IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

In Flames - Deliver us

Fri, 06 May 2011 16:33:25 -0700

It's safe to say at this point that In Flames will never make another "Jester race", so expectations must be adjusted accordingly. Even though the chorus sounds like Finnish pop-metal (see: late-era Sentenced, Lordi, etc.), I think I must admit that I actually like this. Trust me, I'm surprised too.

Dimmu Borgir - Dimmu Borgir (video)

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:09:34 -0800

Dimmu Borgir have officially completed the transformation into Lordi.

Black metal is big business in Norway

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:55:02 -0800

Thank Lordi? Norwegian black metallers Keep of Kalessin are one of two finalists vying to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest -- watch their entry performance of the song "Dragontower": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW3wU2fDc2o
Read more: http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=8033

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:11:43 -0700

Lordi's new video for "Bite it like a bulldog" is now online: http://www.theendrecords.com/label/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1267&Itemid=1

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:39:29 -0700

The new Lordi album "Deadache" is confirmed for a US release on October 28 via The End Records. Hear the first single "Bite it like a bulldog" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lordi

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:58:50 -0700

Music Export Finland reports that monster-metal act Lordi will be one of the headliners at this year's Popkomm Festival in Berlin: http://musex.fi/mxf/player/news?articleId=162

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:52:45 -0800

The End Records will be reissuing Lordi's 2002 album "Get heavy" in North America on May 13. Hear a cut at the label's myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/theendrecords

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:49:57 -0800

NPR reports on Finnish music, spotlighting acts such as Lordi, Don Johnson Big Band, 22-Pistepirkko, Värttinä and more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18227013

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:06:16 -0800

Finnish doom act Kypck will release their debut album "Cherno" on March 12 via UHO Production. Look for samples to be posted on myspace this weekend with an official release of the first single "1917" on January 23. The band features an ex-member of Sentenced as well as famed Finnish producer K. H. M. Hiilesmaa on drums, known for his work with big acts such as HIM, Lordi and Apocalyptica.

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:07:16 -0800

The new Lordi single "Beast loose in paradise" is available for free download: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=87735

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:37:03 -0800

The official trailer for the Lordi movie "Dark floors" is now online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALf--XqkRiI
View movie stills here: http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/imageGallery/Dark_Floors

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:57:06 -0800

Check out a teaser clip for "Dark floors", the upcoming cinematic debut from Finnish Eurovision champs Lordi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFCgg7qK1k

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:04:44 -0700

Finnish Eurovision champs Lordi will support Type O Negative on tour in the US this fall: http://www.theendrecords.com/label/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1025&Itemid=1

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
02. TALK 1
03. Madrugada - Shine
04. My Midnight Creeps - Don't let 'em bring you down
05. TALK 2
06. Asha Ali - A promise broken
07. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
08. Pelle Carlberg - Clever girls like clever boys much more than clever boys like clever girls
09. TALK 3
10. Enslaved - 793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)
11. TALK 4
12. Fare You Well - Take me away
13. The Kissaway Trail - Smother + Evil = Hurt
14. Emmon - Wake up time (Thermostatic remix)
15. TALK 5
16. KVLR - Traitors and thieves
17. Magnus Carlsson - Va med mig
18. Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia
19. TALK 6
20. De Må Være Belgiere - Cirkler
21. Johndoe - Kjøtere
22. Manes - Deeprooted
23. TALK 7
24. Khoma - Stop making speeches
25. The Giant's Dream - Significant dawn
26. Las Puertas - The water
27. TALK 8
28. Lordi - The chainsaw buffet
29. Logh - A sunset knife fight
30. Lack - 5 o'clock in the evening
31. TALK 9
32. The Bear Quartet - Before the trenches
33. Jan Johansson - Visa från Utanmyra
34. TALK 10
35. Kashmir - The aftermath

Lordi The arockalypse The End Records

Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Lordi would make Kiss proud. They have a restaurant, a Visa card, comics, their own cola and both a movie and a theme park in the works. And sometimes they even make music. Titles like "The deadite girls gone wild", "It snows in hell", "The chainsaw buffet", "The night of the loving dead" and "Would you love a monsterman?" say it better than anything I could write. It's cheesy, 80s heavy metal with a tongue pressed firmly in the cheek. Some of the songs are catchy. After all, it was not merely image that had them winning the Eurovision. And as a concept, Lordi is just brilliant. But the fact is that nothing on this CD is anywhere as fun or awesome as the comic I saw in Finland. The one where Mr Lordi, with his powers, forces Hitler to kill himself.

