» Sweden Rock Festival 2008

Sweden Rock Festival 2008 - Maximum Festivity

Every time I sit down to write these opening lines, I always start with how the festival keeps getting bigger and bigger, so why make an exception this year? A new record was set with the amount of spectators, as 2008 saw the number settling on 33,200 visitors at Sweden Rock Festival. Once again stating that this has become the biggest festival in Sweden when it for the second consecutive year surpassed the Hultsfred Festival, and this time being the largest festival in Sweden ever.

Someone said that being at Sweden Rock Festival is like being on a soccer game where everybody is cheering on the same team. And that is one great comparison, as Sweden Rock Festival embraces you with a feeling of belonging and companionship. The weather gods as usual showed themselves from their best side, perhaps some might say that they were to kind as the sun was scorching hot most of the time. Well, better a hot summer sun than pouring rain if you ask me, and luckily there has been extremely little of the latter during my seven consecutive years at the festival. As usual they had put together a broad mix of bands, serving practically every taste of hard rock and metal something, even if I personally was not to happy about having Def Leppard and Poison as headliners.

Metal Covenant also broke a new record this year, when six of the members from the staff attended, that is two thirds of the entire staff and practically all of the Swedish ones. Therefore, you can look forward to one of Metal Covenant's most extensive festival coverage so far, so keep on reading to relive those wonderful moments or to find out what you have missed out.

~ Thomas, June 2008

|Wednesday| - |Thursday| - |Friday| - |Saturday|

Reviews by Thomas/David/Niklas/Hawk/Mozzy/Tommy
Photos by David

Wednesday - June 04

Band: Astral Doors
Zeppelin Stage 18:00-19:00

~ By Hawk
Astral Doors might be a great band regarding the four albums they have recorded so far in their career. But to be honest, the two live performances I have experienced with the band before have been quite uninteresting and on the edge to boredom. The gig at Sweden Rock Festival came therefore as a big surprise as they came out as a new and vitalized band with energy and self confidence. The first half of the show was in fact brilliant and looking upon the setlist it seems like they had decided to kick start the show with only their best songs. With tracks like Cloudbreaker, New Revelation, Of The Son And The Father and Bride Of Christ they offered their highlights at once. This, however, had as a result that they couldn't maintain the quality during the entire show and the second half was a bit weaker but never dropped to the level of my previous experiences I earlier mentioned. They are still not the wildest band in the world on stage but hey, let the music do the talking!

7 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Cloudbreaker
Fill Your Head With Rock (Time To Rock)
New Revelation
London Caves
Of The Son And The Father
Bride Of Christ
Freedom War
Quisling
Hungry People
Evil Is Forever
Black Rain

Band: Airbourne
Sweden Stage 19:00-20:00

~ By Mozzy
These Australian newcomers has had to withstand endless comparisons with their famous countrymen AC/DC (and Rose Tattoo, for that matter). Sure enough, they play a similar type of groovy boogie rock and have certainly been inspired by the Young brothers and co.; that cannot be disputed. At the same time, it can be argued that Airbourne beat their older peers when it comes to delivering an energetic live show. From start to finish, this is a high-octane performance; the songs are executed with a highly infectious groove as well as a devastating punch. The Melbourne youthful are simply on fire: front man Joel O´Keefe comes across as a full-blown madman; hazardously climbing the lightning rig and playing a guitar solo 10 feet up in the air, leaping daringly from the drum riser, and screaming his lungs out in rants between songs. Guitarist David Roads and basist Justin Street, meanwhile, are headbanging fervently, almost thrash metal-style throughout the set - an unusual sight for this kind of music. Nearly all songs from the promising debut Runnin´Wild are played, with numbers such as Stand Up For Rock N´Roll and Blackjack offering an irresistible drive and rock n' roll party feel. As I write this, I learn that the band are playing London´s Astoria in October; one can imagine the band's intensity when playing an indoor, smaller gig - count me in!

