Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:
01. Markoolio - I skuggan av mig själv
02. Peter Jöback - Jag kommer hem igen till jul
03. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
04. v/a - Barn på nytt
05. Per Gessle - Mazarin
06. The Refreshments - Rock 'n' Roll X-mas
07. Peter LeMarc - Det som håller oss vid liv
08. Miio - På vårt sätt
09. Lisa Miskovsky - Fallingwater
10. Jill Johnson - Roots and wings
11. Carola - Jul i Betlehem
12. Ulf Lundell - En eld i kväll
13. Helen Sjöholm / Anders Widmark - Genom varje andetag
14. Bo Kaspers orkester - Vilka tror vi att vi är
15. Lars Roos - För de som älskar
16. Björn Rosenström - Var får jag allt ifrån?
17. Lasse Stefanz - Det här är bara början
18. Christer Sjögren - För kärlekens skull 14 visklassiker
19. José González - Veneer
20. Sten & Stanley - Samlade tv-hits
Read about and preview singer/songwriter Sohpie Zelmani's new album "Love Affairs" over at Aftonbladet. (see links on right, in Swedish)
By way of Dagensskiva, here is thist week's Swedish student radio top 20:
01. (03) Bergman Rock "Help The Band"
02. (01) The Radio Dept. "Pulling Our Weight EP"
03. (NY) The Strokes "Reptilia"
04. (06) The White Stripes "The Hardest Button To Button"
05. (05) The Chemical Brothers "Get Yourself High"
06. (NY) Basement Jaxx "Good Luck"
07. (08) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "We're All In Love"
08. (09) Niccokick "Turn 27 EP"
09. (10) Dizzee Rascal "Jus'a Rascal"
10. (12) Bubba Sparxxx "Deliverence"
11. (04) Monastir "The Shape Up EP"
12. (NY) The Darkness "Christmas Time. (Don't Let The Bells End)"
13. (13) Chicks On Speed "Wordy Rappinghood"
14. (02) Essex Green "By The Sea"
15. (15) Chords Ft. Timbuktu And Miki "Wrap Your Chops"
16. (NY) José Gonzalez "Remain EP"
17. (14) The Knife "Handy-Man"
18. (17) Mew "She Came Home For Christmas"
19. (18) The Raveonettes "Heartbreak Stroll"
20. (NY) The Carnation "New Sensation"
Leaving the chart: 07. The Coral "Bill Mc Cai"
11. Holly Golightly "Walk A Mile"
16. The Mountain Goats "Palmcorder Yajna"
19. Timbuktu med Peps "Dynamit"
20. Alice In Videoland "Got To Go"
Dates have been confirmed for Opeth's 'Lamentations Over America Tour 2004'. Support will come from Moonspell and another as-yet-unnamed band, possibly Devildriver (ex-Coal Chamber). Details:
01/20 - Reds, Edmonton (CAN)
01/21 - MacEwan Hall, Calgary (CAN)
01/23 - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver (CAN)
01/24 - Graceland, Seattle, WA
01/25 - Roseland, Portland, OR
01/27 - House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
01/28 - Marquee Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
01/29 - Canes Bar & Grill, San Diego, CA
01/30 - House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
01/31 - Avalon, San Francisco, CA
02/02 - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
02/03 - Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
02/05 - Trees, Dallas, TX
02/06 - Backroom, Austin, TX
02/07 - Engine Room, Houston, TX
02/09 - Masquerade, Tampa, FL
02/10 - Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale, FL
02/11 - House of Blues, Orlando, FL
02/13 - Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
02/14 - Tremont Music Hall, Charlotte, NC
02/15 - 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
02/16 - Bogarts, Cincinnati, OH
02/18 - Quest, Minneapolis, MN
02/19 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL
02/20 - Harpos, Detroit, MI
02/21 - Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY
02/22 - Club Soda, Montreal, CAN
02/24 - Opera House, Toronto, CAN
02/25 - Steel Music Hall, Rochester, NY
02/26 - Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
02/27 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
02/28 - Palladium, Worcester, MA
Hypocrisy, the band of acclaimed metal producer Peter Tägtgren (also in PAIN), will supporting Cannibal Corpse on their US tour in February along with Exhumed and Vile. Dates:
02/12 - Engine Room, Houston, TX
02/13 - Trees, Dallas, TX
02/14 - The Back Room, Austin, TX
02/16 - Mason Jar, Phoenix, AZ
02/17 - The Key Club, Hollywood, CA
02/18 - Galaxy Concert, Santa Ana, CA
02/19 - Slim's, San Francisco, CA
02/20 - Roseland, Portland, OR
02/21 - Graceland, Seattle, WA
02/23 - Bricks, Salt Lake City, UT
02/24 - Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO
02/25 - Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
02/26 - Pop's, Sauget, IL
02/27 - The Eagles Club, Milwaukee, WI
02/28 - Quest Club, Minneapolis, MN
02/29 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL
03/03 - Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
03/04 - Club Laga, Pittsburgh, PA
03/06 - L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY
03/07 - Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
03/11 - Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
03/12 - Masquerade, Tampa, FL
03/13 - Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Finland's Children of Bodom have confirmed their one and only home country appearance this summer will be at the Sauna Open Air festival in Tampere on June 11. Other bands set to appear at the fest include Nightwish and Diablo. More info: http://www.sauna-open-air.fi/
Norweigan black/death metallers Zyklon have been tapped as support for Dimmu Borgir on their upcoming tour of Japan. Complete dates for Zyklon at this time:
01/04 - Thunder Road Club, Milan (IT) w/Red Harvest, Incantation
01/08 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
01/09 - Klubi, Turku (FIN)
01/10 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä (FIN)
02/03 - Shibuya Club Quattro, Tokyo (JAP) w/Dimmu Borgir, Goatwhore
02/04 - Nagoya Club Quattro, Nagoya (JAP) w/Dimmu Borgir, Goatwhore
02/05 - Shinsaibashi Club Quattro, Osaka (JAP) w/Dimmu Borgir, Goatwhore
On Monday December 22, The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be releasing an exclusive web Christmas special through the official Mega Society fansite at Tsool.net. I've been fortunate enough to get a preview of the material and of course it's awesome. Tack Mantra!
Since I'm such a nice guy, I put up some live mp3s from Isolation Years.
The fine people over at Parasol have posted their top picks of 2003 and of course there's tons of Nordic acts on their lists. Check it out.
Now up at Rockfoto.nu are new pics of Kamera, Rocky Dennis and more.
Lots of new pics of Soak the Sin up at their website.
The first bands confirmed to play Augustibuller fest in Lindesberg, Sweden on August 6-7: Pridebowl (US), Stiff Breeze, Silver (NOR), Path Of No Return and Painfield. More info: http://www.augustibuller.com/
Finnish deathmetal supergroup Chaosbreed have announced after much speculation that they have signed with Century Media for a 2-record deal. Their first album "Brutal" will see an April release in Europe with the US to follow shortly thereafter. The band's statement:
"We are very enthusiastic about collaborating with one of the biggest record companies within the metal genre. As the name Century Media is very much associated with quality due to its merits, we are very happy and proud of this contract. We wish that this partnership is fruitful for both parties concerned."
Pics from C.Aarmé on the Close-Up tour with Entombed and Disfear: http://c.aarme.lofi.org/close_up_2003/
Chicks On Speed (GER), Sahara Hotnights, The Perishers and José González are the first acts confirmed for next year's Umeå Open fest on March 25-27. More info: http://www.umeaopen.nu/
Swedish webzine The Cricket has published the top half of their top 20 albums from 2003.
Rocket.fm is reporting that the new Soundtrack of Our Lives single will be called "Karmageddon" and the new Weeping Willows single will be called "Stairs".