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

PopMatters on ths US release of Finnish Eurovision champs Lordi and their album "The arockalypse": http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/31996/lordi-the-arockalypse/

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The End has officially signed Eurovision champs Lordi for the US: http://www.digitalmetal.com/news.asp?cid=7896
The band's most recent album "The arockalypse" will be released over here on March 20 with bonus tracks and a DVD. The band will play the Bamboozle Festival in May and will hopefully add more dates to their itinerary soon.

Interview: Lasse Kurki (Lemonator)

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Lemonator! What a name! What a band! It makes me happy just to say it. The band's fifth album "At the presence is great beauty" is just that - a perfectly gorgeous pop gem. Who knew that Finland would be capable of producing something so remarkable? Beware Swedes - your so-called pop monopoly is at risk!

Who is Lemonator and where exactly are you from?

Lemonator are four guys from Helsinki, Finland, who always begins their muscal journey from the very source of the matter, the song. Without a great song, there is nothing. In that sense we are very old fashioned. The band was formed in 1994, first gig was in 1996 and the first album came out in 1997. "At the presence of great beauty" is our 5th album and came out in April this year.

Where did the name of the band come from?

The name is a result of a funny coincidence in writing. In one of our songs there was a line that ended with the word "refrigerator" and I needed to rhyme the word "Lemon-aid" with it, so I sang "Lemon-aid-eer" just to make it fit. Then Ripa, our guitar player, picked it from there as our band name.

One of things I like best about "At the presence..." is the production. Who are some of your favorite producers and what is it about each of that makes them special to you?

I'm a great fan of Brian Wilson, but also all of the 60's music. I guess that's the main source for everything for me. Of the current producers I really admire Jon Brion, David Friedmann, Nigel Godrich, Mitchell Froom and George Drakoulias, to name a few. They seem to find the essential in all music and are adventurous with it as well.

I love Jon Brion's instrumentation, and melodies he comes up with in the arrangements. Godrich has this amazing sound in his production. Mitchell Froom is crazy and has a great ear for weird sounds, just as Mr. Friedmann does. George Drakoulias also has the talent to bring out the best in any band he produces, which is a beautiful thing for a producer.

But I'm also a huge fan of film music, so I'm hugely influenced by the makings of Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini and John Barry.

[ed note: I also asked Lasse why he didn't mention Jason Falkner as that seemed like another obvious choice to me. He replied that he didn't want to go too crazy with names and echoed my opinion that Falkner's album with Brion as The Grays ("Ro-Sham-Bo") is one of the greatest powerpop albums ever made. I know it's not Scandinavian, but it's well-worth tracking down a copy - it truly is a masterpiece.]

Finland isn't well-known for its pop music. Do think this is unfair or do you think there really aren't that many good Finnish pop bands?

Well, I wouldn't call it unfair. I guess we haven't had our big break yet. HIM, Rasmus and Lordi are doing great, plus we have other good bands happening all over the world, but I think we need something truly great and innovative, yet commercial, to get the attention towards our county's music scene as a whole. But to be honest, I think we have a lot of really good bands, but not nearly as many great ones that we'd need to get the recognition worldwide. But we're getting there! It'll be interesting to see what happens to The Crash and Von Hertzen Brothers with their releases abroad.

Does anyone in the band have any embarassing tattoos? Can you tell me about it? If not, what's the worst tattoo you have ever seen?

Wow, that's an interesting question. I think there is only one tattoo in our band and it's Ripa's smiling sun tattoo, that is pretty cool.

As far as embarrassing tattoos go, I've seen many, but I felt really sorry for this young girl who in late 90's had tattooed this really awful Finnish teen band's name on her left hand. I'd be suprised if she hasn't put something else on top of it by now.

What was the last film you saw? How was it?

Robert Altman's latest "A Prairie Home Companion". It was pretty funny and a little weird. Altman is one of my favourite directors and whenever he comes out with a new film I go see it immediately. This one isn't his best, but I would give it 8 out of 10 points. The same evening I also went to see "I'm your man" which is a movie about Leonard Cohen - it was beautiful!

