IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Bloodbath - Hades rising (video)

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:12:35 -0700

Swedish all-star old-school death metal act Bloodbath (feat. members from Katatonia, Opeth and Nocturnal Rites) now has a video for the song "Hades rising": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OfUVmfNk4E&fmt=18

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:49:31 -0800

Teeth of the Divine on the new Bloodbath album "The fathomless mastery": http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/bloodbath-the-fathomless-mastery/

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:43:04 -0700

Check out a microsite for the new Bloodbath album "The fathomless mastery": http://www.peaceville.com/bloodbath/thefathomlessmastery

MP3: Necrovation - Dead faith's purulence

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:33:44 -0700

I don't listen to nearly as much death metal as I used to, but when I do, I'm almost always reaching for something that appeals to the old-school. Coffins from Japan are a standout and of course the new Bloodbath is totally solid even if it is more "Clandestine" than "Left hand path" (as stated before), but there's also a bunch of far more underground acts worth mentioning and Necrovation is one of 'em. I'm sure I'm missing a lot too, so feel free to leave me suggestions in the comments. Anyhow, these Swedes play filthy death metal exactly the way I like it: Sunlight guitar tones, drums that sound like drums, phlegm-heavy vokills buried deep in the mix and tons of groovy breaks. It's got the melodicism that made the aforementioned "Left hand path" a genre landmark, but it's also got the basement-quality grunginess of Autopsy, another death legend. I still dig some tech stuff now and again, for instance the new Cynic is more than decent, but I think I'll always prefer my metal to be dirty and antisocial. No trends, no poseurs, much love.

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:45:27 -0700

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Theresa Andersson - Birds fly away
02. TALK 1
03. Nitad - Pengaproblem
04. Parken - Jar har varit vilsen, Lisa
05. Hello Saferide - Anna
06. Alouatta - Animal
07. TALK 2
08. Bloodbath - At the behest of their death
09. Anders Teglund - I whisper, he lives
10. Familjen - Huvudet i sanden (ft. Adam Tensta)
11. TALK 3
12. Mikko Singh - Laodi majra
13. They Live - My favorite color is gold
14. Massgrav - Vuxenliv
15. Snøras - Lucid river
16. TALK 4
17. Lassus - Tummen upp
18. BJ Nielsen - Tummen upp
19. Ass - Tummen upp
20. The LK - Tummen upp
21. TALK 5
22. Quagmire - I've got a gun and I'm... afraid to use it

Reminder: My show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:35:29 -0700

The release of Swedish old-school death-metal supergroup Bloodbath's new album "The fathomless mastery" has been pushed back to October 28.

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:55:54 -0700

Swedish old-school death-metal supergroup Bloodbath will release their new full-length album "The fathomless mastery" on October 6 via Peaceville Records.

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:04:06 -0700

Somehow I almost forgot to post this week's radio show playlist:

01. Bloodbath - Blasting the virginborn
02. TALK 1
03. Håkan Hellström - Långa vägar
04. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr. Happy
05. Victims - Bomben har fallit
06. TALK 2
07. Death By Kite - Sweet M
08. Ef - Thrills
09. The Bombhappies - Nothing at all
10. TALK 3
11. Motorpsycho - The alchemyst
12. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
13. TALK 4
14. In Flames - Moonshield
15. Maskinen - Alla som inte dansar (100dirty remix)
16. The Social Services - Baltic Sea
17. TALK 5
18. Peter Morén - Social competence
19. Lack - Bombing the moon
20. Dmitry Fydorov - Signal
21. TALK 6
22. Looptroop Rockers - The building
23. Six Guns - Think positive
24. Nybakat! - Limu limu lima
25. TALK 7
26. Saft - Sizzling
27. Electric Retard - Greenvalley High
28. Lukestar - The shade you hide
29. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
30. TALK 8
31. Bad Cash Quartet - Monday morning
32. Monkeystrikes - I'm sorry, but I'm very dramatic
33. Commando M Pigg - Shoeshine boy
34. Weeping Willows - Touch me
35. TALK 9
36. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune

MP3: Bloodbath - Mouth of empty praise

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:25:16 -0700

I spent something like 10 hours yesterday banging my head against the wall, trying to get some code to work. Every time I'd fix one problem, it would cause something else to break. Just another day at the office, eh? To top it off, it started snowing in the late afternoon. I mean, c'mon- wtf is going on here? It's almost April for crissakes and I don't even live that far north. As for my soundtrack, I'm glad I had the new Bloodbath EP "Unblessing the purity" to keep me company. I know that listening to brutal death-metal might seem counterintuitive when you're having a stressful day, but it works for me and was exactly what I needed to make it through. Compared to that other all-star old-school Swedish death-metal act Death Breath, Bloodbath is bit more 2nd gen; think "Clandestine", not "Left hand path" if you catch my drift. Far less punk/thrash influence, way more blastbeats and overt techinicality. Unfortunately, I can't say that it's my favorite thing that Bloodbath has done, but it does hit the spot and there's more than a few stellar moments to make it worth your while. Listen for the brutal breakdown around 1:45 followed by the summoning of demons- I love that shit! Classic death-metal was often quite fun and far too many bands seem to forget about that. Yes, it's goofy, but that's fine. It's pure escapism, like a comic book or a Stephen King novel. Don't think too hard about it! That's why I can find it relaxing.

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:18:21 -0800

Check out a microsite for the new EP "Unblessing the purity" from old-school Swedish death-metal all-stars Bloodbath: http://www.peaceville.com/bloodbath

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:33:10 -0800

Opeth mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt is back with classic Swedish death-metal act Bloodbath. The band recently recorded a brand new 4-song EP called "Unblessing of purity" which will be released soon and there's even plans for another full-length. Personally, I'm just happy to get new music from 'em, I could pretty much care less about who's singing.

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Superfamily - I want my money back
04. The Bear Quartet - Ask me don't axe me
05. Ståålfågel - Små gröna män
06. TALK 2
07. Printer - Satisfaction (radio edit)
08. NEI - New morning
09. Paper - Out of it into it
10. Darkthrone - Canadian metal
11. TALK 3
12. Sweatmaster - Animal
13. Bloodbath - Buried by the dead
14. Moneybrother - Guess who's gonna get some tonight
15. TALK 4
16. The Perishers - Victorious
17. The Skull Defekts - Unholy drums are singing
18. Hell On Wheels - Alexander
19. TALK 5
20. Karin Ström - Ordlös
21. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Skulldrummantra
22. Scraps of Tape - How your heart gets thrown
23. TALK 6
24. Brainbombs - Stinking memory
25. M:40 - Brännmärkt
26. Logh - Bring on the ether
27. TALK 7
28. CS Nielsen - Happy
29. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
30. Juvelen - Hanna
31. TALK 8
32. Killerchaps - Equally dumb
33. Dinosau - Derr lady
34. Knugen Faller - Inte som ni
35. TALK 9
36. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
37. Pg.Lost - Yes I am
38. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - Marry me
39. TALK 10
40. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home

Sat, 12 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week's playlist for my show on Sirius:

01. Kristofer Åström - The dark
02. TALK 1
03. Amandine - Better soil
04. Christel Alsos - What you gotta do
05. Tarantula - Two arrows
06. TALK 2
07. Kristin Asbjørnsen - I'm on my way
08. Thomas Denver Jonsson - Dreams at the film club
09. Tenderloud - Texas down
10. TALK 3
11. Hyacinth House - Ghost town
12. Strayfolk - I'll be a-goin'
13. The First Miles - Bottle, don't let me down
14. TALK 4
15. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
16. Hederos & Hellberg - I can't hold myself in line
17. Two Times the Trauma - I fell in love with an ocean
18. David Sandström Overdrive - The Fatville Treaty
19. HGH - Stupid song
20. TALK 5
21. Gorgoroth - Procreating Satan
22. Enslaved - The voices
23. Invocator - Breed of sin
24. TALK 6
25. Seance - Post mortem
26. Watain - Underneath the cenotaph
27. Dark Tranquility - Icipher
28. TALK 7
29. Eucharist - The Eucharist
30. At the Gates - Slaughter of the soul
31. Wolfbrigade - EU (European Union)
32. TALK 8
33. Katatonia - Had to (leave)
34. Bloodbath - Soul evisceration
35. Cult of Luna - The revelation embodied
36. TALK 9
37. Finntroll - Slaget vid blodsälv

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Deathbreath, the new retro death-metal project of Nicke Andersson (The Hellacopters, ex-Entombed), has posted the rough mix of a song for streaming on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/deathbreathdeathmetal
I was expecting much of the typical Swedish/Sunlight Studios sound ala Bloodbath (who totally rule btw), but this is different and totally awesome in its own way.

