessle - "Här Kommer Alla Känslorna (På En Och Samma Gång)"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Lady Stardust"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Broder Daniel - "When We Were Winning"

Best group:
Alcazar - "Alcazarised"
Bad Cash Quartet - "Midnight Prayer"
Broder Daniel - "Cruel Town"
The Cardigans - "Long Gone Before Daylight"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"

Best male artist:
Per Gessle - "Mazarin"
José González - "Veneer"
Moneybrother - "Blood Panic"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"
Lars Winnerbäck - "Söndermarken"

Best female artist:
Lisa Miskovsky - "Fallingwater"
Miss Universum - "Selfelected"
Pauline - "Candy Rain"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Elin Sigvardsson - "Saturday Light Naïve"

Best newcomer:
José González
Miss Universum
Moneybrother
Pauline
Radio Dept.

Best rock:
Arch Enemy - "Anthems of Rebellion"
Cult Of Luna - "The Beyond"
Mörk Gryning - "Pieces of Primal Expressionism"
Nasum - "Helvete"
Satirnine - "Void of Value"

Best dance:
Jesper Dahlbäck - total production 2003
Eric Prydz - total production 2003
Forss - "Soulhack"
Hundarna från Söder - "Hundarna Från Söder"
Plej - "Electronic Music From The Swedish Leftcoast"

Best pop:
Franke - "Optimismens Hån"
The Knife - "Deep Cuts"
Radio Dept. - "Lesser Matters"
Sophie Rimheden - "Hi-Fi"
Tape - "Milieu"

Best hip-hop/soul:
Advance Patrol - "Utskrivna"
Fattaru - "Jordnära"
Ken - "Det Bortglömda"
Latin Kings - "Omerta"
Timbuktu - "The Botten Is Nådd"

For more info, go to P3 Gold's website.

European tourdates for Arch Enemy:

02/17 - Live Music Hall, Cologne (GER)
02/18 - RockIt, Aalen/Stuttgart (GER)
02/19 - New Backstag, Munich (GER)
02/21 - Cesena, Vidia (IT)
02/22 - Motion, Bergamo (IT)
02/24 - Razzmatazz II, Barcelona (SPA)
02/25 - Caracol, Madrid (SPA)
02/27 - Elysee Montmartre, Paris (FR)
02/28 - Lantaarrn, Hellendoorn (NL)
02/29 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
03/02 - Logo, Hamburg (GER)
03/03 - Works, Osnabruck (GER)
03/04 - Zeche Carl, Essen (GER)
03/05 - Hof Ter Loo, Antwerpen (BEL)

Arch Enemy has lined up the following UK dates in December:

12/16 – King Tuts, Glasgow
12/17 – Cockpit, Leeds
12/18 – Academy II, Birmingham
12/21 – Mean Fiddler, London

Support at the shows will come from the UK's Akercocke.

Arch Enemy = sellouts? That's what some people are saying according to vocalist Angela Gossow. I know I've heard some grumblings from people about the new record, but have yet to hear it myself. Anyhow, Angela recently spoke to the Valley Advocate about the allegations:

"People criticize, but, yeah, we are aiming for being more mainstream. We are aiming for some more money, because you have to live. I mean, I live in a super-small flat, sharing it with my little sister. I'm 28 — how long do I want to do this? People just complain when Slipknot fans get into Arch Enemy, because they want to have this elitist thing, like: 'This is my band; I don't want to share it with nu-metal kids.' But we want to bring our music to everybody, and we want people to love the music, buy our albums and support the band. It doesn't mean we are turning into Nickelback. I haven't seen us on heavy rotation on MTV, so I guess we haven't really sold out that badly. People don't really see which way it goes. Either a band exists and they are going to need to make some money with it, or the band is not going to exist anymore."

Read the entire article here. People need to understand that it's hard work trying to earn a living in music, especially in the metal scene where any bid for a wider audience can be seen as a slap in the face. There's no easy way to achieve the a proper balance unless you're really, really lucky. They're certainly making a go at it and I can't blame 'em. We'll see what happens after the big tour with Slayer and Hatebreed.

Sweden's Regain Records is rereleasing six "classic" albums from the archives of WAR Music (Wrong Again Records) on October 1. The titles and details, straight from the label:

Naglfar - "Diabolical"
After being deleted for years this classic piece of metal is finally available again in a remastered version. Originally released in 1998, Naglfar's 2nd album is a milestone in the black/death genre! With the new album "Sheol" Naglfar has become one of the most hyped black/death metal bands in the scene.

Darkane - "Rusted Angel"
Remastered with 3 bonus songs. Originally released in 1998 technical death metal at its best. Darkane has through the years grown to a highly respected metal act, becoming one of the top acts in their style.

Carnal Forge - "Who's Gonna Burn"
Debut album from Sweden's Carnal Forge now remastered. Originally released in 1998. Their rawest album ever.

Defleshed - "Fast Forward"
Defleshed's 3rd album remastered with 4 bonus songs. This is the album that brought Defleshed to the level were they are now. Comes in an exclusive slipcase.

Dimension Zero - "Penetrations from the Lost World"
Originally released as a 4 song mini CD in 1998, finally available again with 7 bonus songs making it somewhat more substantial. Featuring 2 previously unreleased studio songs and 5 songs recorded live on their successful Japan tour 2002.

Eucharist - "Mirrorworlds"
Eucharist's 2nd album. The pioneers of Swedish melodic death metal.

I don't enough about all of these records to recommend 'em myself, except for the Eucharist disc which is a criminally overlooked classic of the genre. It features drummer Daniel Erlandsson before he went on to work with Arch Enemy and no fan of mid-90s blackened Swedish death metal should be without it.