Sweden Rock Festival - Day Two
11 June 2004
Sölvesborg, Sweden
Having enjoyed a dry day we awoke to threatening skies which turned to light rain as we waited for our cab. Johan put his poncho on, so of course the sun came out!
We were running a tad late and unfortunately missed Persuader as a result. Light rain had started so we adjourned to the beer tent for a langos breakfast and beer. This wasn`t sitting well with my stomach and the sounds of Pink Cream 69 on the adjacent stage were certainly not helping matters either.
At odds with the goth metal sounds on the Spendrups stage, the sun made a welcome reappearance for Beseech. This certainly benefited them, as the stream of people coming down from the entrance was like Beseech`s own Souls Highway. Said song appeared second, Erik Molarin sounding somewhere between Pete Steele and Andrew Eldritch, whilst the bass of Daniel Elofsson pounded along.
The angelic Lotta Höglin stepped forward to sing the verses of Between The Lines, with Molarin`s deep tones darkening the chorus. The gothic male/female vocal interplay of Beseech has meant they are often compared to Lacuna Coil and although they occupy a similar genre it`s unfair to claim plagiarism as Beseech have been about since 1992.
Initially Robert Vintervind`s guitar seemed a bit lost occupying the very top end of the mix, but by Higher Level it is hitting home. The onstage mock argument of the lyrics to Bitch brings to mind Lacuna Coil`s Honeymoon Suite and is equally well acted out between Molarin and Höglin.
Abba made what must have been their first appearance at Sweden Rock as Beseech close with a hilarious goth version of Gimme Gimme Gimme and I hadn`t realised how dark the lyrics where before today. Sunshine is probably not the best place to experience Beseech but their gothic overtones worked well to ease us into day two.
Beseech set list:
Manmade Dreams / Souls Highway / Between The Lines / Drama / Higher Level / Bitch / Gimme Gimme Gimme
A sense of déjà vu followed, as I stood watching the tail end of Y&T`s set in the same place, roughly same time and same sunshine as last year. Last year we arrived in time for a very drawn out I Believe In You and consequently didn`t stick around for long. This year however, they`re racing through Hurricane and I made my way a little nearer to check out Dave Meniketti`s considerable soloing skills.
Meniketti has his own band and I`m not sure what the difference is to Y&T as live he is the heart and soul of Y&T, with little on stage movement from the rest of the band. During Black Tiger I finally realise its Sammy Hagar who Meniketti`s vocals remind me of, and just when I`m getting into the set I Believe In You arrives once more.
Firing on all cylinders I can get quite into Y&T, but when those big American power ballads raise their ugly head I`m running for cover. Hence, three of the last four being in that vein had me writing down "yawn".
Y&T set list:
From The Moon (recorded) / Open Fire / Lipstick & Leather / Eyes Of A Stranger / Dirty Girl / Mean Streak / I'll Cry For You / 25 Hours A Day / Wild If I Wanna / I Make Believe / Hurricane / Summertime Girls / Black Tiger / I Believe In You / Rescue Me / From The Moon / Forever
It`s an Opeth thing. You either like them or you don`t, or in some cases of the major metal mags, "pretend" to like them. I still can`t believe they played the main stage of Download the week before, though I don`t expect they were afforded an hour an a quarter set and crystal clear sound as they are today.
From opener Master`s Apprentice to customary closer Demon Of The Fall, Opeth ruled and the only thing I wrote down was "GODS". Mind you I probably didn`t write much as the gods themselves had deemed that rain should start to fall mid way through Opeth`s set, though this neither dampened them nor their gathered faithful.
Time after time I found myself getting lost, in a positive way, during the likes of The Moor and "that riff" towards the end of Deliverance.
Whilst liking recent album Damnation, which departed into more mellow territories, I don`t often listened to it in one sitting, yet the mid set break of the lush Windowpane and To Rid The Disease works a treat.
