IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

New Witchery album coming in June

Wed, 19 May 2010 17:13:55 -0700

I didn't realize they were still a band, but apparently Swedish all-star thrashers Witchery (feat. members from The Haunted, Seance, Arch Enemy, Opeth, etc.) will release their new album "Witchkrieg" on June 21 via Century Media. Hear a sample tune at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/witcherytheband

Sirius playlist week #14

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:23:27 -0700

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

01. TALK 1
02. Small - Highway child
03. Seance - Invocation
04. Halph - New money
05. TALK 2
06. Anna Frank - Directions
07. Kristofer Åström - Me and the snakes
08. The Scrags - Mad passion
09. TALK 3
10. Randy - Who's side are you on?
11. Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless
12. Existensminimum - 1993
13. Familjen - Socker
14. TALK 4
15. The Fine Arts Showcase - Lovesick
16. Viola - Cute destroyer
17. Nitad - Nervvrak
18. Penny Century - Just because
19. TALK 5
20. Marions - Another hour
21. BJ Nielsen - Tummen upp
22. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Facelessness erases every trace of humanity

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.

Teeth of the Divine reviews the new Seance

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:05:38 -0800

Teeth of the Divine reviews the new Seance album: http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/seance-awakening-of-the-gods/

MP3: Seance - Wasted

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:24:45 -0800

Seance is back from the dead after 15 some years and it's almost like they never left. They've still got one of the heaviest rhythm sections in death metal, even without the same brutal monster-truck basstone that characterized 1993's landmark "Saltrubbed eyes". It's all about those little stops and starts and the ridiculous triplet fills that drummer Micke Pettersson employs in his ongoing mission to out-Slayer Dave Lombardo. Seriously, no other band does it better; certainly none of the young upstarts who seem to value technical guitar prowess above all. As always the best death metal is about quality, memorable riffs. Often that means simple and effective; the number of notes is irrelevant. Anyhow, I wasn't expecting much from this reunion record, but these dudes delivered far beyond all expectations. Sure, the new album "Awakening of the Gods" has a few weaker moments here and there (there's one Prong-like groaner, for instance), but "Wasted" is 1000% killer. Seance's jagged rhythms, those super-gruff vokills -- all great. Even when they go into cheesy acoustic breakdown before the solo section, they make it work. No need to push boundaries or over-intellectualize it, stick to the classic formula and do it right -- that's all there is to it. No bullshit, just pure death fucking metal.

Sirius playlist week #3

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:26:10 -0800

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

01. Dyno - Don't speak love
02. TALK 1
03. Regina - Totuus minusta
04. Joenssu 1685 - Kill/shot/love
05. They Live - Magic glasses
06. TALK 2
07. Viola - We owe love
08. Orchestra Senza Tensta - The red elephant battles the bear
09. Livaventura - 2 out of nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Halph - Cheap points
12. Pacta - Sille
13. Scraps of Tape - Bring the heavy
14. TALK 4
15. Anssi 800 & Maria Stereo - Zion king
16. The Scrags - Psycho cyclone
17. Samtidigt Som - Vid mid sida
18. TALK 5
19. Seance - Wasted

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.

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:34:58 -0700

Blabbermouth reports that Swedish death metal act Seance is back together and signed with Pulverised Records to release their new album "Awakening of the Gods" early next year. Read more: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=103892
The samples on myspace are very promising!

