Norwegian avant-metal act Arcturus has signed with Season of Mist Records and will be releasing a new album sometime around August with a European tour to follow. They have also announced the addition of new vocalist Simen Hestnaes (Dimmu Borgir, ex-Borknagar, Lamented Souls) who takes over for Øyvind Hægeland (Spiral Architect) who left earlier this month.
Virgin Sweden/EMI will release the new album "In the middle of life" from The Real Group on February 23. The first single "Prime time blues" hits radio in about three weeks and the band will hit the road in April. Dates:
04/08 - De Geerhallen, Norrköping
04/10 - Konsert&Kongress, Linköping
04/12 - Konserthus, Göteborg
04/13 - Konserthus, Växjö
04/14 - Konserthus, Malmö
04/16 - Konserthus, Jönköping
04/17 - Konserthus, Västerås
04/25 - Konserthus, Stockholm
04/26 - Konserthus, Stockholm
It might come as a surprise, but when I'm not listening to some band from Scandinavia, I spend a lot of time listening to classic country music. No, really. So when I heard about the "We walk the line" Norwegian tribute to Johnny Cash recorded live at Oslo Prison that came out last year, I was ecstatic. It took me a little while to track down a copy, but oh man was it worth it. Sure, there's a couple stiff tracks and some weird song choices (c'mon now, just because John covered "Solitary man" on "American IV" does not make it his song), but almost all of it is golden. Take this Magnet tune for example, as posted today on the right. Magnet bravely reworks the song in his own style and makes it transcendent. Granted, he'd probably have to try extra hard if he really wanted to ruin one of the greatest love songs ever written, but it does take a good deal of courage to change something so well known. Very, very recommended. Check back later this week for another song from this comp - I had such a hard time selecting which outstanding track to post that I'm gonna showcase more than one.
Songs I Wish I Had Written is a new Swedish record label/mailorder out of Malmö: http://www.songsiwish.com/
Denmark's Flying Virgins will be heading over to Finland in February to take part in the second half of the Nordic Lights Project by playing a couple shows with Mother Goose. In case you don't remember, Mother Goose recently came over to Denmark to play a few shows together. Anyhow, here is the complete upcoming tour schedule for the Flying Virgins, including an additional date in Sweden:
01/26 - Dodger, Lund (SWE)
02/18 - Karen, Turku (FIN)
02/19 - Vastavirta klubi, Tampere (FIN)
Umeå's The Perishers will be doing an extensive North American tour opening for Sarah McLachlan beginning in mid-April. Dates:
04/12 - Save On Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria, BC (CAN)
04/13 - Save On Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria, BC (CAN)
04/15 - Sportsmart Place, Kamloops, BC (CAN)
04/16 - Prospera Place, Kelowna, BC (CAN)
04/18 - Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
04/19 - Bank Of America Centre, Boise, ID
04/20 - Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV
04/22 - Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA
04/23 - Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
04/25 - Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA
04/27 - Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM
04/28 - Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, CO
04/30 - Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO
05/02 - Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK
05/04 - BJCC, Birmingham, AL
05/05 - Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL
05/06 - Orlando Centroplez, Orlando, FL
05/08 - Office Depot Center, Sunrise, FL
05/09 - St Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
05/11 - Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
05/13 - Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
05/15 - John Labatt Centre, London, ON (CAN)
05/16 - Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON (CAN)
05/17 - ACC, Toronto, ON (CAN)
05/20 - Cumberland Co. Civic Center, Portland, ME
05/21 - Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH
05/22 - Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY
05/24 - The Theatre @ Madison Sq, New York, NY
05/25 - Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
05/28 - Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
05/30 - Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB (CAN)
05/31 - Harbour Station, St. John, NB (CAN)
06/01 - Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, NS (CAN)
Can you say big break or what?
Download an mp3 for the song "Between The Gentle Small & The Standing Tall" from the new Green Carnation album "The Quiet Offspring", due out March 22 via The End Records: http://media.theendrecords.com/GreenCarnation_Quiet_BetweenTheGentle.mp3
Drummer Simen Vangen has decided to leave Madrugada in order to concentrate more on his jazz projects. He'll still continue to work with singer Sivert Høyem in his solo project The Opposition and will play his last show with the band at by:Larm on February 10. Read the full statement here: http://www.emi.no/madrugada/includes/news.asp
"Hello! Surprise!" is a new website guide to the Swedish pop scene: http://music.colorize.net/
Go here to download the video for "On the surface" from Ephemera: http://www.ephemera.no/gratis/video.html
Magnus Bjerkert talks to Barometern about the future of Adrian Recordings, among other things: http://www.barometern.se/artikel_noje.php?id=780331&avdelning_1=121&avdelning_2=0&question=13 (in Swedish)
Tons of new pics up at Rockfoto.nu, including stuff from Black Belt, Bad Cash Quartet, Deportees, Rallypack, Jens Lekman, José González, Håkan Hellström and more.
Aversionline reviews the vinyl edition of Skitsystem's "Allt e skit" collection: http://www.aversionline.com/reviews/2027/