IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Enforcer loses guitarist

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:07:04 -0700

Guitarist Adam Zaars has amicably parted ways with Swedish metal act Enforcer: http://www.myspace.com/enforcerswe/blog/542457610
The band will continue on as a 4-piece with vocalist Olof Wikstrand taking on 2nd guitar duties.

Bullet and Enforcer to tour Europe

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:12:39 -0800

Swedish retro-metal enthusiasts Bullet and Enforcer are touring Europe together in April:

04/07 - Marx, Hamburg (GER)
04/08 - Bastard Club, Osnabrück (GER)
04/09 - Turock, Essen (GER)
04/10 - Rock Temple, Kerkrade (NL)
04/11 - Underworld, London (UK)
04/12 - Underground, Cologne (GER)
04/13 - Café Central, Weinheim (GER)
04/14 - K17, Berlin (GER)
04/15 - Estrada, Bydgoszcz (PL)
04/16 - Kwadrat, Krakau (PL)
04/17 - Escape, Wien (AUS)
04/18 - Backstage, München (GER)
04/19 - Rock Fabrik, Ludwigsburg (GER)
04/20 - Dynamo, Zürich (CH)
04/21 - Hellraiser, Leipzig (GER)
04/22 - OHK, Oostende (BEL)
04/23 - Biebob, Vosselaar (BEL)

Top tens for 2010: It's a Trap!

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:17:20 -0800

Not everything in the picture above is officially a 2010 release, but they are all various things I picked up this past year and would recommend you do the same, should the opportunity present itself. Bonus points to anyone who can name every record pictured! Anyhow, as I was saying, there was quite a lot of really good music released in 2010, but at the same time, very few crossed the line into greatness. This year, only three albums made the cut.

Dear Euphoria - This night will flee (Given Productions/Herbivor Music)

A deep and richly satisfying listening experience that speaks of love and emptiness and the vast space between, with each repitition revealing new insight. Beautifully haunting.

Masshysteri - s/t (Ny Våg/Feral Ward)

The perfect pop-punk album. RIP.

Okkultokrati - No light for mass (Fysisk Format/Lilla Himmel/Odio Sonoro/Ormeyngel Records)

Apocalyptic visions set to a soundtrack of the rawest metal/punk sludge. A zeitgeist-defining album of unmatched ugliness.

Best Song:

Susanne Sundfør - The brothel
I still get goosebumps every time.

Best Demo:

Underachiever - This is where I lost the ability to love
Faster Katt - Demo 2010

The notion of a demo is almost completely lost in this digital age, but there are still those who carry the torch, preferring to test the waters with honest, rough-edged recordings before commiting to any sort of "official" release. In 2010 I listened to way more, way better demo/self-released material this year than any big-name releases, so this list could be a lot longer, but these two stuck with me the longest.

Other Records Worth Mentioning

Like I said at the top, there really were a lot of really good albums this year. Here's a few more that might not rate as high as the three above, but are all well worth your time:

The Bear Quartet - Monty Python (Adrian Recordings)
BQ's endless restlessness and constant desire to innovate remains one of their greatest assets, but it also means that they sometimes miss the mark. Still, the band remains one of Sweden's all-time greats, if not the greatest.

Darkthrone - Circle the wagons (Peaceville)
The opposite of BQ in that the band is continually regressing, but very similar in the approach that they continually churn an almost overwhelming amount of quality material.

Enforcer - Diamonds (Earache/Heavy Artillery)
Too goofy to be truly great, but guaranteed to stay in steady rotation for years to come.

Johan Helte - Sara, (Raffaella)
On the cusp of greatness. Ask me again about this record in six months.

Kimono - Easy music for difficult people (Kimi Records)
My sleeper pick of the year. It's hard to cite exactly what's so gripping about this record, I just know that I keep listening to it regularly.

Monzano - By this time last year everything will seem younger (Spoon Train Audio/How is Annie Records)
Another one on the cusp. Not sure anymore if I permanently burned myself out on these literary indie gents from Norway or if it's one that'll come back to me after some time apart.

Britta Persson - Current affair medium rare (Selective Notes)
More than a few exceptional moments (see "Toast to M" for example), but not enough cohesion.

