Category: Scandinavian rock

HIM’s Ville Valo discovered the dark side of rock through Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 7, 2007 By Steve Newton According to Ville Valo, lead vocalist for Finnish rockers HIM, "It's very hard to sing about sunshine and ice cream and birds in fast cars." So he doesn't even try. Instead, song titles like "Cyanide Sun", "Dead Lovers' Lane", and "Song or Suicide" … Continue reading HIM’s Ville Valo discovered the dark side of rock through Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”

Graveyard has nothing to do with death (metal)

By Steve Newton When your band is called Graveyard, it’s no surprise that you sometimes get pegged as yet another grinding death-metal act. According to Graveyard frontman Joakim Nilsson, it happens quite a bit. “Yeah, we hear that a lot,” says the 37-year-old singer-guitarist, on the line from his home outside Gothenburg, Sweden. “But I … Continue reading Graveyard has nothing to do with death (metal)

Graveyard frontman gives shout out to fellow Swedes the Hellacopters

By Steve Newton I called up Graveyard frontman Yoakim Nilsson at his home in Sweden the other day to do an interview in advance of his band's first ever (and sold out) Vancouver show next Saturday (December 12). Whenever I think about Swedish rock bands I think about the Hellacopters, who I discovered in 2002 … Continue reading Graveyard frontman gives shout out to fellow Swedes the Hellacopters

Sweden’s Caesars hit it big with “Jerk It Out” via iPod commercial

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 2, 2005 By Steve Newton In the booklet for the Caesars' new CD, Paper Tigers, there's a photo of singer-guitarist and main songwriter Joakim Ahland in the studio, riffing out on a classic old-school rock guitar: a white Strat with a maple neck. That's the same body/neck combo Jimi Hendrix immortalized … Continue reading Sweden’s Caesars hit it big with “Jerk It Out” via iPod commercial