Profile: Hearts of Black Science

Music (for robots) invokes the tired "is it the water?" cliché in this post on Suburban Kids with Biblical Names: https://music.for-robots.com/archives/001838.html
Thank goodness they didn't go all out and mention abba as well.

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
02. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
03. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Musikal - Cabaret - Svenska uppsättningen
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
09. Laleh - Prinsessor
10. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
14. Calaisa - Calaisa
15. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
16. Studio - Yearbook 1
17. Frida Hyvönen - Music from the dance performance Pudel
18. The Knife - Silent shout
19. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
20. abba - Number ones

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Laleh - Prinsessor
03. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
04. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
05. Pain of Salvation - Scarsick
06. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
07. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
08. Pernilla Andersson - Baby blue
09. Calaisa - Calaisa
10. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
11. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
12. abba - Number ones
14. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Jay-Jay Johanson - The long term physical effects are not yet known
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
04. Laleh - Prinsessor
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
09. abba - Number ones
10. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
12. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
14. Orup - Faktiskt
15. Koop - Koop islands
16. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
17. Vikingarna - Bästa
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
20. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection

I
Between two worlds
Nuclear Blast

"Between two worlds" picks up, in some way, where Immortal left off. In times when noone knows if said band will record more records, this release from ex-frontman abbath comes as a great relief. Sure, if you're looking for "true" black metal, this isn't really up your alley as what we're facing here is a dose of classic heavy- and thrash metal. Influences from bands such as Motörhead, Bathory and WASP are very present and in a good way! It just goes to show that the classic metal acts are never to be ignored. However, despite these influences, you can still hear some Immortal-licks, especially in "Mountains". And abbath's vocals are still as evil as can be. But, and there is a "but" here, not all is jolly good with this release. There are songs that don't quite cut it for me such as the titletrack and the closer "Cursed we are". You gotta love bands that instantly makes you think of favorite bands such as, in this case, Judas Priest, but there are limits. I mean, why buy the new Trivium record when you can purchase "Killers"? Why buy this one when you can purchase "Screaming for vengeance"?
- Jonas Appelqvist

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
02. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Orup - Faktiskt
10. abba - Number ones
11. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara
12. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
14. Vikingarna - Bästa
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Koop - Koop islands
17. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
18. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
19. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
20. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues
05. Lasse Stefanz - 40 ljuva år!
06. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
07. Orup - Faktiskt
08. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
09. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Anna Ternheim - Separation road
12. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
14. abba - Number ones
15. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
16. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
17. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
18. Vikingarna - Bästa
19. Koop - Koop islands
20. Anders Ekborg - Äkta vara

MP3: I - Far beyond the quiet

abbath's new band I picks up pretty close to where Immortal left off and I think that's great. See, unlike most black-metal purists, I've always felt that the each of the band's albums was better than the one that preceded it. Besides being recorded terribly, early material such as "Pure holocaust" and "Battles in the north" just aren't that good. The promo photos? Still undeniably classic. But the music? Eh, I rather listen to Darkthrone if I want to stay tr00 and kvlt. I however, is something different. The cold darkness of black-metal remains, but the music is far more rooted in thrash and other, more classic heavy metal styles. Just listen to that song I've posted today and tell me that opening riff doesn't remind you of "Bark at the moon". Sure, it starts to sound a lot more like Bathory once the drums and ominous keyboards come in, but that too is a good thing. abbath's croaking vocal style might be too much for some to take, but I think it just adds to the atmosphere he's trying to create. It's supposed to sound evil, y'know? Thrash on.