Robyn - Body talk (Konichiwa Records)
There's a reason this is on everyone's list.

Säkert! - Facit (Razzia Records)
A good album that simply hasn't connected with me as much as I had hoped.

The Tallest Man on Earth - The wild hunt (Dead Oceans)
Another one that made a lot of year-end lists for good reason.

Tiger Tape - I woke up in Hökarängen (Cosy/Lo And Behold)
My favorite indiepop album of 2010.

Plus a few more names: Ikons, Haust, Slöa Knivar, Lapko, Fun, Meleeh, Moto Boy... and let us not forget all of the amazing reissues from The Crypt such as Pan-Thy-Monium, Crypt of Kerberus, Uncanny, Furbowl and so on. So yeah, lots of good music. No complaints!

Sirius playlist week #39

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:31:05 -0700

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

01. Simian Ghost - Beat on the brat
02. TALK 1
03. End of All - Folkhemmet
04. In These Woods - Bear
05. The Bells - Outside
06. Britta Persson - Some girls some boys
07. TALK 2
08. Kråkesølv - Nordavind mot varme kinn
09. Tomas Halberstad - The pendulum swings again
10. WhoMadeWho - Left hand of the boxser
11. TALK 3
12. Säkert! - Köttet är svagt
13. Next Life - Battle tactics
14. Kaka - Candyman
15. The Fine Arts Showcase - Spanish kerosene
16. TALK 4
17. Kimono - Black
18. Axe - Up against common sense
19. NNDC - Mouthful of diamonds
20. Slöa Knivar - Anticimex
21. Enforcer - Take me to hell
22. TALK 5
23. Ikons - Imperiet

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Download Enforcer for free

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:33:16 -0700

Heavy Artillery is offering up Enforcer's excellent album "Diamonds" as a free download for 1 day only: http://www.heavyartillery.us/enforcerpromo/

MP3: Enforcer - Katana

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:56:14 -0700

Enforcer wisely ditched the kitsch and the cracker-jack clothes for their sophomore album "Diamonds", a fine example of classic quality Heavy Metal done right. Which is not to say they excised all of the corny glamness, but the bit that remains is played for fun, not ironic laughs. When I first came across these dudes I was worried they were less than full devotees, however, the more I listen, the more I'm convinced that they're doing it right. They'll never regress to blue-collar denim-clad street toughs and you can still pick out copycat riffs all over the place, but I doubt they care -- they're definitely going for a Tokyo Blade kind of thing, complete with Japanese fascination as evidenced by songs like "Running in menace" (chorus: "See you in Tokyo / Out in the city") and today's mp3 pick, "Katana". This is the centerpiece of the album for me; not only is it the longest, most epic track, it's also way catchy and features a ton of great guitar breaks during the long instrumental mid-section. Great backing vocals too, a definite plus and an under-utilized genre hallmark. It's not quite cool enough to recommend shelling out for the lame picture disc on Heavy Artillery, but should you come across the UK version on white from Earache for a decent price, I say jump on it. Picture discs are lame anyhow, classic metal like this is not. Do not mix.

Sirius playlist week #28

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:45:26 -0700

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

01. Håkan Hellström - Kann ingen sorg för mig Göteborg
02. TALK 1
03. Enforcer - Katana
04. Existensminimum - 1993
05. Ludwig Bell - Kärlek slutar alltid med bråk
06. TALK 2
07. Karla-Therese Kjellvander & The Rockridge Brothers - New season
08. Lapko - Summer nights
09. CEO - No mercy
10. Night Minutes - Lord I can never be your mirror
11. TALK 3
12. Dungen - Marken låg stille
13. My Brother the Wind - Electric universe
14. Rigas den Andre - W.A.S.P. (R2 remix)
15. TALK 4
16. Waklevören - Oslo spy
17. Okkultokrati - Tail of the snakewind
18. Haust - Vomiting
19. TALK 5

