Markus Krunegård - Everybody hurts (video)

Here's the brand new Markus Krunegård single "Everybody hurts", as was premiered at P3 Guld this weekend. Look for his new album "Mänsklig värme" to be released on March 28.

Top 10s for 2011: Jocke D-takt (D-takt & Råpunk/Desperat/Thräshers)

Craft - Void
(Trust No One Recordings/Southern Lord)

"Carpathian Forest from Sweden" is the best way to describe Craft. Image, ethos, artwork, album titles, song titles, music; it's all just a punked-up rehash of Nattefrost's sick utterings, so much so that if you were to fire a Carpathian sticker over the Craft logo on any of their albums you'd probably be none the wiser. They have experimented with other people's styles, however, and on "Void" there's any number of big-time black metal bands shining through. Just one listen reveals a multitude of them which, it must be stressed, are familiarities rather than blatant rip-offs. This distinct lack of originality hits the album hard, though. There are some nice moments (although nice is hardly a word that Craft would want used here) but it's just too... meh. It's been done before. Hundreds of times. There's absolutely nothing exciting about it and, if truth be told, it's almost a chore to have to sit it out until the end.
- John Norby

Recommended: Elephant & Castle

Looking for a little Halloween music and don't want the usual goth/industrial recommendations I hand out? I highly recommend Matti Bye and Mattias Olsson's collaboration album "Elephant & Castle" -- it's the perfect soundtrack of creepy calliope tunes ala "Something wicked this way comes", great any time of year but especially perfect for this particular weekend. Listen via Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/album/1zJYHaNEwFdMkXCQcnH13E
And if someone from Kning Disk is watching, I'd sure love a copy of that limited edition box set w/the Edison cylinder, but somehow I imagine I'll have to settle for one of the less-fancy copies. Full details here: http://www.kningdisk.com/index_elephantandcastle.htm

Scraps of Tape - Flera meter kort (live video)

It's a Trap!'s own Jonas Appelqvist filling in for Mattias Alkberg with Scraps of Tape on "Flera meter kort" at the band's releasefest in Malmö this past weekend. Awesome!

Seven Feet Four - Last days of summer

"If these are the last days of summer, do you sleep or stay awake?" I didn't think it was possible to have a worse summer than last year, but we did and now it's over. A last-gasp week of warmth followed by rain and that unmistakable chill that signals the beginning of the end. Even year it comes like a lion, falling almost squarely on the autumnal equinox. I actually recently loaded Seven Feet Four's classic "Departure/Arrival" album onto my mp3 player, but this selection from their final EP "To kill is easy" far more befits the changing of the season. Hard to believe it's six years old already, especially considering that hardly anyone has stepped up in their wake to strive for Swedish noiserock perfection. That is, aside from bands featuring ex-members. Whatever, I guess I'm just getting old; time to go to sleep.

MP3: Seven Feet Four - Last days of summer

Erik de Vahl - Our love

Erik de Vahl covers Loleatta Holloway as a gift for his ladyfriend. Read more: http://blog.erikdevahl.com/2011/08/strandkampar.html (in Swedish)

The Psyke Project - We came from Earth

Of the many things I love about this tune, one of the more subtle and killer aspects is the absolute lack of drum fills. The Psyke Project started life as an intensely mathy metalcore act, but over the years they've evolved steadily into a lean, mean, no-frills machine. The other thing I love about it: that ridiculously heavy breakdown at the end. It starts off so slow and empty and then only manages to get even more brutal as they hold notes and let them bend into feedback. The rest of their new split release "Ebola" with fellow Danes As We Fight is all just as good too, that is, aside from the other band's material. The less I say about them, the better.

MP3: The Psyke Project - We came from Earth

Presenting: Lohtaja Sea Tragedy

Check out Lohtaja Sea Tragedy, the solo project of Juho Niemelä, bassist of heavy doom-rockers Callisto: http://lohtajaseatragedy.bandcamp.com/
Nice quiet, contemplative music for a spring holiday weekend. Recommended!

Gospel of the Skull (video)

Skull Defekts + Daniel Higgs + The Göteborg String Theory = the soundtrack of the end. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw6qnBIkBTU