8 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Band: Sabaton
Sweden Stage 21:00-22:15

~ By Thomas
What an impressive live act Sabaton has become during the years, and they are surely a band acting with great confidence, obvious routine and cockiness yet with a humble attitude. In Joakim Brodén they have a splendid frontman who can make any man follow him in to war and further they are a band that is performing splendidly tight and surely looks like they are having a blast on stage. With these ingredients, it is hard as a spectator to not get captivated. Sabaton is touring with their new album The Art Of War that has received some really positive attention and the chart positions are evidence of that. In the Swedish single chart as well as in the album chart, the album has gained high positions, and it is great to see a metal band gain such success. The new material works excellent and the set opens with two new tracks that set off their performance right away with the up-tempo track Ghost Division and the march stomping title track The Art Of War. Moreover, Gutter Balle…, sorry, Cliffs Of Gallipoli and not least the mighty Panzerkampf stood well in the live set along with their older songs and the band received a massive response from the festival crowd and they appeared to be genuinely overwhelmed at more than one point.

Primo Victoria is a song that will probably haunt Sabaton into eternity, for good and for bad, but nothing bad in sight yet though, not least judging by the even more overwhelming response they got by the time they approached that song. Primo Victoria and Panzer Battalion are obvious highlights, I can never get tired of those songs and with 40-1 from the new album I have a new Sabaton live favourite, that is a future killer as well; truly a great, great song. Sabaton took another victory on the battlefield with this performance and I assume their army of followers grew even stronger after this.

7 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Ghost Division
The Art Of War
Into The Fire
Rise Of Evil
40-1
Panzerkampf
Panzer Battalion
The Prize Of A Mile
A Light In The Black
Primo Victoria
Cliffs Of Gallipoli
Attero Dominatus
Metal Machine/Crüe

Band: Satyricon
Sweden Stage 23:30-02:00

~ By David
Normally, black metal is not my cup of tea. Not at all, actually. But Satyricon, especially their later material, has some rock 'n' roll-oriented songs that more than appeals to me. I refer to hits like Fuel For Hatred, Repined Bastard Nation, Now Diabolical, K.I.N.G. and The Pentagram Burns. Those five pieces, nicely spread out during this one and a half hour, were enough for me to make this one of the most personally appreciated gigs during the festival, with the whole protocol at hand. Satyr and friends also blend their darkness and mysticism with a bit of humour and party, and opposites like that have always worked for me. An extra plus for Satyr's grouse haircut, with a ton of oil in it, making him look like a mafia torpedo or something. Unfortunately, the band's greatest 'hit' Mother North got lost due to the 'Sweden Stage problem', which was a permanent error through the whole festival where the bass drum swallowed all nuances in guitars and song in the mix.

9 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

To the top

Thursday - June 05

Band: Sister Sin
Zeppelin Stage 11:30-12:30

~ By David
Sister Sin won this spot in the Nordic Challenge competition, where fans from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland voted for one unsigned band each to open the four days of Sweden Rock. Sister Sin were well worth the Swedish votes. Last year they toured Sweden with W.A.S.P. and basically kicked the main band's ass. Singer Liv is a charismatic appearance on stage and, unlike many of their great influences in sleaze rock, has a voice that is both strong and steady. Seldom has Live Wire sounded better, for example … She held the crowd in a tight grip during this early hour and underground hits such as Hostile / Violent made it a perfect kickstart of the day.

8 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Band: Black Stone Cherry
Rock Stage 12:00-13:15

~ By Tommy
Usually not my cup of tea, but I was tipped about the band prior to the festival and I liked what I heard for once when it comes to a band of this style, so I decided to check them out. Black Stone Cherry plays something that can be described as a hybrid of stoner, 70's rock and... well, I stink at describing these bands correctly so I'm going to use a phrase coined by the musical oracle Janne Stark: "a nice mixture of Gov't Mule, BLS och Allman Bros". The young guys in the band (everyone between 20 and 23 years old) showed a great joy of playing and the show was intense and enjoyable to watch. Chris Robertson is a great and charismatic vocalist and really lifts the band that extra notch that is needed to stick out. Almost all of their songs have a great groove, nice hooks and this was a perfect way to start the day. Stand out track was Hell & High Water, not surprisingly. Simply good rock delivered in a great way by great musicians. Unfortunately the show ended with a way too long jam (15-20 minutes) which grew tiresome after a while, but according to the band this was due to the fact that they had more time available than they initially thought and decided to fill it with some improvised music instead of just calling it a day. An honorable initiative but the concert ended a bit weird.