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Aversionline gives praise to the latest from Bloodbath: http://www.aversionline.com/reviews/2360/

Tue, 29 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Metal blog Another Perfect Day posts a track from Bloodbath, the very excellent old-school all-star death-metal band featuring members of Katatonia and Hypocrisy: http://killformetal.blogspot.com/2005/03/bloodbath.html

Tue, 22 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800

This week's Aquarius Records new release features samples and reviews for a ton of Scandinavian acts such as Aavikko, Forgotten Woods, Lau Nau, Avarus, Bloodbath and Rotten Sound as well as their usual huge list of great stuff: http://www.aquariusrecords.org/cat/newest.html

Wed, 16 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt will be filling on vocal duties with his old classic death-metal sideproject Bloodbath when they make their live debut at Wacken Open Air this year. The group will perform material from all of their albums including "Nightmares made flesh" which featured Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) on vox. In other Opeth-related news, the band will enter Fascination Street Studios with engineer Jens Bogren on March 15 to begin recording their next album. There's no confirmed label yet, but the group is said to be courting offers from numerous labels. And lastly, the band has confirmed a US tour this summer and will be revealing details soon.

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0700

The US version of the new Bloodbath CD will include two bonus tracks from the unreleased "Breeding Death" demos, presumably to help make up for the intense lagtime between the European and State-side release dates.

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Speaking of Katatonia, their old-school death-metal sideproject Bloodbath will finally get a proper US release for their new album "Nightmares Made Flesh" sometime early next year.

Mon, 04 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Bloodbath) reports that he is done with a new album for his solo project Pain. The first single will be for the track "Same Old Song" and should be out in mid-November. A video was done with director Mikeadelica as well. As for the full-length, it's not due out until January.

Thu, 30 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Has it really been two years already? Hard to bellieve I've been doing this for so long already, the time just flies by. So cheers everyone! Here's to another year! Well-wishers are encouraged to send money in lieu of gifts.

Since it's such a special day, I've posted two new mp3s today. First up in Novak with their single "It all works out in the end" from the new album "Perpetual motion". I'm still undecided about the record as a whole, but this song is undeniably catchy. Tons of energy, great hooks and solid guitar work. Next up in "Draped in disease" from Swedish all-star old-school death metal act Bloodbath. Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) may no longer be in the band, but he's been more than capably replaced by Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain). Factor in that the rest of the band is fleshed out by Dan Swanö along with members of Katatonia and Witchery and you've got an instant classic.

The "It's a trap! reader's companion" microsite is now open: http://www.itsatrap.com/vol1/
As mentioned earlier this week, CDs are done and should arrive in stock on Tuesday.

Going to see Finland's Hero Dishonest tonight in San Francisco at The Hemlock. Should be fun!

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Jonas Renkse of Bloodbath/Katatonia talks to Antenna webzine about the former band's new album and possible plans to play live: http://www.antenna.nu/bloodbath/interview1.php

Check out the video for "Love my love" from the Whyte Seeds: high / low

Wed, 15 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Diabolique Masquerade, the sideproject of Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström from Katatonia, has decided to call it a day. Read the full statement here: http://diabolicalmasquerade.com/
How long until the continued success of the other Katatonia-related project Bloodbath sidelines the main act? Their latest album "Nightmares made flesh" is absolutely killer, no doubt about it.

Tue, 17 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Download the brand new song "Outnumbering the day" from all-star Swedish death-metal act Bloodbath: http://www.bloodbath.biz/outnumberingtheday-bloodbathbiz.mp3

Tue, 27 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Swedish all-star classic death-metal act Bloodbath has confirmed September 27 as the release date for their new album "Nightmares Made Flesh" on Century Media.

Wed, 19 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700

"We promise you a fucking brutal and varied piece of work with especially outstanding performances by the new members Axe and Tägtgren, proving Bloodbath is no longer a only tribute to death metal — it's death metal's very own elite." That's what Bloodbath has to say about their recently completed new album "Nightmares Made Flesh", the follow-up to 2002's excellent "Resurrection Through Carnage". Full tracklist:

01. Outnumbering The Day
02. Year Of The Cadaver Race
03. Draped In Disease
04. Cancer Of The Soul
05. The Ascension
06. Eaten
07. Brave New Hell
08. Stillborn Saviour
09. Feeding The Undead
10. Bastard Son Of God
11. Soul Evisceration
12. Blood Vortex

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Chaosbreed, the Finnish counterpart to Bloodbath, will be having a record release show at Club Tavastia in Helsinki on May 13 for their new album "Brutal". The record is out already via Century Media. Up-and-coming Finnish metal act Imperanon will support. Their own debut record "Stained" comes out in May as well, but on Nuclear Blast.

