, home to acts such as Rigas, Moder Jords Massiva , Parken, Sir Eric Beyond and many more, is celebrating their 10th anniversary and is also Svensk Musik's label of the month: http://svenskmusik.org/article/october-flora-fauna/
Follow the link for an interview with label mainman Henrik von Euler plus a bit about their latest releases from artists such as Sjöarna and New Rose.
The 2nd annual Live Evil Fest, featuring nothing but quality selections culled from Fenriz' band of the week posts, is happening this weekend in London and the blog A Fist in the Face of God has put together a mix of the roster for free download: http://afistinthefaceofgod.blogspot.com/2011/10/fist-in-face-of-god-presents-live-evil.html
Scandinavian acts include Witchgrave, Maim, In Solitude, Black Magic, Morbus Chron, Antichrist and Aura Noir.
Listen to the title track of the forthcoming Owl Vision album "Zybersect", due out October 25.
PSL has the premiere of the new Trummor & Orgel video "Worlds collide": http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2011/10/19/videopremiar-trummor-och-orgel-worlds-collide/
Pop act Vanbot and Umeå punkrockers The Bombettes are two of the first Swedish acts to be confirmed for SXSW 2012.
Moloken's first-ever official video. The band's new album "Rural" comes out November 25 via .
Considering the recent demise of Dismember, it's good to know there are still bands out there churning out solid no-frills Swedish death (fucking) metal like Mr. Death. I'm all for innovation and and originality and whatever, but there's also something to be said for sticking to a genre and doing it perfectly and Mr. Death do just that. I'd even venture to say that their sophomore record "Descending through ashes" is an improvement on their totally solid debut. Also worth noting: there are few genres where the practitioners seem to improve as they get older and strangely, contrary to all expectations, death metal has proven to be an exception, alongside jazz and country. Yes, there are plenty of youngins who are able to nail that filthy old-school sound and so on, but more often than not, they end up coming off as try-hards or are sorely lacking in actual songwriting abilities. Not so with many of the other old-timers such as Mr. Death; see also US counterparts such as Disma and Immolation who are both 40+ and at the top of their game. Respect your elders!
Mr. Death - To Armageddon
Coming to Umeå in 2014 as part of their European Capital of Culture celebration: the music of Refused, arranged for symphonic orchestra. No, really: http://www.umea2014.se/arkivnyheter/arstidskonsertermedmusikavrefusedochbeethoven.5.232bb3eb132b9e0c2ca800022365.html (in Swedish)
Freddie Wadling (Cortex, Blue for Two, etc.) will release his new album "With a License to Kill", a collection of James Bond soundtrack songs and other secret agent tunes, on November 9. I hesitate to say that I'm excited to hear it, but I am definitely curious.
Preview a bit of the upcoming Three Seasons 7" "Escape", the first entry in ' new monthly singles club. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
Swedish rockers The Movements willb e doing a split 10" with French act The Angry Dead Pirates via in early 2012 and will also be heading over there for a tour in April. Dates/details to be confirmed.
Raven Sings the Blues has the premiere of a new track from that The Skull Defekts/Daniel Higgs/Zomes record I told you about awhile back: http://ravensingstheblues.blogspot.com/2011/10/premiere-skull-defekts.html
continues to quietly release plenty of great music, regardless of whether or not anyone is paying attention, and they've been on a bit of a roll as of late. One such example would be "Sisters", a beautiful slice of pastoral pop from The Culture In Memoriam that brings to mind similar rustic works from the likes of ex-labelmates The Bear Quartet, Neil Young and so on. Usually I'm not so big on the gentle falsetto as it's often way too much of an affect for my tastes, but there are always exceptions to be made and TCIM fit the rule. The song gets better and better as it goes along too, adding more and more subtle layers of sound and orchestration. And the b-side "Vanilla wreck"? I think I might like that one even more.
The Culture In Memoriam - Sisters
Skogar recorded a tune with Johan Gustavsson aka Johan G Winther of Scraps of Tape/Thee Gutted String; listen here: http://skogars.tumblr.com/post/11366035537/during-a-lazy-summerday-i-recorded-this-track-at
Side-Line reports that Swedish industrial act In Slaughter Natives are back after seven years of silence with a 3CD live collection called "Insanity and treatment", due out November 7 via . Full details: www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=46958_0_2_0_C