What's one artist/album you really like that you think might surprise people?

I like pretty much anything if there's heart in it, so I don't know what would surprise people. You might not hear it in our music but I'm a big fan of old blues: Howling Wolf, Lightinin' Hopkins, Blind Willie Johnson etc. I think it's the best music in the world, so pure and beautiful. Of the more embararrasing stuff (to some), I'd have to name 80's hard rock. I collect the old vinyls and have a load of them. The best songs in that genre are just amazing in their naivety and pure craziness - I love it! Fun to sing along with the boys while having a drink or two.

Finally, what's the future look like for Lemonator?

It seems we'll be going to studio to work on the next album - unless some great manager will take us under his/her wings and makes Lemonator huge worldwide.

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Finnish Eurovision champs Lordi will bring the "Hard rock hallelujah" to Germany and the UK in the coming months: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/news/CC0DE069B7F66CBDC22571B50033F7A6!opendocument

Sun, 21 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Hail to Lordi, this year's Eurovision champions! Search YouTube for videos.

Thu, 04 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

I should've posted about this last week but, in case you didn't already know about it, Lordi (Finland's answer to Gwar) became a bit of a hot topic with their entry into the Eurovision Song Contest: http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/news/4EFDEE109852C242C2257163003C7F8B!opendocument

Tue, 23 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Finnish theatrical rockers Lordi have signed an international deal with Sanctuary Records. The band plans to launch a "massive European tour" next spring under the tutelage of EMI-Clear Channel, the same team responsible for the international efforts of countrymates HIM and The Rasmus. Read the press release: http://www.lordi.org/press_uk.htm

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Here's this week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. Promoe - These Walls Don´t Lie
02. Nightwish - Nemo
03. The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk
04. Nik & Jay - En dag tilbage
05. Venke Knutson - Scared
06. Elastinen - Syljen
07. Kings Of Convenience - I´d Rather Dance With You
08. Sahara Hotnights - Hot Night Crash
09. Various Artists - I Kan Ikke Slå Os Ihjel
10. A-Teens - I Promised Myself
11. Eskobar - Bring The Action
12. Petter - Repa skivan
13. Euroboys - One Way Street
14. Teddybears STHLM - Hey Boy
15. The Raveonettes - Heartbreak Stroll
16. Marit Bergman - I´ll Always Be Your Soldier
17. Deportees - Arrest Me ´Til It Hurts
18. Bergman Rock - Jim
19. Lordi - Blood Red Sandman
20. Safari - Crazy Dream Crazy Days

Challengers:
01. Infinite Mass - The Thief
02. Kemopetrol - My Superstar
03. Her Majesty - The Past Is Not A Good Idea
04. Gunnar - Haunted Honey Moon
05. Captain Murphy - Daddy Can Dance
06. Sondre Lerche - Days That Are Over

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

Fri, 09 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Here's this week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. Nightwish - Nemo
02. Promoe - These Walls Don´t Lie
03. Nik & Jay - En dag tilbage
04. Venke Knutson - Scared
05. Sahara Hotnights - Hot Night Crash
06. Elastinen - Syljen
07. Tue West - Sig Du Er Sikker
08. Eskobar - Bring The Action
09. C21 - All That I Want
10. Various Artists - I Kan Ikke Slå Os Ihjel
11. Petter - Repa skivan
12. A-Teens - I Promised Myself
13. The Raveonettes - Heartbreak Stroll
14. Christian Walz - Maybe Not
15. Marit Bergman - I´ll Always Be Your Soldier
16. Bergman Rock - Jim
17. Sugarplum Fairy - Stay Young
18. Teddybears STHLM - Hey Boy
19. Euroboys - One Way Street
20. Iron African - How We Get Down

Challengers:
01. Safari - Crazy Dream Crazy Days
02. Viva Vertigo - Viva Viva
03. Deportees - Arrest Me ´Til It Hurts
04. Kings Of Convenience - I´d Rather Dance With You
05. Lordi - Blood Red Sandman
06. The Hives - Walk Idiot Walk

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

Fri, 02 May 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Magnus from The Cardigans reports that "Long Gone Before Daylight" is currently being remixed for 5.1 sound systems at Medley Studios in Copenhagen. So yeah, those of you with home theatre stereo setups will be able to enjoy the record in full surround sound. No word on a release date yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Check out the Nordic Favorites compilation tracklist:

01. Bel Canto - You Rock My World Tonight
02. Eskobar - On The Ground
03. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
04. The Sounds - Living In America
05. Silje Nergaard - Be Still My Heart
06. Funkstar De Luxe W M Mann - Blinded
07. Gåte - Bendik Og År Olilja
08. Luke - Heavens On Fire
09. Grant - Just The Thing
10. Morten Abel - I'll Come Back And Love You Forever
11. Swan Lee - Tomorrow Never Dies
12. The Crash - Star
13. Maria Mena - Free
14. Kristofer Åström - All Lovers Hell
15. Cajsa Stina Åkerström - Himmel Över
16. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
17. Lordi - Would You Love A Monsterman

Here's another mp3 from Randy's new album "Welfare Problems". The track is called "X-ray Eyes".

Fargo records has picked up Hederos & Hellberg's "Together in the Darkness" for release in the UK. The same label is also putting out the album in France and Spain this month. In related news, Silence is reporting that Mattias Hellberg is planning to record a solo album this summer.

I've already posted some of these dates, but here's a more complete list of the upcoming Gröna Lund shows this summer:

05/09 - Melody Club
05/23 - Dilba, Stephen Simmonds
06/18 - The Sounds
06/27 - Eric Gadd, Kaah
08/15 - Robyn
08/29 - Caesars Palace, Bad Cash Quartet
09/05 - bob hund
09/12 - The Hellacopters

Labrador Records will holding a mini-festival for the label featuring Chasing Dorotea, Laurel Music, Ronderlin plus Dj's: Pontus & Ramo (Douglas Heart) and Henrik Lyngåker (Sonic) at Bommens Salonger on May 9.

Here's an updated lineup for the 5th annual Nordic Roots Festival which takes place in Minneapolis from September 18-21: Filarfolket reunion, Ellika Frisell and Solo Cissokho, Maria Kalaniemi with Sven Ahlbäck and Johan Hedin, Gjallarhorn, Harv and the Swedish trio Nåra.

STIM reports that The Hives made it to #4 on the LA Times list of top 50 bands around today. Iggy Pop, White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age took the top spots and fellow Swedes Soundtrack of Our Lives came in at a respectable 15.

Blood Music, Björns vänner, CK, Corduroy utd., Dub Sweden, Florence Valentin, Hell on Wheels, Paris and The Danny Says have all been confirmed for the Rundgångsfestivalen in Wämöparken on May 31.

P3 Musikjournalen has posted a whole slew of new confirmations for Kirunafestivalen, Storsjöyran, Spinnrock, Gatufesten. Midtfynsfestivalen and Norbergfestivale.

More on the Mando Diao drama, from Aftonbladet. (in Swedish)

Thu, 20 Mar 2003 00:00:00 -0800

Download two mp3s samples from the upcoming Nine album "Killing Angels": "Inferno" and "Discontent OD". Look for it in stores around August/September on Burning Heart.

Logh has been announced as the support act for Fireside on their upcoming Swedish tour. Congrats! And besides that, they've got quite a bit of other touring coming up. The dates:

03/20 - Prinzenbar (Docks), Hamburg, GER
03/21 - Magnet, Berlin, GER
03/22 - Starclub, Dresden, GER w/The Kills
03/23 - Gebaedue 9, Köln, GER w/The Faint
03/24 - Normal Records, Köln, GER
03/26 - La route du rhum, Nantes, FRA
03/27 - Local Transmission, Bordeaux, FRA
03/28 - Atzavara Club, St Feliu de Guixols, Girona, ESP
03/29 - Sala Moby Dick, Madrid, ESP w/The Donnas
03/30 - Sala Azkena, Bilbao, ESP
04/02 - Le Gibus, Besançon, FRA
04/03 - BOA, Luzern, CH
04/04 - Rockplanet, Pinarella di Cervia, ITA
04/07 - Szene Wien, Wien, A w/Cameran
04/08 - Orange House, Munich, GER
04/09 - Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, GER
04/10 - Schwimbad Musik Club, Heidelberg, GER
04/12 - La Guintuette Pirate, Paris, FRA
04/13 - Freebutt, Brighton, UK
04/14 - 93ft East , London, UK
04/15 - Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle, London, UK
04/16 - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, SWE w/Fireside
04/18 - Grand, Uppsala, SWE w/Fireside
04/24 - Herrgårn, Linköping, SWE w/Fireside
04/25 - Village, Västerås, SWE w/Fireside
04/29 - Kägelbanan, Stockholm, SWE w/Fireside
04/30 - Blå, Oslo, NOR w/Fireside
05/01 - Mejeriet, Lund, SWE w/Fireside

The Sounds say they are playing San Diego tonight on their website. No word on what club, but I'm sure if you're down there it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Zillion Digits aka David Sandström (ex-Refused) will be playing Klubb Modos in Umeå on March 22. I've been hearing good things about this, so check it out if you can.