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Dan Swanö reports that Swedish all-star death-metal band Bloodbath will be entering his own Studio Kuling on May 4 to record their new album. The record will be called "Nightmares Made Flesh" and will be released by Century Media this fall. As mentioned before, the band was recently joined by Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) on lead vocals following the departure of Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth).

Mon, 29 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0800

After all the speculation, it has been revealed that Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy is the new singer for superstar, classic-style Swedish death-metal band Bloodbath. As mentioned before, former vocalist Mike Åkerfeldt (Opeth) left the band due to his main group's obligations. Drummer Martin "Axe" Axenrot (Witchery, Satanic Slaughter) has been added on drums as well. The band is currently writing material for a new album due out later this year.

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Looks like there's a new album on the way from Bloodbath, the classic-style Swedish death-metal group featuring Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia, October Tide) and Dan Swanö (Nightingale, Edge of Sanity, etc). They've booked studio time for late spring and hope to have a record ready for a late summer release. However, there have been some lineup changes in the group. Vocalist Mike Åkerfeldt of Opeth is out (I assume he's probably too busy) and they say they have replaced him with "one of the biggest names in the scene." My guess would be LG Petrov, but who knows? Maybe Tompa is taking on yet another new project. Anyhow, Dan has also switched over from drums to guitar and taking his place his "yet another big, big name." Look for details to be announced soon.

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Karmageddon Media (nee Hammerheart Records) is launching a new sublabel for more "underground"-styled metal acts called New Aeon Media and has announced their first three signings. First is Finland's Final Dawn who are described as a mix of Rotting Christ, Sentenced and older Megadeth. Second is the old-school Swedish death metal band Ribspreader who happen to feature producer/musician Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath, etc.) in their ranks. And lastly, there's the brutal death band Judgement Day from the Netherlands. I'm not seeing release dates yet, but I assume it won't be far away. Usigned acts are also encouraged to send promotional materials:

NEW AEON MEDIA
P.O. BOX 277
6300 AG Valkenburg
The Netherlands

Wed, 31 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800

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

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Special feature today on Carpet People! The new album "More Bad Weather Coming Out of the Rain" was released yesterday and I got an mp3 of the first single "A Road Leading into the Sun" for you. Great melancholic pop as only the Swedes can do. Fans of artists such as Hederos & Hellberg should take note - I think you'll dig it. But that's not all! I also have a photo album of pics taken from the record release show last Friday at Scharinska Villan in Umeå. Check it out!

Also coming out soon from Chalksounds is the new single from Soviac. The song comes off the forthcoming album "Triology Sexlife Rodeo Friscotti" and is called "Boogie Woogie", but best of all - it's FREE! I kid you not! Beginning on May 1 you'll be able to download the song plus the artwork from the Chalksounds site. I haven't really heard anything from these guys myself, but I've been told that it's gonna blow some minds. Wait and see, eh?

The kind folk over at Firesideometer.com have posted the very first reviews of the new Fireside album in English. They also review the new Kristofer Åström EP, so check that out, too.

The Caesars have finally confirmed a release date for "39 Minutes of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)", their new collection to introduce them to the world outside of Sweden. It'll be out April 22 in the US on Astralworks, April 21 in the UK on Virgin and elsewhere around Europe around the same time, also on Virgin. They've also got a bunch more shows lined up. The dates:

4/16 - UK, London w/80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, for XFM contest winners.
5/9 - UK, Glasgow Cathouse w/French Kicks
5/10 - UK, York Fibbers w/French Kicks
5/11 - UK, Oxford University w/French Kicks
5/12 - UK, Leicester The Charlotte w/French Kicks
5/13 - UK, London The Garage w/French Kicks
5/14 - UK, Manchester Roadhouse w/French Kicks
5/18 - Austria, Vienna Flex
5/20 - Germany, Hamburg Molotow
5/21 - Germany, Berlin Magnet
5/22 - Germany, Cologne Underground
5/23 - Holland, Utrecht Ekko
5/24 - Holland, Amsterdam Paradiso

Entombed's new label Threeman Recording just put out their very first releases, both Entombed side projects. First up is "Ravenous Murderous", Murder Squad's 2nd album. Expect old-school Swedish death metal ala Bloodbath. Next we have a live album recorded in Finland from The Project Hate who are industrial-flavored metal, if I remember right.

And speaking of Entombed, those guys are still wrapping up work on the new album "Inferno" (produced by PMA Gunnerfeldt of Fireside) but have still found time to do a couple gigs down in South Africa. Check this flier for details.

