Millencolin

SWEDISH PUNK PIONEERS

The Scandinavian punk outfit Millencolin - who take their name from melancholy, a term for a difficult skateboard trick - have been keeping themselves very busy of late. Following the February release of their forceful third album, Pennybridge Pioneers, the band invaded the U.S. this past March with Epitaph Records labelmates Ten Foot Pole, Vision and Osker, as part of the Punk-O-Rama package tour.

The Orebro, Sweden-based quartet - comprised of guitarist Erik Ohlsson, bassist/vocalist Nikola Sarcevic, guitarist Mathias Farm and drummer Fredrik Larzon - will again be delivering their infectious angst to receptive crowds across the nation as part of this summer�s Warped Tour, which kicks off June 24th in Phoenix. But before the group embarks on that journey - sharing the stage with such high profile acts as Green Day, NOFX, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the Long Beach Dub Allstars - they�ll be performing at Sweden�s Hultsfred Festival, to be held in their homeland this June 17th.

According to guitarist Erik Ohlsson, "We enjoy festival shows because they give us the chance to expose ourselves to a greater audience and play with lots of bands we love."

Millencolin, who recently filmed a video for the song "Penguins And Polarbears" in Los Angeles, has already achieved headlining status throughout Europe and Australia. Serving as a source of encouragement to other groups in Sweden, Ohlsson says, "We were the first band from our town to go around the world. Now there�s a new generation coming and it makes us feel good to be looked up to by those bands."

Pennybridge Pioneers marks a significant change in approach for the first European band ever signed to Epitaph Records. Whereas their first two US albums (1996�s Life On A Plate and 1997�s For Monkeys) were predominantly structured around ska rhythms, the new disc, produced by the label�s Prez Brett Gurewitz could be straight out of Orange County, with a sound - not surprisingly - akin to Bad Religion. Erik explains it this way: "We still love ska stuff, but if a song sounds better without it, we leave it that way. This album just turned out to be fatter and bigger."

In regard to the sessions with Brett, which resulted in 14 aggressive, melodic and transmittable shots of punk rock, Ohlsson says, "We all got excited when we found out Brett wanted to produce us. As Bad Religion fans since the late �80s, it was like a dream come true."

Taken from the site www.music.com.

Link:
www.millencolin.com