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The playlist for this week's radio show on Sirius:

01. TALK 1
02. Fattaru - Stila upp din skit
03. Samuraj Cities - Thxa1000000
04. The Fine Arts Showcase - I don't worry
05. TALK 2
06. Imagine I Had Hands - Captive
07. Scraps of Tape - Pickpockets vow
08. FAP - Jag drar till sjöss en sväng jag
09. TALK 3
10. Hello Saferide - I was definitely made for these times
11. Mainliners - Good storm
12. Breach - Gheeá
13. TALK 4
14. Him Kerosene - Neutrino
15. Familjen - Nu händer det igen
16. Sista Sekunden - D.I.We
17. Nine - Time has come
18. TALK 5
19. Emperor - Towards the pantheon
20. September - Can't get over (Long disco mix)
21. Kornstad - Turkey, Texas
22. TALK 6
23. Camouflage - Syster sol
24. Lolita Pop - Salta diamanter
25. Leather Nun - Gimme gimme gimme
26. TALK 7
27. Superfamily - I could be a real winner
28. Juvelen - Hanna
29. The Book of Daniel - Death caps and moonshine
30. Monkeystrikes - Serial faller in lover
31. TALK 8
32. Torpedo - Hang me high
33. Erik Enocksson - The lingering procession
34. Hederos & Hellberg - No fun
35. TALK 9
36. Death By Kite - Himmelfahrtskommando
37. The Tough Alliance - Something special
38. Seance - Controlled bleeding
39. TALK 10
40. Shout Out Louds - Hard rain

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

MP3: Seance - Skinless

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Before The Haunted, before there was Witchery, Patrik Jensen was in a band called Seance. Unlike a lot of the other Swedish death-metal acts around in the early 90s that are still remembered today, Seance performed in a much more brutal, syncopated style as opposed to the "traditional" melodic stuff people usually are talking about when discussing Swedish metal. If you're at all familiar with Jensen's work that shouldn't be too surprising as he's been cranking out album after album of Slayer-esque riffage like a machine for many years now. I imagine most folks will have a hard time getting past the monotone burp-metal vocals so my advice is to just do what I do: concentrate on the drums. Jensen does fine emulating the guitar attack of King/Hanneman, but it's drummer Micke's Lombardo-style pummel that makes Seance so awesome. Well, that and the loud steamroller bass tone. Much more Jesus Lizard in timbre than typical death-metal. This particular track I've posted today comes from the band's second and final album, 1993's "Saltrubbed eyes". If you can get past the vocals, it's well worth seeking out. I think The Haunted are okay, but I like this stuff a lot more (and similarly would recommend the Björler twins' earlier band At the Gates as well, but that's a no-brainer). As for the band's first album "Forever laid to rest" (1992), I am horribly remiss and have never heard it. Anyone know if it's worthwhile?

Fri, 20 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It's Thrash Friday once again and this time we're turning to Enslaved for a classic piece of Norwegian metal. Way back in 1995, when the band was still singing exclusively in their mother tongue, they recorded this cover of the Slayer classic "Jesus saves" for the "Slatanic slaughter" tribute record. Even though mostly everyone plays it safe and doesn't stray too far from the original compositions, it's an amazing compilation that features some of the best Scandinavian metal acts of the day: Dissection, At the Gates, Edge of Sanity, Seance, Hypocrisy and more. It was so good they even put out a lesser quality sequel disc that I foolishly purchased. Anyhow, as anyone who's seen Enslaved live should already know, the band takes their art very seriously, but isn't afraid to enjoy themselves while doing it. What better way to kick back than covering one of metal's greatest bands? If that's not a perfect way to start off your Friday, then I don't know what is.

Wed, 23 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

In my continuing quest to open your ears to new music, there's some new mp3s on the right. First is Jaga Jazzist with the title track from their upcoming US debut "Animal Chin". They do a combination of jazz with electronic elements that's actually really, really cool. Normally I wouldn't expect myself to get into something like that, but they're really good. Next is three tracks from The Haunted's performance at Popstad. If you're into metal, you should already know these guys. Ex-At The Gates/Seance, total Slayer-worship. Can't go wrong with that.

Dagensskiva reports that Kamera had a bunch of gear stolen along with Ed Hartcourt's favorite leather jacket from their show at KB in Malmï¿½. Among the missing instruments are a Mexican-made Strat, an Ibanez SG-style guitar and an Ibanez SG-style bass. Read more.