The Sounds will be filming an appearance for Last Call With Carson Daly on May 10 which will air the following week. They've got a couple gigs lined up in Germany, too:

5/5 - Berlin, Magnet
5/7 - Köln, Gebaeue 9

And as I'm sure you can guess from the Carson Daly appearance, the band will indeed be playing more shows in the States, apparently supporting The Ravonettes for most of em. Here's what I can confirm so far:

5/19 - San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill (headlining)
5/24 - Minneapolis, MN, 7th Street Entry
5/25 - Cudahy, WI, VNUK's Lounge
5/27 - Chicago, IL, Double Door
5/28 - Cleveland, OH, The Beachland Ballroom
5/29 - Detroit, MI, Magic Stick
5/30 - Toronto, Canada, Horseshoe Tavern
6/2 - New York, NY, Bowery Ballroom
6/3 - Boston, MA, Paradise Rock Club
6/4 - Philadelphia, PA, North Star Bar

Christian Kjellvander is playing at Mosebacke in Stockholm on April 29.

Children of Bodom will be doing a couple dates in Sweden later in April:

4/18 - Stockholm/Arenan
4/20 - Göteborg
4/21 - Lund/Mejeriet

The new EP from Jettie entitled "Some Stories We Trust" comes out April 15 on Black Star Foundation who are distributed through Kasual Records. Check 'em out on tour while you're at it:

4/15 - Uppsala - Café Genomfarten
4/16 - Göteborg - Jord
4/17 - Gislaved - Gisleparken
4/18 - Uddevalla - Café Hvidtfeldt
4/19 - Oslo - Café Mono
4/20 - Sandviken - Kungen
4/21 - off
4/22 - Stockholm - Kaffé 44
4/23 - Lund - Smålands Nation
4/24 - Malmö - Blackstar Foundation
4/25 - Trollhättan - ML5
4/26 - Karlstad - HBFG
4/27 - Eskilstuna - Kaka Releaseparty

I neglected to mention it yesterday, but The Confusions will also be heading out on a few more dates besides those Baltic ones I already posted:

05/16 - Underground, Sundsvall, Sweden
06/02 - Underworld, London, UK, TBC
08/11 - Pärnu, Estonia, TBC

Division of Laura Lee has just announced that they will be cancelling their scheduled appearance at the upcoming Coachella Festival along with the additional US dates they had booked around the event. The full statement from singer Per Stalberg:

I'm very sorry to say Division of Laura Lee cancels Coachella festival + additional dates in the U.S.
Due to the fact that I've been suffering from grave throat-infection, coughing for the last three weeks and have been totally feeble in my body. I've been having fever for the last weeks and as I went to the doctor today for the second time in two days he adviced/ordered me to cancel the trip to U.S. as I need to recover from my illness, or this will lead to further injuries & I would seriously risk my health.
I'm indeed very sorry that we need to cancel, not only due to all the fans that bought tickets to our upcoming shows, but also it feels unfortunate towards my band comrades Hakan, Jonas & David, as they also were very excited on coming back to the U.S. on tour & especially excited about Coachella festival, meeting a lot of new people, receiving new vibes.
We'll definitely be back in the U.S. and by this fall we'll record our second album which will turn out to be The master-piece [sic]. Again I'm sorry that we had to cancel the tour, we'll be back soon.
I also want to take the chance & say THANKS to all the people that came out to our shows, bought our records and supported us in amazing letters, emails, phone-calls, live-conversations, it's been the year of my dreams.
We'll recover and come back more powerful than you could ever imagine.
Take care

Earache Records has posted the uncensored 'controversial' video for the song "D.O.A." from The Haunted on their website.

From nubreaks.com via the pHinnweb mailing list:

Riku Pentti aka Infekto comes from Finland, and when I say Finland, I mean right up in the north of Finland where it is bloody cold!. I remember travelling to a gig he was doing where we guested and it was one helluva mission to get there. Bandits on the road ready to rob you. Big ugly bears taking potshots with their paws at passing cars. Police openly taking bribes for you to proceed on your journey. Naked women just dancing in the undergrowth smeared in Marmite... okay, that was all crap, but it still was quite a drive!!!

Read the full interview: www.nubreaks.com/?dir=features/infeat0406§ion=infekto_feature. Some interesting discussion on the Finnish electronic music scene, among other things.