7,5 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Rain Wizard
Backwoods Gold
Yeah Man
Rollin' On
Hell & High Water
Soul Creek
Lonely Train
Shooting Star
Blind Man
Maybe Someday
Guitar solo: Ben Wells
Guitar solo: Chris Robertson
Instrumental Jam
Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix)

Band: Pain Of Salvation
Zeppelin Stage 14:00-15:00

~ By Hawk
Last winter I saw Pain Of Salvation live at Musikens Hus in Gothenburg and that was surely a night to remember. The intensity and dedicated performance Daniel Gildenlöw and his partners in crime offered that night was nothing but spectacular. My expectations on this concert on Sweden Rock Festival was therefore huge and I expected nothing less that this was to be the highlight of the festival. However, watching Pain Of Salvation in the middle of the day with the stage bathing in sunlight isn't a perfect match. This together with a slightly disappointing setlist left me with the impression that the usual extra something was missing. Still, since Pain Of Salvation is a fantastic band in all aspects they put on a very enjoyable concert that highlighted in songs like The Perfect Element, Undertow (the band members surprised Daniel by singing the Swedish version of Happy birthday on this one), Ashes and Nightmist. I would have loved the inclusion of Beyond The Pale and a couple of other killers they have in their catalogue but despite that, Pain Of Salvation always leave you in a good mood since they don't know how to fail. Great but not as fantastic as I had hoped for.

7 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Falling
The Perfect Element
America
Diffidentia (Breaching The Core)
Inside
Undertow
Ashes
Nightmist
Disco Queen

Band: Primal Fear
Sweden Stage 15:00-16:15

~ By Tommy
Primal Fear drew a pretty decent crowd in the sunny afternoon, and they usually deliver their classic heavy metal above average. This day it was just average, however. No more, no less. A concert with Primal Fear is a riff fest of big proportions and that is what saved them from a lower grade this time. Despite a seemingly good mood among the members of the band, it felt more or less like another day at the job. Their new swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Allen/Lande, Bob Catley, Starbreaker) did very well and together with Henny Wolter, he really showed us that metal definitely is forever. Sometimes it is just not that overly exciting, just plain enjoyable for the moment.

6 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Sign Of Fear
Silver & Gold
Running In The Dust
Nuclear Fire
Face The Emptiness
Seven Seals
Angel In Black
Guitar-duel: Karlsson/Wolter
Under Your Spell
Demons And Angels
Fighting The Darkness
Final Embrace
Metal Is Forever
Chainbreaker

Friday - June 06

Band: Birth Control
Rock Stage 12:00-13:15

~ By David
Not one of the most visited gigs on the festival, at least not at first, but that is seldom an indication of quality. Birth Control is often labelled as kraut rock, but falls not far from regular 70s hard rock. I will not try to hide that my first encounter with anything related to the band was Gamma Ray's cover of the song Gamma Ray. Of course, time has changed and there are only one original member left in the band, the drummer/singer Bernd Noske, together with some younger fellows. But on the other hand Noske certainly is the centre of the band with this unusual combination of talents. With a singing drummer there are some visual limitations on stage. He just can't run around and play the clown. And the 'new guys' were actually quite stiff on stage. But the music do the talking sometimes, and Birth Control still rocked.

7 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Saturday - June 07

Band: 45 Degree Woman
Zeppelin Stage 11:30-12:30

~ By Niklas
One wonders where all those who voted for 45 Degree Woman in the music contest Nordic Challenge (and thereby made them Finland's contribution to Zeppelin Stage on SRF) were doing this Saturday morning - sleeping in their tents, hiding in the shadows or perhaps stayed at home? In any case, it's a shame that they didn't show up in larger numbers, because this sextet's melancholic industrial metal deserves a bigger audience. 45 Degree Woman seems eager to make a name for themselves by revealing as little as possible about the band and keeping themselves within a mystical aura; all band members have black clothes, vocalist Mikko Viman wears sunglasses and I have no idea what the puzzling band name means (if anyone does, feel free to e-mail me). A more audience-friendly attitude might have attracted more people to the show, and when listening to their uneven repertoire it becomes apparent that their prime time is ahead of them, not in their past. Because you see, the two best tracks I Don't Live Today and Bugs are namely from their upcoming album, which I'm eagerly awaiting.