Hell On Wheels have announced that "It's Wrong Being a Boy" will be their new single out on May 8. They'll be shooting a video for the track this evening around the rural suburbs of Stockholm.

Elisa TV has posted Vï¿½rttinï¿½'s video for "Tuulen Tunto" (To Feel the Wind) for viewing: RealMedia 1 / RealMedia 2 / Windows
It was filmed on February 28 at Aleksanterin Teatteri by Deco Media for the Finnish TV program 'Levyraati'.

Mattias Alkberg of Bear Quartet is the recipient of the Arnold Rï¿½rlings-scholarship. Read more.

Transworld Skateboarding Magazine of all places has reviewed David & the Citizens "For All Happy Endings":

Whoï¿½s got "Swedish fever"? It's time to retire your Abba records-guilt free! David & The Citizens are the best thing to come from Sweden since the bikini team. They have a unique, unclassifiable sound that's been compared to Beck, the Rolling Stones, and Belle And Sebastian. Regardless of that, itï¿½ll make you wanna pick up your accordion and start dancing. With catchy song titles like "Now She Sleeps in a Box in the Good Soil of Denmark," how could you go wrong? Definitely a must-buy.
- J.T. Kitzmiller

NRK has posted a plethora of pictures from the Inferno Festival in Norway. Immortal, Red Harvest and Opeth are just three of the bands featured. On-demand video footage coming soon, too.

The Knife will be doing the soundtrack for Christina Olofson's upcoming film "Hannah med H" ('Hannah with an H'). The full CD will include some 30-odd tracks and should be out sometime in fall. The move premieres on December 12.

From Sam Roberts' homepage on opening for TSOOL on a few dates around the US:

Our tour with The Soundtrack of Our Lives has also sadly come to an end. They were the model of Swedish hospitality from beginning to end, and we'd like to thank the band and crew for taking such good care of a bunch of Canuck drunks.
There wasn't a single show where they didn't blow our minds- they might just be the best live band in the world. Another thing we learned about our Scandinavian brethren is that they know how to party, and we have been on a strict regimen of vitamins and lentil soup since our return.
Adios for now you crazy bastards...

For an entirely different take than Pitchfork on Turbonegro's new album, read this review from Dagensskiva. (in Swedish)

Miss Universum's (Doktor Kosmos) debut album "Selfelected" comes out May 16. Uje Brandelius helped with the songwriting and Jens Lindgï¿½rd produced. The first single "Fertilize" comes out April 25.

P3 reports that when the Dalai Lama comes to Sweden on June 3 the following artists will be playing: Thomas Dileva, Lisa Ekdahl, Anders Widmark, Sara Isaksson, and Chime Arkhang. Tomas Ledin will host.

Looptroop, Mikael Wiehe, Bob Hansson, Kajsa Grytt and Stefan Sundstrï¿½m are all scheduled to play a big free concert at Mondo in Stockholm on May 11 in a show of solidarity and support for everyone convicted at the EU summit riots in Gï¿½teborg back in 2001.

Some new acts confirmed for Hultsfred: Randy, Ursula Rucker, Stefan Sundstrï¿½m, Strebers, Isolation Years, Paola, Kajsa Grytt, Johan Bergqvist and Advance Patrol.

Some of the names for the upcoming Koneisto fest in Finland seem to have been leaked. Here's what I've heard so far: Miss Kittin, T.Raumschmiere, Erlend Oye, Uusi Fantasia, Ed Rush, Ralph Myerz & Jack Herren Band, Gilles Peterson, London Elektricity, Kuusumun Profeetta, Imatran Voima, Youngsters, Didier Sound Spectrum, Datarock, Kaptein Kaliber, and Seb Fontaine. The electronic music event takes place in Helsinki 7/25-7/27.

Here's an e-card for Oslo's Bertine Zetlizt. It includes a short English bio along with 3 song samples and a video.