A popular punk rock band from Örebro, Sweden who take their inspiration from Southern California bands such as Operation Ivy, the Descendents and NOFX. Formed in October of 1992, Millencolin have managed to combine mild commercial success (with their singles Penguins & Polarbears and No Cigar enjoying some MTV airplay) with a dedicated grassroots fanbase. Their style is what some might call "skate punk", which is a blend more of punk and pop rock than the original, Sex Pistols-style punk that's more familiar to fans of the genre.
Current Lineup:
Biography:
Millencolin were formed in October of 1992 in Örebro, Sweden by vocalist/bassist Nikola Sarcevic, guitarist Erik Ohlsson and then-drummer Mathias Färm, who had been skating since 1987. The name of the band came from a skateboarding trick1 called a "melancholy", but changed to make it look more like a name.
Millencolin's first recording was a ten-track tape called Melack (a combination of the words "me" and "lack"), in the same summer of 1992 and it was through this tape that the band got to know Dan Swanö in Unisound Studios - the same studio the band use today, in fact. One copy of the tape was sent to punk upstart label Burning Heart Records, who wanted to release them, and the band agreed. In September of 1993, their single Use Your Nose was released, followed by Skauch, (a mix of original material and cover songs) and Da Strike (which was to later reach number 9 on the Swedish billboards) in 1994.
Their first full-length album, Tiny Tunes, was released in August 1994 and the title was later changed to Same Old Tunes following legal action by Warner Bros over the original title. In 1995, Burning Heart and Unisound Studios moved to the bands' hometown of Örebro, Sweden and the band started recording their second album, Life On A Plate, in August, which they released in October. Much touring followed (around 23-24 festivals), including the Kalvoja festival in Norway and the famous Roskilde festival in Denmark, as well as heavy touring in Germany, Switzerland, France and England.
In late 1995, ex-Bad Religion member Brett Gurewitz of US punk label Epitaph contacted the band and requested a US release for Life On A Plate. The band agreed and the album was released on Epitaph in the US in March of 1996.
In April 21, 1997, the bands third album, For Monkeys, was released. The title was taken from an internal joke where the members would call each other "monkeys" and was originally going to be "Four Monkeys" until someone suggested that the title be For Monkeys instead. A three-track single from the album was released in the end of March.
Touring resumed in May starting with a European tour followed by the Vans Warped Tour in the US, Canada and Europe and Australia and Japan in October. After touring the band took a break for a while to relax. Epitaph re-released Same Old Tunes in the US, changing a few names (eg. Disney Time was renamed Disnee Time) and the cover. The band also released a video, Millencolin and the Hi-8 Adventures, containing tour footage, all of the Millencolin video clips, interviews, live songs and skateboarding. The band also spent time writing songs for their next album.
On February 21, 2000 their fifth album, Pennybridge Pioneers, was released, featuring the popular singles Penguins And Polarbears, No Cigar (which also featured on the soundtrack to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2) and The Fox. Taken from the English translation of the band's hometown of Örebro (literally meaning "penny bridge"), Pennybridge Pioneers, while still retaining the energy and fervour of punk and ska, also delves into other areas, such as the sensitive acoustic closer The Ballad.
This was followed by the b-sides collection, The Melancholy Collection, on October 31, 2001. Millencolin's latest album, Home From Home was released on March 12, 2002 and features the single Man Or Mouse.
Discography:
Singles/EPs:
Full-Length Albums
Source:
MTV biography - http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/millencolin/bio.jhtml
Rolling Stone biography - http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=2474
The AXiD's Unoffical Millencolin HomePage - http://millencolin.freehosting.net
The Millencolin Bowling Alley - http://www.punkbands.com/millencolin/
1. Thanks to sneff for pointing out that grammatical error. It's a skateboarding trick.