Download an mp3 of 69-Hard's song "The Bullets", taken from the forthcoming album "Blues From Hell" due out April 11 on Idle Hands Records. Preorders are being taken at the label's website so act now, especially if you want a copy of the limited 3-song single.

There's going to be a new comp coming out called "Nordic Favourites" featuring 17 tracks from 17 artists including Silje Nergaard, Gåte, Bel Canto, Morten Abel, Maria Mena, The Rasmus, Junior Senior, The Sounds, Kristofer Åström, The Crash, and Lordi. Look for a "massive" Nordic TV ad campaign in the near future.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. v/a - Melodifestivalen 2003
02. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
03. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
04. The Refreshments - On the rocks
05. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
06. Wilmer X - Lyckliga hundar
07. Fernandoz - Vem får din kärlek i natt
08. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
09. Emil Sigfridsson - Tillbaka till igår
10. v/a - Fame Factory volym 4
11. Kikki Bettan Lotta - Live från Rondo
12. The Sounds - Living in America
13. Robyn - Don´t stop the music
14. Kajsa Grytt - Är vi på väg hem?
15. The Knife - Deep Cuts
16. Ted Gärdestad - Droppar av solregn
17. Anders Widmark featuring Sara Isaksson - s/t
18. Magnus Uggla - Klassiska mästerverk
19. Barbados - Rewind
20. A Teens - New arrival

Lars Winnerbäck's new album "Söndermarken" has already gone gold in Sweden. Look for him on tour this summer over there.

This week's Swedish college radio chart (from Dagensskiva):

01. (02) Timbuktu "Ett brev"
02. (NY) First Floor Power "Happy Endings"
03. (01) The Donnas "Take It Off"
04. (05) Shout Out Louds "100 Degrees"
05. (NY) The Knife "You Take My Breath Away"
06. (03) Kamera "At Work"
07. (07) Lil'Kim Ft. Mr Cheeks "The Jump Off"
08. (NY) The Coral "Don't Think You're The First"
09. (04) The Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1"
10. (06) Missy Elliott Ft. Ludacris "Gossip Folks"

11. (NY) The Kills "Fried My Little Brains"
12. (08) The Jayhawks "Save It For A Rainy Day"
13. (NY) Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Date With The Night"
14. (14) Blur "Out Of Time"
15. (NY) Club8 "Saturday Night Engine"
16. (ÅT) Brendan Benson "Metarie"
17. (10) Liam Lynch "United States Of Whatever"
18. (12) Placebo "The Bitter End"
19. (13) Isolation Years "Open Those Eyes"
20. (14) Satirnine "Hey No Hell"

Leaving the chart:
(09) Whyte Seeds "Slow Motions"
(15) USCB Allstars "Watch Me Roll"
(16) Dj Format Ft. Chali 2na & Akil "We Know Something You Don't Know"
(17) Simian "La Breeze"
(18) Håkan Hellström "Den fulaste flickan i världen"
(19) Lars Winnerbäck "Åt samma håll"
(20) Millencolin "E20 Norr"

Kent has lined up another show this summer: the Park festival in Moss, Norway on June 14. Also playing are Kaizers Orchestra and Vibeke Saugestad.

UPDATED: Finntroll, Impaled Nazarene, and (maybe) Children of Bodom will be doing a benefit/memorial show at Nosturi in Helsinki on March 25 for Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta. The price of entry will be a 10 euros dontation with all proceeds going to cover expenses for Teemu's family. The funeral will be on March 29.

The Finnish band Amorphis have signed with EMI to release their next album, the self-produced "Far From The Sun". The first single "Day Of Your Beliefs" comes out in April, the album to follow in May. This will be the band's first major label release following a long relationship with Relapse Records.