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

I'm happy to report that the show last night went quite well. The Caesars were a lot of fun and I was glad to finally get a chance to see 'em. The guitars weren't quite as loud as I would've liked, though. And yeah, that Jocke is definitely a nutter on stage. Needless to say, TSOOL rocked the house. Having Martin Hederos back with them (the guy from the Whyte Seeds was subbing last tour) made a huge difference in the sound. Ludwig from t(I)NC did a right and proper job filling in on the drums. Good fun. Someday I'll see the full band together, but until then...

Oh, and The Caesars now have a US website, too. Check it.

And making me even more happy is the fact that I got an exclusive (!!!) mp3 from Johan Bergqvist to offer you. People signed up with the newsletter already got a chance to download the song last week, but now I'm making it available to everyone. The track is called "This Could Be Our Time" and it's from his single due out in May. For more info on Johan, check out his website at www.pristinemusic.com/johanbergqvist.

Cobolt, Umeå's kings of sadcore, finally got themselves a website. About time, doncha think? Check it out.

The new Cult of Luna record is reviewed in the May issue of Rolling Stone. Short, but sweet.

Famed Swedish producer/musician/songwriter Dan Swanö has announced plans to reform metal band Edge of Sanity to record a new album via his official message board. Here's his full statement:

Hello Everyone...
Since Black Mark [his record label] have been clever enough to announce a new EDGE OF SANITY release called "CRIMSON II" even though I begged them to keep it a secret, what can I do??? I don't want to lie to my friends.
The first two weeks of May will be dedicated to the writing and recording of an album I have had bubbling inside of me ever since I started the fight for a more "accessible" Bloodbath (Which we all know didn't happen)
I have a bunch of good riffs that sounds SOOO like Edge Of Sanity that it would be ridiculous to start yet another project and sound just like something I invented years ago.
Black Mark have been asking me to re-join the band since the moment I quite and they never really got the fact that I wanted nothing to do with it. After "Evolution" I felt it was all over and went on to do my thing.
Then the "other" Edge Of Sanity split up and let the world "Edge-less"
That's when the ball began rolling. And after a long discussion over a good meal at the Black Mark house I decided to start thinking about the stuff I was writing as a new EOS album.
On the train ride home I started toying around with the idea of a follow up to "Crimson" and when I got home it seemed like the only right thing to do.
I am not in the mood for some "singer songwriter, wanna have a hit single" Metal.
I want Epic-goddamn!!!
So there will be one big piece this time as well, (With track numbers for index, this time!!)
It will be a mind-blowing powerful blend between E.O.S. (duuh..) Pan Thy Monium, Godsend, Karaboudjan, Diabolical Masquerade, Odyssey and maybe even some passages of old Nightingale thrown in. A Massive Swanö-style pomp-death overkill!!!!!
Some of the stuff I have this far is the most classy pomp-death stuff I have ever written and I feel very confident in myself.
The main reason to why I do such a sacred and weird this, as to revive EDGE OF SANITY is...I want this album to be known, to sell, to get through the fucking jungle of albums, to be reviewed everywhere...I know this album will kick ass and I don't want it to drown in some "new project with the guy from EOS" formula..
If it IS called EDGE OF SANITY it will be given a serious listen and trust me..
no one will be disappointed, it will be among the best EOS albums.
August it is..

"Dude, where's my lighter?" - The Venue have put up the first part of their tour diary from their recent US excursion for SXSW.

The guys from Supersilent got a few more gigs lined up at the Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway. First up, Helge will be playing with Norwegian folk singer Unni Løvlid and percussionist Terje Isungset on July 14. Next, Jarle plays the farmer's market on the 17th with festival "artist in residence" Michael Brecker and Ståle will duet with drummer/percussionist Thomas Strønen on the 18th. And finally, the full band will perform on the 19th at Kulturhuset.

In related news, Supersilent-member Arve will play with the combination British/Norweigan quartet Food during a festival tour of Canada:

6/25 - Jazzfest International, Victoria
6/27-28 - Vancouver International Jazz Festival
6/29 - Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

More details available here.

Nightwish will be entering their own home-studio on October 27 to record basic tracks for the follow-up to last year's "Century Child". From there, they'll go over to Finvoxx Studios in Helsinki to track vocals and guitars.

Her Majesty has just signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music. The album "Happiness" comes out in May.

Petter, Doggelito and Daddy Boastin all make guest appearances on the debut Don Diego album "Mitt Liv", due out April 14 on Flava Records.