Mikael ?kerfeldt makes no concession to being a rock star. He loves his music and is just hear to play it. He`s obviously communicating in Swedish, but it`s in the same humble manner every time I have had the pleasure of seeing them. He`s also a thoroughly nice bloke as I discovered when I became "fan boy" on meeting him in the backstage bar. Note - Johan better not snigger at that, you should have seen him when he met In Flames ; - )
Opeth set list:
Master`s Apprentice / The Drapery Falls / The Moor / Windowpane / To Rid The Disease / Deliverance / Demon Of The Fall
The rain for Opeth unfortunately turned to a complete wash out for Carnal Forge. I had been keen to see them, but after one song the deluge was just getting ridiculous and we had to retreat for some cover, though my broking skills failed in attempting to get friend Rich T into the giant orange with the freshly squeezed orange girls!
Thankfully the rain never looked like hanging around and another of those to say you`ve seen them moments arrived. Our timing couldn`t have been better as we arrived to check out Hawkwind just as Dave Wyndorf from Monster Magnet had taken the vocals for The Right Stuff. As they continued without him, although not my cup of tea, they certainly provided a suitable musical backdrop to the changing weather.
By the time Testament took the stage it`s sunshine again. Chuck Billy`s brave battle with cancer has meant it`s now been five years since last album The Gathering, but opener D.N.R. sounds as brutal and fresh as ever. Billy now looks exactly like he did when I first encountered Testament, in fact the first band I ever saw, back in 1987. He cuts an imposing figure walking out and using the extended central section of the stage to full effect whilst mock playing guitar on his mic stand.
Partner in crime Eric Peterson is still here chugging out the riffs to the likes of Practice What You Preach and the surprise, but very welcome inclusion of Sins Of Omission. However, Rockers Digest sends our best wishes to him as apparently he`s currently laid up in hospital with a badly broken leg, sustained at a subsequent gig.
The aforementioned accident means Steve Smyth is returning to lend a hand, but it`s his replacement who`s opening eyes today. Having seen Patrick Lachman with Damageplan and Rob Halford, of course with Judas Priest, in the last few days, it`s time for the third former member of Halford to make an appearance. I certainly think Testament have at last found the most perfect foil for Peterson since Alex Skolnick in Mike Chlasciak. Chlasiak treats the solos with respect yet stamping his own talents on them.
Another welcome surprise is the return of Electric Crown to the set. The Ritual album does sit out as being less weighty than the other Testament albums, however it does contain some quality metal and this song certainly has heads bobbing along.
Having seen that Testament and Exodus had been allocated the same day I had been hoping the obvious would happen and indeed it did. Most of you may know that before Testament there was Legacy and their singer, before departing to Exodus, was Steve "Zetro" Souza. Zetro joins Billy to sing Burnt Offerings and there`s a massive clamour of people with cameras, me included, to catch this unique moment.
With the pit suitably fired up the traditional call for stage divers welcomes Over The Wall. With this expressly forbidden before hand there`s some worried looking security officials, but from what I saw it seems that those surfing were returned to the crowd and not ejected.
With the astounding Steve Di Giorgio on bass and former Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, the current Testament is a veritable who`s who of metal and I can`t wait to see what they conjure up in the studio.
Testament set list:
D.N.R. / Low / Practice What You Preach / Sins Of Omission / The Haunting / True Believer / Three Days Of Darkness / Electric Crown / Burnt Offerings / Alone In The Dark / Into The Pit / Over The Wall / Dog Faced Gods / Disciples Of The Watch
Curiosity got the better of me at this stage and I couldn`t help myself wandering over to see Slade. My timing couldn`t be more perfect as I arrived to see Dave Hill in a Santa hat in the glorious sunshine leading the band through Merry Christmas Everybody - surreal!
Lake Of Tears had a very unfortunate time slot sandwiched between Testament and Monster Magnet and hence save for having time to take a couple of pictures I saw very little of their set.
It would have been easy for Monster Magnet to have followed Helloween`s example and continued to churn out the same set for their whole world tour. That`s just not in their nature however and whether it was inspired by having to follow Hawkwind, Monster Magnet dipped into their more trippy past on a few occasions today.