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Sirius playlist week #20

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:29:53 -0700

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

01. Enforcer - High roller
02. TALK 1
03. Robyn - Dancing on my own
04. The Amazing - And it looks like today
05. Årabrot - End of first chant: II
06. TALK 2
07. The Bombettes - Cherry shot
08. Underachiever - No rain (arson)
09. Lapko - Kiss 'n' cry
10. TALK 3
11. The Howard Way - Runaway
12. Familjen - Socker
13. Deathchain - The crawling chaos
14. Lågkonjunkturen - Den här låten handlar om...
15. TALK 4
16. Anna von Hausswolff - Track of time
17. Marit Bergman - Free falling
18. Jennie Abrahamson - I lost my heart
19. TALK 5
20. Menfolk - Rubato (con song)

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Enforcer confirm new record, offer sample

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:19:47 -0700

Swedish metal act Enforcer has confirmed that they will be releasing their sophomore album "Diamonds" on May 24 via Earache Records/Heavy Artillery Records. Check out a preview track at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/enforcerswe

Enforcer set to hit the studio

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:53 -0800

Swedish classic-metal act Enforcer will be going into the studio on November 27 to begin work on their sophomore album "Diamonds", tentatively set for a late April 2010 release. Rikard Löfgren (ex-Bay Laurel?) will produce.

Updated Enforcer tourdates

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:58:43 -0700

Updated US tourdates for Swedish retro metallers Enforcer:

08/20 - Café Lura, Chicago, IL
08/21 - Blondies, Detroit, MI
08/22 - Ramalama Records Toledo, OH
08/23 - Club Garibaldi's Milwaukee, WI
08/25 - Club DownUnder, Burley, ID
08/26 - The Palace Lounge Missoula, MT
08/27 - Gusto's, Boise, ID
08/28 - Hell's Kitchen, Tacoma, WA
08/29 - Josephine's, Seattle, WA
08/30 - Kelly's Olympian Portland, OR
08/31 - Bubba Thrasher's Redding, CA
09/01 - MusicHead, Medford, OR
09/02 - Annie's Social Club San Francisco, CA
09/03 - The Second Wind, Santee, CA
09/04 - The Black Castle Los Angeles, CA
09/05 - The Jumping Turtle San Marcos, CA
09/06 - Mad Italian's Club 101 Flagstaff, AZ
09/07 - The Compound, Albuquerque, NM
09/08 - Whiskey Dix Bar, Lubbock, TX
09/09 - The Conservatory Oklahoma City, OK
09/10 - Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
09/11 - P.J's, Manhattan, Kansas
09/12 - Rockstar Sports Bar Ft. Worth, Texas
09/13 - Newby's Too, Panama City Beach, FL
09/14 - The Haven, Winter Park, FL
09/15 - The Pit, Jacksonville, FL
09/16 - The Dive Bar Raleigh Raleigh, NC
09/17 - The Smiling Moose Pittsburgh, PA
09/18 - Club Europa, Brooklyn, NY
09/19 - Sonar Club, Baltimore, MD
09/20 - Traxx Long Island, Ronkonkoma, NY
09/21 - Muddy River, Portsmouth, NH
09/22 - Now That's Class Cleveland, OH

I'm not too impressed by Enforcer myself, but tourmates Cauldron (CAN) might be worth checking out.

Enforcer to tour North America

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:20:30 -0700

Swedish retro-metal act Enforcer will be embarking on North American tour with like-minded Canadian act Cauldron starting on August 20 at Cafe Lura in Chicago. Dates confirmed so far:

08/20 - Café Lura, Chicago, IL
08/21 - Blondies, Detroit, MI
08/26 - Samurai Duck, Eugene, OR
08/27 - Gusto's, Boise, ID
08/31 - Bubba Thrasher's, Redding, CA
09/01 - tba, San Francisco, CA
09/06 - Mad Italian's Club 101, Flagstaff, AZ
09/08 - Whiskey Dix Bar, Lubbock, TX
09/09 - The Conservatory, Oklahoma, OK
09/10 - The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
09/11 - PJ's, Manhattan, KS
09/13 - Dysfunction Junction, Panama City Beach, FL
09/14 - The Haven, Winter Park, FL
09/16 - The Ultimate Basement, Mill Spring, NC
09/17 - tba, Pittsburgh, PA
09/18 - The Sterling Hotel, Allentown, PA
09/19 - Club Diablo, Buffalo, NY
09/21 - Muddy River, Portsmouth, NH