A-ha has decided not to release their new double live album "How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head" in the UK due to lack of support from their label, Warner Music. The record is doing well in their home of Norway and is poised to do well also in Germany where the band has previously enjoyed healthy sales. No word if another label will step in to take over for a wider release.

Norway's eclectic 10-piece electronic-jazz act Jaga Jazzist will touring Europe in support of the wide release of their first album "The Stix" on Ninja Tune which comes out April 15. The dates:

4/15 - Belgium Brussels Ancienne Belgique
4/16 - France, Rennes Ubu
4/17 - France, Paris New Morning
4/18 - France, Lyon Ninkasi
4/19 - France, Strasbourg Laiterie
4/20 - Switzerland, Martigny Caves Du Manoir
4/23 - Switzerland, Zurich Moods
4/25 - Italy, Verona Interzona
4/26 - Italy, Rome La Palma
4/30 - UK, Brighton Beach Club (tbc)
5/1 - UK, London Ocean
5/2 - Ireland, Dublin The Village
5/3 - UK, Bristol Croft (tbc)
5/5 - Netherlands, Haarlem Bevrijdings Festival
5/6 - Netherlands, Rotterdam Nighttown
5/7 - Netherlands, Amsterdam VPRO (TV recording)
5/8 - Netherlands, Tilburg 13
5/9 - Netherlands, Groningen Vera
5/10 - Netherlands, Utrecht Tivoli
5/12 - France, Montpellier Rockstore
5/14 - Spain, Pamplona (tbc)
5/15 - Spain, San Sebastian Gaeztezena
5/16 - Spain, Madrid Teatro Jacinto
5/17 - Spain, Mieres Jovellanos
5/18 - France, Arles Cargo de Nuit
5/20 - Austria, Vienna Wuk
5/21 - Germany, Dresden(tbc)
5/22 - Germany, Berlin Maria Am Ostbahnhof
5/23 - Poland, Katowice Hipnoza
5/24 - Poland, Warsaw Jazzgot
5/26 - Germany, Halle (tbc)
5/27 - Germany, Cologne (tbc)
5/28 - Germany, Hamburg (tbc)
5/29 - Germany, Hannover (tbc)
5/30 - Denmark, CopenhagenJ azzhaus
5/31 - Denmark, Aarhus SPOT Festival
6/14 - Spain, Barcelona Sonar Festival
7/5 - Norway, Kongsberg Kongsberg Jazz Festival
7/6 - France, Belfort Eurockeennes Festival
7/9 - Switzerland, Montreux Montreux Jazz Festival
7/10 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg Kulturfabrik (tbc)
7/11 - Belgium, Dour Dour Festival
7/12 - Belgium, Bruges Cactus Jazz Festival
7/13 - Netherlands, Hague North Sea Jazz Festival
8/3 - UK, Malvern Big Chill Festival
8/4 - UK, London Jazz Cafe
8/8 - Norway, Oslo Oya Festival

Komeda will release their long-awaited new album "Kokomemedada" on June 2.

Lotta Wenglen plays Tavastia in Helsinki on April 15 in support of the new single "Ambassador of Love". Buddaboys will also perform.

Advance Patrol are hitting the road and now confirmed for Roskilde:

4/12 - Mejeriet, Lund
4/17 - Frölunda Fritisgård, Göteborg
4/18 - Tivoli, Helsingborg
4/25 - KB, Malmö
4/26 - TBA, Uddevalla
5/1 - Första Maj-Fest, Slottsparken, Malmö
5/2 - Culturen, Västerås w/Ison & Fille
5/14 - Rust, Köpenhamn (DK)
5/31 - Universitetet, Stockholm
6/28 - Roskildefestivalen, Roskilde (DK)

Speaking of Roskilde, Norway's Turbonegro and Cato Salsa Experience are now both confirmed to play, too.

Finnish experimental techno label Symptom Records will be putting out their second 12" release on April 22 containing three tracks from artists who will remain anonymous. Preview the music here: www.symptomrecords.com/preview.

