Blake
Planetizer
WolfGang Records

Blake simply rock, a lot. Somewhere along the lines of Entombed's death n' roll and more traditional stoner rock (think Nebula), Blake rely on a strong bass line and build around it. The build is one of heavy guitars, catchy leads and vocal lines, and steady drums. They might sound a bit too polished for their own good, while their songwriting, on the other hand, fits perfectly what they are trying to accomplish. Nice.
- Simon Thibaudeau

Entombed has confirmed that their new album "Serpent saints" will be released on June 6. That's 06/06/06 in case you weren't paying close attention.

When I first heard that Nicke from Entombed had started a garage-rock sideproject, I was stoked. I was just starting to get into other dirty rock/garage bands like The Mummies and The Devil Dogs, so the first Hellacopters album "Supershitty to the max" fit right in with my collection. And while that record is pretty good, it's the second disc "Payin' the dues" that really got me going. That record is absolutely on fire and you can hear it with the very first track "You are nothin'". If that's not a ballsy statement of intent, I dunno what is. Unlike the band's more recent material, the recording is still buried in fuzz and dirt, perfectly emulating the style they were going for. Remember- this is garage rock, not the 70s-style arena rawk the band later evolved into. Both eras of the 'Copters are excellent (and in some ways, I prefer the latter), but it's always good to listen back at where they came from.

MP3: The Hellacopters - You are nothin'

When I first heard that Nicke from Entombed had started a garage-rock sideproject, I was stoked. I was just starting to get into other dirty rock/garage bands like The Mummies and The Devil Dogs, so the first Hellacopters album "Supershitty to the max" fit right in with my collection. And while that record is pretty good, it's the second disc "Payin' the dues" that really got me going. That record is absolutely on fire and you can hear it with the very first track "You are nothin'". If that's not a ballsy statement of intent, I dunno what is. Unlike the band's more recent material, the recording is still buried in fuzz and dirt, perfectly emulating the style they were going for. Remember- this is garage rock, not the 70s-style arena rawk the band later evolved into. Both eras of the 'Copters are excellent (and in some ways, I prefer the latter), but it's always good to listen back at where they came from.

The Hellacopters - You are nothin'

Entombed has revealed that "Serpent saints" will be the title of their forthcoming album, due on June 6, 2006 via their own Threeman Recordings. Rumor has it that ex-drummer Nicke Andersson (The Hellacopters) might contribute to the songwriter and recording now that Uffe is gone, but nothing is confirmed yet.

Ex-Entombed drummer/current Hellacopters frontman Nicke Andersson has announced that he is working on a throwback death-metal project. Read more: http://www.rocket.fm/rockoversweden/news/?ID=558

The Kongelige Teater in Köpenhamn, Denmark will be using music from Sweden's Silverbullit in an upcoming ballet production entitled "To die for" which will premiere on October 8. It's not quite as awesome as Entombed's "Unreal estate" IMO, but still very cool.

Guitarist Uffe Cederlund has left Entombed after god knows how many years. The band plans to continue as a four-piece.

When Nicke Andersson first left Entombed to concentrate 100% on The Hellacopters, the future of his old band was left totally up in the air. C'mon, what do you do when one of your founding members and main songwriters leaves? The pressure was on, to say the least. So when the new album "Same difference" finally was released in 1998 with new drummer Peter Stjärnvind, a lot of people were especially critical of the record. Now, I'm not gonna come out and say that everyone was wrong, but I do think they were unjustly harsh. While it's obviously not the best thing they've ever done, it's still nowhere near as bad as a lot of those initial reviews would have you believe. Coming out after the fuzzy death n' roll onslaught of 1997's "To ride, shoot straight and speak the truth", "Same difference" was a study in contrasts. The production was significantly cleaner and the playing was much more subdued, though tighter. It was the sound of a band in transition, trying to figure out where to go next. Yeah, there's some definite clunkers on the record, but I think that it hold up well regardless. It doesn't help that the tracklist is totally front-loaded, but it works just fine on shuffle. And ignore those five bonus tracks on the US version - they were much better off left as a separate disc on the "TRSSASPTT" limited edition digipack. So anyhow, as you should know, I love me some country music along with my death metal. So when Entombed throws some downtuned slide guitar into the mix, you bet your ass I'm all about it as on today's track "Clauses". It still might not be enough to redeem all of "Same difference", but hopefully it'll at least make you go back and rethink it.

Ex-Entombed drummer/current Hellacopters frontman Nicke Andersson filled in on guitar with his old bandmates at the Peace & Love Festival in Borlänge last weekend as regular guitarist Uffe Cederlund was on tour with his other band Disfear.