I - Far beyond the quiet

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Markus Fagervall - Echo heart
02. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
05. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
10. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Frans - Da man
14. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
15. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
16. abba - Number ones
17. Orup - Faktiskt
18. Agnes - Stronger
19. Lisa Miskovsky - Changes
20. The Boppers - Jingle bell rock

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Björn Skifs - Andra Decennier
02. Moneybrother - Pengabrorsan
03. Laleh - Prinsessor
04. Martin Stenmarck - Nio sanningar och en lögn
05. Magnus Carlsson - Spår i snön
06. Nils Landgren - Christmas with my friends
07. Peter Jöback - Flera sidor av samma man
08. Darin - Break the news
09. Uno Svenningsson & Irma Schultz Keller - Sånger för December
10. The Refreshments - It's gotta be both rock & roll
11. Vikingarna - Bästa
12. Bo Kaspers Orkester - Hund
14. Jill Johnson - The woman I've become
15. Orup - Faktiskt
16. Agnes - Stronger
17. abba - Number ones
18. Frans - Da man
19. Eric Gadd - Gaddamn - The ultimate collection
20. Nisse Hellberg - Snackbar blues

MP3: Moneybrother - Jag skriver inte på nåt

As I'm sure a lot of you know by now, Moneybrother just released a new album called "Pengabrorsan" featuring Swedish versions of all sorts of various cover tunes. I was mighty tempted to post the Operation Ivy cover of "Freeze up" (here titled "Det blir ingen dans") since the band is so near and dear to my heart, especially having grown up around the East Bay punk scene. They were one of the very first punk bands I ever heard and, while I never got to see them myself (I was too young at time for my parents to let me venture off to Gilman St., though I did manage to sneak in one Green Day show at age 13), I regularly saw all the ex-members around town and their bands (Rancid, Schlong, Common Rider, etc.). However, and this is what it all comes down to, the track just isn't that hot and even a guest appearance from Howlin' Pelle does little to redeem it. On the other hand, Moneybrother wisely chose to cover Wire, my second-favorite band of all time just behind the almighty Black Sabbath (yes, two English bands but that's a discussion for another time). Moneybrother's take on "Mannequin" (here billed as "Jag skriver inte på nåt") doesn't stray far from the original besides the translated lyrics, but I'm okay with it since it's such a great selection. You won't need to know Swedish to join in with the la-la refrain at the end.
(note: I've seen some incongruous tracklistings for "Pengabrorsan", so if I got the titles wrong, I apologize)

Moneybrother - Jag skriver inte på nåt

The Sweptaways
Ooh aah
Hybris

Cover records are always a bit hard to review. The Sweptaways are a 28-piece all-female choral group, and to hear them cover Kiss ("I want you"), Black Sabbath ("Changes") and the Pet Shop Boys ("Gowest") is quite refreshing. This album works well as a straigh-through listen (although at 28 minutes, it still can be a bit overwhelming) or when you pair up the covers with the originals. This record won't be accessible by all, but those to whom it will appeal with enjoy it thoroughly for the strength of performance and the interpretations.
- Matt Giordano

MP3: The Sweptaways - Let my shoes lead me forward

Let's talk about Sweden's other 20+ member indie choir The Sweptaways. The group's standard repertoire is a capella group versions of pop hits and their debut album "Ooh ahh" is chock-full. It features indie-hits by fellow Swedes Vapnet, El Perro Del Mar, The Embassy and Jenny Wilson (today's featured track) as well as songs from the likes of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Pet Shop Boys and Kate Bush ("Wuthering heights", the first single). Sometimes the formula works, sometimes not. Their take on Sabbath's classic ballad "Changes" is disappointing and a few other song selections were never that good to begin with and are not improved by The Sweptaways vocal treatment. There are many highlights, but I can't help feeling that they are better appreciated as a live act with their fanciful costumes and choreography. A studio recording is a poor substitute. Still, they manage to narrowly avoid status, so that's got to mean something. Oh, and their version of "Silver bells" together with Magnus Carlson and the Gray Brigade (listen here) is fantastic.

The Sweptaways - Let my shoes lead me forward

DigitalMetal reviews "Between two worlds", the debut album from I - abbath's (ex-Immortal) new band: https://www.digitalmetal.com/reviews.asp?cid=7846