Sweden Rock 2003

Sweden Rock Festival
6-8 June 2003
Sölvesborg, Sweden

I`m going to cut to the chase with this one - Forget Download, Sweden Rock Festival (SRF) is accessible and a must for UK rock fans. All you need is a cheap return flight to Copenhagen, book the train direct from the airport to Sölvesborg in Sweden and then jump on the festival bus for a 20 minute ride.

SRF hosted about 50 bands over three days on four stages. On top of that, if you turned up on the Thursday you could catch a couple of extra warm-up bands. Of course with so many bands and stages it`s impossible to see all the bands so what you get is my SRF experience.

Friday 6 June 2003

Friday was official billed as a warm-up day, despite the fact that we`d survived Thursday, being the warm-up to the warm-up day?! Survive being the word after a heavy drinking session with the crew and very cool guys from the Spendrups stage. We were also shooting photos and generally helping out Dragonforce on Friday so we missed quite a few bands.

Only the two smaller stages were used today and the first band I caught on the Sweden Stage was Spearfish. They came across as competent 70s Zeppelin-esque rock, which went down well with me as it should be noted that this was whilst lying back enjoying the sunshine. Later in the set they brought on "special guest" Svenne Hedlund, who I`d never heard of but Johan informed me was a famous 60s singer in Sweden. To be honest this was the least impressive part of their set with some old-school rock`n`roll.

I only managed to catch two songs by German metallers, Squealer. This was enough to be honest being pretty average straight-ahead metal. We had trouble working out whether they were singing in English or German.

Crystal Eyes were next up on the Spendrups stage, being the smallest of the four stages. I`d heard their first two albums and had quite liked their Maiden style metal, but live they were an even better proposition. They were obviously enjoying the occasion and put on a solid display, ending with a cover of Gary Moore`s Out In The Fields.

A mention should go to who ever was sorting Crystal Eyes promotion out as the festival site was covered with adverts for their new album, Vengeance Descending, which may be worth checking out.

Time for the first band I was looking forward to seeing, Finntroll. If you haven`t encountered them before imagine a Finnish band playing "um-pah" folk inspired black metal about trolls, sung in Swedish - the concept sounds terrible but it actually works.

Lacking make-up today, given the mid-afternoon slot in the sunshine, Finntroll whipped up an enthusiastic response. A new song was dedicated to former guitarist and founder member Somnium, who sadly died recently. I`d like to tell you more of what they played, but as they`re in Swedish I don`t know the song titles. However, all the favourites from albums Midnattens Widunder and Jaktens Tid were played in a performance more than lived up to my expectations.

I`m pleased to say we met half the band later in the day and they were all drunk - top effort!

Nostalgia time for me now, having grown up on 80s thrash, I was eagerly anticipating my very first Tankard experience. Tankard lost pace with their German brothers Destruction and Kreator in the UK, partly due to them hardly visiting us and partly due to their non-serious subject matter -though I would argue beer is serious business!

Gerre, on vocals, was on top form, revelling in the warm reception and treating (?) us to a sight of his beer belly on numerous occasions. Top marks go to Andy Gutjahr on guitar who is seriously good and made sure the crunch was there in force. New songs such as Need Money For A Beer and New Liver Please mixed well with old classics such as Alien, Nation Over Nation, Zombie Attack and my personal favourite Chemical Invasion. Gerre told us the show was being recorded and it`s certainly one I`d like the chance to relive on CD.

Dragonforce faced a difficult task. Mere days before the show drummer Didier Almouzni decided to leave the band and rather than cancel Christian Wirtl of Soul Source stepped in to help out. This meant that the first time the rest of the band would actually play with Christian would be the gig with no rehearsal.

Playing a shortened 4½ song set Christian played great under the circumstances, aided by bass player Adrian Lambert nodding prompts, though the lack of rehearsal was apparent. Further conspiring against Dragonforce were technical gremlins, causing problems with the mic and guitars. Despite the problems, Dragonforce`s performance was exceptional. With OTT guitar posturing from Herman Li and Sam Totman and vocalist Z.P. Theart jumping into the photographer`s pit to sing with the crowd, the fans were lapping it up.

