Yes, Darkane is swedish. Helsingborg is a swedish city, located in the southern part of Sweden, and only about 6 kilometers from the danish city Helsingör. The only thing that seperates the two cities is Öresund.
Yup, The Crown is so much better than both Darkane and Soilwork. Their latest album, Deathrace King, is a masterpiece of catchy and melodic death metal with great influences from both thrash metal and punk. Even better is At The Gates (by the way, their singer Tompa Lindberg is now in The Crown). At The Gates last record, Slaughter Of The Soul is easily one of the best death metal albums of all time. The Haunted is better than Darkane and Soilwork, too. Their Grammy award winning The Haunted Made Me Do It is a must-have. Damn, we have many good bands in Sweden! =)