6 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Related links:
www.45dw.com
www.myspace.com/45dw

Band: Stormwarrior (with Kai Hansen)
Sweden Stage 12:00-13:15

~ By Tommy
Looking at the lineup on beforehand this was the highlight of the festival for me. Despite the worst play time possible (at noon on the last festival day) they drew a decent audience, who filled up as the gig went on, and they lined up a good set of hits (Heading Northe, Signe Of The Warlorde, Thunderer, Iron Prayers, Odinn's Warriors). Lars Ramcke didn't quite hit all high notes and the sound on the Sweden Stage is as usual a bit shaky from time to time, but overall it was a very solid performance. I especially would like to mention the fat and significant bass sound from Yenz Leonhardt. I just love it and it came out great even live. The gig was called "Stormwarrior with Kai Hansen" and I must admit I was initially slightly disappointed when what I had feared actually did happen: after only 6 songs they declared the Stormwarrior set over in order to fill the rest with Helloween classics with grandmaster Hansen behind the microphone. I did not think that the setlist would be interesting enough, and I was of course there to see as much Stormwarrior as possible, but immediatly I was convinced of the opposite.

A Hansen in good mood and vocally in good shape was happy to conduct his heirs during a stellar set of Ride The Sky, Murderer, Judas, Victim Of Fate and Heavy Metal (Is The Law). A great choice of songs, which were delivered flawlessly, and needless to say, the audience loved it. A bit awkward for Stormwarrior perhaps, that a thing like this gets so much of a bigger and louder attention than what their own songs do, but I guess they know what they are doing and are fine with it. The concert ended in a slight anticlimax, however, since they rounded the Helloween block off with I Want Out, which is a song that is good, but I don't see it really fit in this context. After a break and a teaser in form of lowering the backdrop to make it look like they were about to pack up only to raise it again, Stormwarrior played one more song, Into The Battle. Not the song I would have chosen myself since it felt a bit weak and slow after an hour of sparkling intensity. Good on album, but not really as a closer.

7,5 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Band: Gotthard
Festival Stage 13:30-14:45

~ By Mozzy
When the bouncy Lift U Up and the catchy All We Are finish Swiss Gotthard's set, the atmosphere in front of the Festival stage is one of collective joy; people swinging their bodies while sporting fulfilled grins. What we're witnessing this afternoon is a professional performance by an increasingly popular outfit - despite the early time slot, a large crowd have gathered. The band members feed off the response: Guitarist Leo Leoni and the Italian basist filling in for Marc Lynn make good use of the stage, sprinting from flank to flank, seemingly loving every minute.

The undisputed star of the show, though, is Steve Lee. The moustached vocalist possesses a strong, expressive and versatile voice; also with an appealing, rasping touch to it. In addition, he proves that he is a highly competent front man, displaying a natural, laid-back poise which would be worthy of a Coverdale or an Elliot, to refer to household names earlier gracing the same stage. Particularly passionate during the harmonious I Wonder, it is delightful to watch how he connects with the crowd, and the mutual affection that transpires.

Simply put, Gotthard's material oozes class, whether it´s tasteful ballads like Let It Be or bluesy rockers like Mountain Mama, and the choruses are memorable - see Anytime, Anywhere or The Oscar Goes To You. The gentlemen from Switzerland deliver their hard rock with an appealing melodic groove which makes you feel good inside. Suffering from the common phenomenon known as last day festival fatigue, I feel energised after this brilliant display and head for the beer tent.

8,5 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Master Of Illusion
Gone Too Far
Top Of The World
The Call
Hush
I Wonder
Guitar solo
Sister Moon
Anytime Anywhere
Let It Be
Mountain Mama
The Oscar Goes To…
Lift 'U' Up
All We Are

Band: Apocalyptica
Rock Stage 15:00-16:15

~ By Tommy
Several thousand people at a rock concert staring at four finnish guys only hammering on nothing but cellos with no vocals whatsoever. Can that work? Apocalyptica are well known nowadays and have rightfully earned a good reputation among metal and rock fans, of course much due to their incorporation of Metallica and Slayer songs in their repertoar. The sound was good and apart from session cellolist Antero Manninen who always does his best (and succeeds) to impersonate a statue, the other members were going absolutely wild. An incredible energy and action while still playing the hard stuff they flawlessly do - nothing but amazing and admirable. The reception from the crowd was good and the band truly looked happy and overwhelmed. I never saw the smile on Paavo Lötjönen's face disappear for one single second during the gig and that reflected back on at least myself, and judging by many people in the audience, I was not alone.