The band were obviously surprised by the large crowd, which was evident in keyboard player, Vadim`s, ear to ear grin. This was a triumph out of adversity, though you couldn`t help but wonder what if Didier could have waited a few extra days…

The last band of Friday night for me was Tad Morose. Now I`m a fan of their last two CDs and the more Power Metal sound they`ve adopted so I was looking forward to this, but I hadn`t expected to be so seriously blown away.

With the benefit of playing in the dark with full stage lights, Tad Morose had obviously been planning for this night. The band was extremely tight and in command of the stage. Vocalist Urban Breed showed an impressive range on numbers such as Ethereal Soul and we were also lucky to have a duet with Charles Rytkönen of Lefay. The title tracks of the aforementioned last two albums Undead and Matters Of The Dark were also stand out moments.

I was with a few people who knew little of the band and who said they`d be checking the albums out based on this performance. Set of the day. I spoke to Urban Breed before the show, who told me work was progressing on new material.

Tad Morose Set List:
Servant Of The Bones / I Know Your Name / Another Time Around / Sword Of Retribution / Anubis / Etheral Soul / Order Of The Seven Poles / Undead / No Mercy / Matters Of The Dark (Duet With:Charles Rytkönen, Lefay) / Where The Sun Never Shines / Corporate Masters
Saturday 7 June 2003

It should be noted that, common with most European Festivals, at SRF the last band finishes about 2am, not the paltry 10.30 we suffered at Donington. Hence 12.00 represented an early wake-up call with Angra.

I was expecting a lot from this rare opportunity to see the Brazilians in action, but although they were good they never really ignited. Opening with Nova Era from the latest, and my favourite, Rebirth album, things initially looked good. With a massive Rebirth backdrop they certainly looked the part and I could not complain with the musicianship. I`m sure this was mainly down to the time of day and having not had my breakfast Elk Kebab, but I found my attention wandering.

A number of slower songs such as Heroes of Sand were played and, although initially a novelty, the Brazilian full band drum solo became a bit tiresome. Having said that the likes of Nothing to Say, Acid Rain and obvious set closer Carry On saved the day.

The first band to grace the main Festival stage was Kamelot who certainly benefited from the bigger PA and stage, but commanded it also. Vocalist Roy Kahn certainly breaks the traditional power metal vocalist image, one person remarking that he looked like George Michael in black leather. Unfortunately the mic didn`t work for the whole of the first song, but once working we realised he was as good, if not better than on CD.

Kahn strolled around the stage with an air of cool confidence and his command of the native tongue between songs went down well with the crowd, if not me as I didn`t understand what he was on about. The set weighed heavily on later Kamelot albums and demonstrated the wealth of good material they possess. The likes of Centre of the Universe, Lost & Damned, Forever and Wings of Despair were played with precision and the sound was spot on, particularly Thomas Youngblood`s guitar work.

During two songs a female vocalist joined the band in costume to match the song. Hence, for Nights of Arabia, a belly dancers outfit and these appearances were reminiscent of Queensryche`s use of a female singer when touring Mindcrime. Wrapping things up with a storming rendition of Farewell, Kamelot left a lot of satisfied old and new fans.

Since recognising their Stratovarius Jr tag, Sonata Arctica seem to have stepped out from the aforementioned bands shadow and are making headway as demonstrated by the large crowd that had gathered at the Sweden Stage. With Jens Johansson of Stratovarius handling keyboards on their new album, it was a brave man to take on this responsibility live. So it was some surprise to see new keyboard player Henrik Klingenberg, first man on stage, wearing a sarong, large hat the type of which you can only buy at festivals and playing a keyboard on a strap, guitar style. However, once you got your head around that surprise you realised Henrik knew his instrument.