Dopes To Infinity immediately caught me off guard, but all is well with guitarists Ed Mundell and Phil Caivano stood on the raised platforms either side stage front and Dave Wyndorf on his knees on the extended runaway.
The stage set up is similar to the Shepherds bush gig, with the mentioned platforms and white backdrop with bull god on it. As it`s not dark however we do not benefit from the amazing projection show.
Elephant Bell sees a particularly enthusiastic Wyndorf completely lost in it`s psychedelia whilst demanding the little insects move over. Meanwhile Dinosaur Vacuum turns the superfuzz up to eleven.
There`s plenty for the crowd to sing-a-long to however with Powertrip having us all vowing never to work again and Unbroken (Hotel Baby) greeted like an old favourite. Regrettably though halfway into Monster Magnet`s set it`s time to leave for the Spendrups Stage.
Monster Magnet songs heard (not in correct order):
Dopes To Infinity / Supercruel / On The Verge / Powertrip / Melt / Elephant Bell / Dinosaur Vacuum / Brainstorm / Unbroken (Hotel Baby) / Zodiac Lung
So, what had tempted us away? Well having seen Monster Magnet on numerous occasions I couldn`t miss my first chance to catch German power metallers Brainstorm. As we arrive they are already peeling off the chunky riffs of Shiva`s Tears.
When I refer to them as power metal, it`s important to say that this isn`t the style of Gamma Ray and the like. Brainstorm`s metal is more from the American brand of power metal, Vicious Rumors being the most obvious reference point.
I was quite surprised Brainstorm were playing the smallest stage and this was echoed by the second largest crowd I`d saw gather here this weekend, even though they were up against Monster Magnet. They had however made the stage there own with the addition of a huge Brainstorm back drop and screens in front of their amps in the style of latest album Soul Temptation.
We are lead through the Doorway To Survive from that album. The band have obviously benefited from an extensive tour with Edguy prior to this tour as they are as tight as the proverbial. The absolute star of the show however is vocalist Andy B. Franck who is tireless in encouraging the crowd, running round the stage and indeed the photographer`s pit.
The twin guitar harmonies of Fornever and massive chorus once again bring to mind vintage Vicious Rumors. However standout song and showcase for Francks range is The Leading. I`m not sure if Brainstorm have done a promo for this song but they should as the chorus is simply massive.
One song I have seen a promo for is Highs Without Lows which is an apt description of Brainstorm`s set today. Under Lights finishes an all to brief but triumphant appearance.
We were denied Brainstorm`s appearance in the UK earlier this year when Primal Fear jumped ship to the subsequently cancelled Iced Earth show. Based on this performance today lets forget those two and get these guys over to the UK for a headline show!
Brainstorm set list:
Shiva`s Tears / Blind Suffering / Doorway To Survive / Hollow Hideaway / Fornever / The Leading / Highs Without Lows / Under Lights
Following recent performances of the reunited Exodus I had begun to wonder whether my mind had been playing tricks on me about how good they used to be. Although those recent shows had been enjoyable they had hardly been electric. So having just seen Brainstorm lay waste to the Spendrups stage and with bay area brothers Testament`s performance still fresh in mind I wasn`t really expecting too much.
However, I think I just witnessed the true rebirth of Exodus. Straight away as the precision riffing of Scar Spangled Banner opened the set, it was clear that Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt have not only got their chops back, but are working as a seamless team once more. The wild soloing in this song alone had me stood grinning ear to ear.
The linchpin for the tightness of the performance had to be Tom Hunting`s drumming which is absolutely shit hot tonight. On the Bonded By Metal Tour, I had recalled the drumming being pretty pedestrian, but Hunting is furious tonight racing through the likes of Piranha, which of course "ain`t about no goldfish".
This is no nostalgia show however as the set is peppered with tracks from new album Tempo Of The Damned. Relatively new boy Jack Gibson opens my personal favourite Shroud Of Urine. Maybe joining Chuck Billy on stage earlier had fired him up, but Steve Zetro Souza is positively spitting hate on this song and indeed through the whole performance tonight.