Music (for Robots) posts a track from the Entombed/Swedish ballet collaboration live album "Unreal estate": http://music.for-robots.com/archives/000935.html

Threeman Recordings has confirmed an April 25 release date for their official reissue of the famed Nihilist demos, the band that eventually became death-metal legends Entombed. It should go without saying, but the band was a huge influence worldwide and it's about time the recordings got a proper release. Here's the tracklist:

01. Sentenced to Death
02. Supposed to Rot
03. Carnal Leftovers
04. Abnormaly Deceased
05. Revel in Flesh
06. Face of Evil
07. Severe Burns
08. When Life Has Ceased
09. Morbid Devourment
10. Radiation Sickness
11. Face of Evil
12. But Life Goes On
13. Shreds of Flesh
14. The Truth Beyond

Photo:Henrik has posted new pics of Entombed, Mando Diao, The Solution and Sophie Rimheden: http://www.photohenrik.com/

Entombed will be doing a few dates in the Baltics towards the end of January:

01/21 - Rock Café, Tallinn
01/22 - Salamander, Riga
01/23 - Mulen Ruzas, Vilnius

The nominees for the 2004 Swedish Grammy awards have been announced. Here's most of em:

Best newcomer:
Ana Johnsson - "The Way I Am"
Anna Ternheim - "Somebody Outside""
Deportees - "All Prayed Up"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog"
Raymond & Maria - "Vi ska bara leva klart"

Best album:
Christian Walz - "Paint By Numbers"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best artist:
Gyllene Tider - "Finn 5 Fel!"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best song:
Raymond & Maria - "Ingen vill veta vart du köpt din tröja"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont"
Nic & The Family - "Hej Hej Monika"
Gyllene Tider - "Tuffa tider/Sten vid en sjö i en skog"
Shirley Clamp - "Min kärlek"

Best pop (female):
Anna Ternheim - "Somebody Outside"
Lena Philipsson - "Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan"
Marit Bergman - "Baby Dry Your Eye"
Sophie Zelmani - "Love Affair"
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"

Best pop (male):
Christian Walz - "Paint By Numbers"
Di Leva - "Tiden faller"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog"
Mattias Alkberg BD - "Tunaskolan"
Tomas Andersson Wij - "Stjärnorna i oss"

Best pop group:
Alcazar - "Dancefloor - Deluxe"
Deportees - "All Prayed Up"
Gyllene Tider - "Finn 5 Fel!"
Melody Club - "Face The Music"
Raymond & Maria - "Vi ska bara leva klart"

Best rock album (solo):
Kristofer Åström - "Loupita"
Lars Winnerbäck - "Vatten under broarna"
Nicolai Dunger - "Here's My Song You Can Have It..."
Stefan Sundström - "Hjärtats melodi"
Ulf Lundell - "Ok Baby Ok"

Best rock group:
Sahara Hotnights - "Kiss & Tell"
Silverbullit - "Arclight"
Teddybears Sthlm - "Fresh!"
The Hives - "Tyrannosaurus Hives"
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - "Origin Vol. 1"

Best songwriter:
Anna Ternheim
Christian Walz & Ollie Olson
Marit Bergman
Per Gessle
Stina Nordenstam

Best lyrics:
Anna Ternheim
Jens Lekman
Lars Winnerbäck
Marit Bergman
Tomas Andersson Wij

Best producer:
Christian Walz
Johan Forsman & The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Lars Halapi
Pelle Gunnerfeldt & The Hives
Teddybears Sthlm & Phat Fabe

Best hip-hop/soul:
Damn! - "Youth Style"
Embee - "Tellings From Solitaria"
Infinite Mass - "1991"
Ison & Fille - "Ison & Fille"
Promoe - "The Long Distance Runner"

Best hard-rock/metal:
Dismember - "Where Ironcrosses Grow"
Entombed - "Unreal Estate"
Europe - "Start From The Dark"
In Flames - "Soundtrack To Your Escape"
The Hellacopters - "Strikes Like Lightning"

Best club/dance:
Andreas Tilliander - "World Industries"
Da Buzz - "Dangerous - The Album"
Guidelines - Must Be The Music"
Hird - "Moving On"
Stonebridge - "Can't Get Enough"

Best jazz:
Goran Kajfes - "Headspin"
Kullrusk - "Kullrusk"
Putte Wickman & Jan Lundgren - "We Will Always Be Together"
Rigmor Gustafsson And The Jacky Terrasson Trio - "Close To You"
The Torbjörn Zetterberg Hot Five - "Förtjänar mer uppmärksamhet"

Open category:
Alice Babs & Nisse Linds Hottrio - "Alice Babs & Nisse Linds Hot-Trio"
Anders F Rönnblom - "F-Box"
Blacknuss - "Gold"
Stefan Nilsson - "Så som i himmelen"
Titiyo - "Best of Titiyo"

Check out the full list here: http://www.ifpi.se/02.images/01.top/02.subnav_pdf/08.grammis/pdf/Grammisnomineringar_2004.pdf