Opening with my three favourite tracks Abandoned…, Broken and Kingdom For A Heart I was concerned they may have shot their load, so to speak, but for me it proved Sonata Arctica have an added bite live with the excellent guitar work of Jani Liimatainen pushed to the fore.

Bands at SRF benefit from generous set times and in Sonata`s case that meant 1¼ hours. Having gone straight from Angra to Kamelot to Sonata Arctica with no break, I was in need of refreshment and had to head over for some food and beer mid-set. Just by chance my chosen stall was by the Rock Stage, where Budgie were playing and I happened to catch Crash Course In Brain Surgery, later of course made (more) famous by Metallica. From what I saw they seemed to be going down well, but at the end of that song with beer in hand I headed back to catch Sonata Arctica play Black Sheep and Wolf & Raven.

At this point I had planned to see Pagan`s Mind, but was in need of a break. Back at the tent I could hear them playing Through Osiris` Eyes, note for note the same as the album. By the time I wandered back into the arena they were finishing up and a friend commented that they were flawless except for sounding a little too much like Dream Theater for comfort.

We then had our first rain shower of the weekend. I had a bit of a gap in my chosen schedule but before seeking shelter I decided to watch a couple of songs by Jethro Tull to say I`d seen them …which I just have. Likewise, following the rain, Krokus, who I thought were actually covering AC/DC, so close their songs resemble Australia`s finest export.

I`d had to sell my tickets to see Queensrÿche in London due to flying out to SRF, so it was with great relief they were confirmed for the festival. The rain had now cleared and with early evening upon us the mood was perfect. I think they opened with a new song, but Screaming in Digital and NM156 came early in the set.

It was apparent the Festival stage was the stage to play, the sound being perfect once more. Geoff Tate, now bereft of hair was in fine voice and the rest of the band as solid as ever with the rumoured appearance by Chris DeGarmo not missed. Queensrÿche mixed things up with songs across their career including excellent versions of Damaged, Empire, Right Side of My Mind and Jet City Woman.

A large selection of Mindcrime was played towards the end of the set, interestingly, choosing often less heard songs such as Needle Lies, Speak, Spreading the Disease and Mission. Revolution Calling and the closing Eyes of A Stranger proved trump cards and Queensrÿche took Saturdays honours and also inspired me to the t-shirt stand for my first purchase.

We caught the start of Motörhead`s set, opening with We Are Motörhead and playing a rendition of the Sex Pistols` God Save the Queen. Motörhead is Motörhead, you know what to expect and if you like that you`ll enjoy it. By this point however, beer seemed a more pressing requirement to us.

Motörhead, however, do have an album title which concisely describes my state when Whitesnake started their headline set - hammered! For me that was the best way to enjoy them and curiously I seemed to know all the words, or at least I thought I did.

Bad Boys opened the set and it was apparent Whitesnake had their arena rock had honed down to a precise performance. Coverdale looked just like he did in 1987, only with more wrinkles and he has assembled a solid line-up of capable musicians for this latest line-up. Each song introduced with the customary "Ere`s one for ya", Whitesnake were armed with a set full of bona fide classic rock tunes such as Slow and Easy, Slide It In, Love Ain`t No Stranger and Here I Go Again.

My only criticism was so slick was the performance it seemed to leave the band a little detached from the audience. However, that aside, this was a perfect way to finish the day and Still of the Night was a perfect finale.

Sunday 8 June 2003

So to the last day and what we didn`t need at 12.00 was stretched out songs with broken down sing-a-long mid-sections, but that`s what we got from Masterplan.

Masterplan's debut album is excellent and sticks to business by melting one song into the next. I was hoping for an equally direct set, but given a 1¼ hour slot, Masterplan instead chose to spread out what they had throwing in a couple of Helloween numbers too. With only one guitar in the live setting the sound was very thin compared to the CD and I must mention that bass guitars in the shape of a fish are neither funny nor cool. Biggest disappointment of the weekend.

I must also share with you a comical moment as it was at this point my resolve cracked and I had to venture into a porta-loo. Now going in there was bad enough but trapped in there having to listen to a woah-oh-oh-sing-along outside was too much to bare!