Fabulous Disaster makes it`s welcome presence felt, Hunting effortless drilling out the double bass whilst Holt and Hunolt trade riffs. It`s understandable that Exodus don`t run round quite as much as 15 years ago, but this song seemed to light the fuse and memories of the chaotic Toxic Waltz video spring to mind.
Prior to War Is My Shepherd Zetro points out Freddy and Olav from Grave, friends they had made on the Bonded By Metal Tour and there`s also members of Testament and Hirax hanging out for the show tonight.
Bonded By Blood takes us back to where it all started and also had me going horse from shouting along to the chorus. Yes the Dave & Rich T air guitar team where thrashing in force to this one.
Exodus make full use of their allotted time slot and slip in Strike Of the Beast before a riotous stage invasion for a cover of AC/DC`s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Those who read my Damageplan review will understand that I was half expecting Drowning Pools Mike Luce to wander on stage for this finale!
Exodus set list:
Scar Spangled Banner / Deliver Us To Evil / Blacklist / Pirahna / Till Death Do Us Part / Shroud Of Urine / Fabulous Disaster / And Then There Were None / Culling The Herd / Forward March / Only Death Decides / War Is My Shepherd / Bonded By Blood / Tempo Of The Damned / The Toxic Waltz / Strike Of The Beast / Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
When I first got in to metal I have to confess I never got into the Scorpions and couldn`t understand why they were so big. Maybe that`s because they appeared to be in decline to me at that time, given they were taking a much more commercial route.
However, on being confirmed for Sweden Rock, I dug out World Wide Live and a revelation hit me, the Scorpions used to be pretty good. On top of that, new album Unbreakable is the heaviest thing they`ve done in a long time.
The Scorpions show their faith in their new album by opening with two songs from it with the stomping New Generation leading the charge. Meanwhile, Bad Boys Running Wild and The Zoo finally put a visual along to the live versions from World Wide Live I had been listening to.
To keep an instrumental in your set shows it`s quality and Coast To Coast is a high point of the set and gives Klaus Meine chance to show he can play guitar too. The following Lovedrive comes as a pleasant surprise as it had yet to make it`s presence in the current world tour set list.
Rudolph Schenker, usually with his mouth wide open, is probably the first thing I think of when I think of the Scorpions and he certainly commands presence tonight. From the distance we were at, he appeared to be wearing a semi translucent powder blue shirt and his massive frame was constantly flying across the stage, flying V in hand.
There are a few low points for me though. Through My Eyes sounds like are re-write of No One Like You to these ears and I don`t get the fuss over Remember The Good Times which is pure cheese and called for a trip to the bar.
Back on the positive, Matthias Jabs, in trade mark peaked hat, traded impressive guitar licks with Schenker, exemplified by the squealing guitars of Tease Me Please Me. Blackout further shows their ability to veer into playing different guitar lines whilst remaining as one.
For a band renowned for their ballads, precious few reared their heads tonight in particular and thankfully the dreaded Winds Of Change. Much better anyway is Still Loving You which commences the encore.
I`d seen what I wanted to see now, save for one song, no not Winds Of Change, but of course Rock You Like A Hurricane. Yes Klaus Meine permanently sounds like his nose is blocked but you can`t say his vocal style is not distinctive and it`s great fun to impersonate along to him on this song.
We leave as James Kottak is banging seven shades out of his kit to Hit Between The Eyes from Crazy World. I know a few people I`d spoke to hadn`t bothered to even check out the Scorpions tonight, well that was there loss as although not the best gig I`ve ever seen it certainly was enjoyable.
Scorpions set list:
New Generation / Love Em Or Leave Em / Bad Boys Running Wild / We`ll Burn The Sky / The Zoo / Deep & Dark / Coast To Coast / Lovedrive / Through My Eyes / Remember The Good Times / Tease Me Please Me / Blackout / Blood Too Hot / Big City Nights / Still Loving You / Rock You Like A Hurricane / Hit Between The Eyes / When The Smoke Is Going Down
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