The Haunted are coming back to the US in May with Shai Hulud and Skinless. Darkest Hour and Bleeding Through will also support on select dates. The itinerary so far:

5/08 - Krome - South Amboy, NJ *
5/09 - Rainbow - Montreal, QC, CANADA *
5/10 - Club Rockit - Toronto, ON, CANADA *
5/11 - Majestic - Detroit, MI *
5/12 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH +
5/14 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA *
5/15 - Bridge Street Music Hall - Syracuse, NY *
5/16 - Club Laga - Pittsburgh, PA *
5/17 - The Palladium/New England Metal and Hardcore Fest - Worcester, MA
5/18 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA +
5/19 - Ziggy's - Winston-Salem, NC +
5/20 - Uncle Doctor's - West Columbia, SC +
5/21 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, FL +
5/22 - The Factory - Fort Lauderdale, FL +
5/23 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA +
5/24 - Tek World - Louisville, KY +
5/25 - Engine Room - Houston, TX +
5/27 - Emo's - Austin, TX +
5/28 - Tree's - Dallas, TX +
5/29 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM +
5/30 - Marquee - Tempe, AZ +
5/31 - Huntridge Theatre - Las Vegas, NV +
6/01 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA +
6/02 - The Pound - San Francisco, CA +
6/05 - Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO +
6/06 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS +
6/08 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH +
* w/Darkest Hour
+ w/Bleeding Through

Amorphis will be honored with a 10-year retrospective collection called "Chapters" coming out June 3 from Relapse Records. Features include rare tracks, extensive liner notes and a DVD. View the cover art here. As mentioned before, Amorphis' new album "Far From The Sun" comes out on Virgin in Finland on May 20.

Marit Bergman has signed with BMG in Sweden making her labelmates with Kent, Sahara Hotnights, and the Backyard Babies. There's obviously been quite a bit of interest in her from the majors since her self-released debut solo album "3.00 A.M. Serenades" did so well and garnered many accolades. Now she's happy she no longer needs to worry herself about promotion, royalties or any of that other behind-the-scenes business and can concentrate 100% on the music.

The buzz is getting louder for Radio Dept. as their "Leibling" 7" was just played recently on the UK's legendary John Peel radio show.

And speaking of John Peel, don't forget to check out The Hellacopters playing live on-air tomorrow.

Mon, 18 Nov 2002 00:00:00 -0800

A new week and some new tunes: Bloodbath is members of Katatonia and Opeth doing that classic Swedish death metal thing. The Flaming Sideburns got that dirty rock n' roll thing going on. The Motorhomes put out one of the best pop records this year. And Mando Diao's got a sound that's a little bit Motown, a little bit garage rock.

Speaking of Opeth, they just recently completed work on their upcoming album "Damnation", hot on the heels of the just-released "Deliverence". Billed as the mellow companion album to "Deliverence"'s heaviness, the album is presently being mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree for a March 2003 release. The band claims it's "nothing like anything we've ever done before" and has a "strong '70s vibe both in material and production." Opeth will be doing some touring in support of the already-released album with dates already confirmed for London and Greece in December. They say there's more to come, so you may wanna check their website for the latest.

Finland's Children of Bodom have completed work on their next album. It's called "Hate Crew Deathroll" and will be released on January 7, 2003. View the artwork here.

Borknager has announced their plans to record the follow-up to "Empiricism". Oystein G. Brun's statement on the matter:

"We estimate to use about 4-6 months to record the album, as we want to use the time needed to get the album as close to perfection as possible. The album will be recorded in the same recording facilities as last time (Fagerborg and Toproom Studios) with Børge Finstad behind the desk. Musically the album will be a continuation of 'Empiricism'. Apart from that, we deem the right to keep the rest as a secret... he,he.... As of yet, there is no title for the album, but some song titles are ready: 'Cyclus', 'The Inner Ocean Hypothesis', 'The Wonder', 'Quintessence', 'Future Reminiscence' and 'Relate (Dialogo)'."

The Swedish Hit Music Awards were this past weekend. Kent and The Sounds won some awards, along with a bunch of international acts that I don't care about. Check out this article for the scoop. (In Swedish, list at bottom)

The Hellacopters are about the release their the next single from the album "By the Grace of God" on December 2nd. The a-side will be "Carry Me Home" with a cover of Rory Gallagher's "Big Guns" on the flipside. Listen to "Carry Me Home" right here.

I was thinking about these guys just the other day and wondering what they were up to. Amorphis has just entered Finnvox studios in Helsinki, Finland to begin work on their next album. Currently label-less as they have finished out their contract with Relapse, they expect the album to be ready for a summer 2003 release. They also plan to do a couple shows in the near future:

Nov. 30 – Skopje, MAC @ Skopje Trade Fair
Dec. 13 - St. Petersburg, RUS @ Youth Place
Dec. 14 – Moscow, RUS @ DK
Dec. 20 – Tampere, FIN @ Pakkahuone

In the spirit of keeping busy, frontman Pasi Koskinen's "black metal" project Ajattara is currently recording their new album, "Kuolema" (Death). Look for it around March 2003.