A gap in my schedule allowed for a trip down to the beach, yes, the beach, and only 15mins walk from the site. It has to be said that SRF has picked a beautiful location and the sight of a few hundred metal-heads, mainly in black lounging on the beach was very odd indeed.

We returned in time to catch Sepultura, having chosen to miss them at Download in favour of Marilyn Manson, given we would see them here. Sepultura put on a good workman like performance. New songs such as Come Back Alive fitted in well with the post Roots material, but the crowd were craving old stuff and it doesn`t come older than a cover of Hellhammer`s Messiah which was the highlight for me.

Derek Green has come on leaps and bounds as a frontman and spent much of the set on the portion of the stage jutting out into the crowd trying to whip up a pit. Refuse/Resist, Territory and Inner Self were the obvious highlights.

Over on the Spendrups stage, French symphonic metallers Fairyland were running through tracks from their Of Wars In Oshyria album. I don`t mind this album, which I find very much in the Rhapsody vein, but I find it washes over me. However, live they seem to have more hooks. Elisa, ex of Spain`s Dark Moor, informed us she was the only female on the bill this year and where were all the girl rockers?

The Spendrups Stage is conveniently located at the bottom of the hill from the metal market and I decided to have a wander round whilst being able to listen to Fairyland. The metal market at SRF is incomparable to that at Download stocking things you might actually want to buy like cheap CDs and t-shirts, now there`s a though at a metal fest - duh! I decided to seek out Nasty Savage`s Penetration Point that I`d been searching hard for in the UK to discover every single stall had it at SRF. Metal note - take more cash next year for shopping.

Before heading back to the tent to get some warmer clothing for the evening we decided to check out a song or two by Y&T. They seemed to be popular with the crowd but we timed our visit in the middle of a drawn out ballad and decided that was enough.

Returning to the site, a sizeable crowd had gathered in anticipation of Blind Guardian`s appearance. This is quite perplexing for most from the UK as they are a pretty unknown quantity there and the fact they are due to headline both nights of their own festival causes further scratching of British heads. However, I was well versed in their back catalogue and was looking forward to this rare opportunity.

Blind Guardian were playing the Festival Stage and on reflection every band I saw on that stage hadn`t quite hit the mark for me. The same was true of Blind Guardian, opening with Time Stands Still, it was apparent that this was a low-key performance, with minimal backdrop and seemed like maybe a warm-up to their own festival.

The bombastic choral backing vocals are replaced live by band and crowd singing almost football chant style (out of tune) but once you get your head round this it`s actually quite fun joining in. Dipping into the past, Valhalla received a rousing reception and the set peaked with I`m Alive.

We read a scathing review of this performance in a local Swedish paper afterwards describing singer Hansi Kürsch as looking like a fan who`d wondered onto the stage and on reflection that`s not unfair apart from his undeniable vocal abilities. Personally I would have preferred two or three other songs in place of the epic And Then There Was Silence but crowd favourite Mirror Mirror closed the set in style.

I have to admit I don`t get Falconer and having now seen them live I`m even more confused. New singer Kristoffer Göbel looked like Neil from the Young Ones, sporting a loose all white outfit and sandals, very odd. Elsewhere, their bass player looks like he should be in Backyard Babies. Musically I still didn`t get it so time to move on.

Time for another "just to say you saw them experience", this time with Yes. I think we lasted half a song, though bare in mind that was about 15mins. Heading to the other end of the spectrum we caught part of Mork Grynning`s set. I`ve always found Black Metal doesn`t work so well at outdoor festivals, the dynamics of the music needing the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small club. This was the case once more and my attention drifted towards another beer.

The festival was drawing to a close and it was time for a double-header finale. I`d already been blown away by Anthrax back in March in the UK and have the pleasure to be seeing them again in July. Anthrax are currently on fire live and it was no different at Sweden Rock.

Anthrax have a wealth of classic material which must cause difficulty picking the set, particularly when you have such a good new album as We`ve Come From You All to also select from. Kicking off with a swift one-two of What Doesn`t Die and the crushing Black Dahlia, Anthrax then pleased those unfamiliar with the new stuff with Got The Time. Wearing matching Anthrax pentagram shirts with names and numbers on the back, this line-up come across as the most united Anthrax has ever had. Scott Ian is not quite as animated as his younger days, though he was clearly loving every minute.

Frank Bello is the cheerleader of the band, encouraging the crowd to sing, clap or mosh along. Charlie Benante shows he`s not slowing up with awesome kit work on Nobody Knows Anything. Rob Caggiano just gets on with the business of being lead guitarist, but as oppose to his predecessors, he feels very much part of the band. Finally, John Bush, now with shaved head, is the best frontman Anthrax has ever had period.

As in London, it`s the crowd`s choice what finishes the set and Charlie`s drum intro to Indians and Scott`s guitar intro to I Am The Law present the choice. In a complete turnaround to London, Indians wins hands-down and closes Anthrax`s first visit to Sweden in 7 years.

Anthrax Set List:
Intro - Contact / What Doesn`t Die / Black Dahlia / Got the Time / Caught In A Mosh / Safe Home / Inside Out / Fueled / Antisocial / Madhouse / Black Lodge / Nobody Knows Anything / N.F.L. / Only / Metal Thrashing Mad / Bring the Noise / Indians

So to the grand finale and what a finale, Twisted Sister`s first "official" reunion show and with full costumes and make-up. The light`s go down and shadowy figures appear on stage. Then the intro to What You Don`t Know (Sure Can Hurt You) kicks in. The spotlight`s on Dee who looks no different to back in the day whilst the rest of the band remain with backs to the audience. Then as the song kicks in, they all turn around and explosions go off. Now many reunions where band members have to adopt wearing wigs can often look stupid, but this is Twisted Sister and the odd wig adds to the image to be honest.

Mark "Animal" Mendoza is the only member not donning the make-up, looking a bit like the biker from Village People, he beats away on his bass with his fist. Eddie Ojeda is the most reserved, if it`s possible to be reserved in drag. Jay Jay French rivals Dee for presence and even takes over lead vocals for a verse.

By this point the heavens have opened but the crowd don`t care. Dee`s gets the crowd to shout "f**k mother-nature!" Then tells her You Can`t Stop Rock n` Roll. It`s easy to forget how many anthems Twisted Sister have, but it`s easy to remember all the words and the crowd do. We`re Not Gonna Take It appears half way through the set causing one of the biggest sing-a-long's of the festival and The Price sees hundreds of lighters fighting to stay alight in the rain.

AJ gets a drum solo in which his drums levitate skywards before the band race through the classic I Wanna Rock with the TS logo in flames behind them. If there`s one criticism it`s that Dee SMF`s seemed much tighter when I saw them, but given this is a reunion with a few members being musically inactive for a number of years this is to be expected. The rain was still falling but the crowd weren`t leaving and coaxed Twisted Sister to Come Out And Play again, finally wrapping things up with SMF. The band left to fireworks being launched over the site.

Twisted Sister Set List:
Intro - AC/DC Long Way To The Top / What You Don't Know / Like A Knife In The Back / Stay Hungry / Destroyer / Be Chrool To Your Scuel / Under The Blade / You Cant Stop Rock n' Roll / I Am (I'm Me) / The Fire Still Burns / Ride To Live, Live To Ride / Shoot 'em Down / We're Not Gonna Take It / The Price / I Believe In Rock n'Roll / Burn In Hell / AJ's Drumsolo / I Wanna Rock / Come Out And Play / S.M.F

Concluding, this was a great festival, probably the best I`ve been to. The fact that it`s limited to 17,000 people keeps it more intimate and the varied selection of bands eliminates the monotony of some festivals. Next years festival is 10-12 June 2004, with tickets on sale 1 December 2003.