7 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Band: Blue Öyster Cult
Festival Stage 16:30-18:00

~ By Hawk
Blue Öyster Cult is renowned to be a great live band, a fact that they also proved on this festival. The setlist however left me a bit disappointed since a lot of my personal favourites were missing. The first half of the show also felt like a-day-at-the-job performance without dedication and passion. Maybe they needed some time to warm up since the second half was something completely different. Then Came The Last Days Of May for instance was completely mind blowing and proved what a fantastic band Blue Öyster Cult can be when they are in their prime. Not as good as expected but nevertheless more than worth watching!

6,5 chalices of 10

Setlist:
The Red And The Black
Before The Kiss, A Redcap
Burnin' For You
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
Harvest Moon
ME 262
Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll
Buck's Boogie
Harvester Of Eyes
Black Blade
Then Came The Last Days Of May
Godzilla
(Don't Fear) The Reaper

Band: Hensley/Lawton & Live Fire
Sweden Stage 18:15-19:45

~ By David
I left Ratt after just a few songs to go and see if the grass perhaps was greener on the other side. It was. Finally a positive surprise at this year's Sweden Rock. I didn't have any enormous expectations on this, just to hear some old Uriah Heep classics. Singer John Lawton feels like a parenthesis in the history of the band, but Ken Hensley is the man, behind many of the great old ones. And to that I got to see another old favourite, Eirikur Hauksson, from the legendary (hm… well) Artch. Both singers however did a splendid job and completed each other perfectly. Ken Hensley himself was in a great mood, shifting between his Hammond organ, acoustic and electric guitar and finally singing as well. And classics we got! July Morning, The Wizard, Easy Livin' and Gypsy (which actually is not a credited Hensley song), to name a few. Although Lawtons hockey haircut was the ugliest I've ever seen in the business, the fellows rocked the hell out of most younger bands.

7 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Band: Ratt
Rock Stage 18:15-19:45

~ By Hawk
Let's take a trip down memory lane! Ratt was a musical companion of mine in the eighties and I still return to their records from time to time. When I saw the big crowd that awaited the Ratt show in front of Rock Stage I realised that I wasn't the only one that expected a nostalgic evening deluxe. When the Ratt Pack finally entered the stage they surprised me by playing the entire self titled EP from 1983 in its entirety (with the exception of Back For More that arrived later in the set). Stephen Pearcy isn't maybe the most dynamic singer in the world but the band sounded surprisingly vital and the crowd loved it from the beginning. Even if the start of the show was quite cool the concert really lifted off when they began playing the tracks from Out Of The Cellar and Invasion Of Your Privacy (You're In Love was of course a big highlight). I couldn't stop myself from singing along with almost every song and I loved every minute of it, the flaws regarding the performance was therefore of minor importance. It also was quite evident that the band members were immensely surprised by the great reception they got from the audience. The fantastic setlist made this a splendid evening in the sign of nostalgia!

8 chalices of 10

Setlist:
Tell The World
Sweet Cheater
Walkin' The Dog
U Got It
You Think You're Tough
The Morning After
Back For More
Wanted Man
I'm Insane
Lack Of Communication
Lay It Down
You're In Love
Slip Of The Lip
Dangerous But Worth The Risk
Nobody Rides For Free
Way Cool Jr.
City To City
Lovin' You Is A Dirty Job
Body Talk
Givin' Yourself Away
Round And Round

Band: Triumph
Festival Stage 20:15-21:30

~ By Hawk
This was going to be a big happening. When the original members of Triumph returned to the stage together for the first time in almost 20 years they decided to do it at Sweden Rock Festival. The expectations on this show were huge but a sane question to ask was if their long hiatus had affected them as a live act? Surprisingly not, they started out a bit nervous and the performance wasn't perfect in any way, a fact that was most evident regarding drummer/singer Gil Moore. However, they improved for every song and when it was time for Magic Power I could sense the arrival of goose bumps on my body. The ending three songs were nothing but brilliant but in the end I felt a bit disappointed. The setlist lacked some of my personal favourites and the performance wasn't as passionate and tight as I had expected or hoped for. However, the Rock 'n Roll Machine is alive and with some minor improvements it will be kicking as well.

6 chalices of 10

Setlist:
When The Lights Go Down
Lay It On The Line
Allied Forces
Never Surrender
I Live For The Weekend
Binding Light Show/Moonchild
Rocky Mountain Way
Magic Power
Rock & Roll Machine
Fight The Good Fight

Rock Hard, Ride Free

Once again the reports say that it has been a calm festival without too much of disturbance. Rumours about one lunatic running around with a machete and another one concerning an attempted rape is the most extreme I have heard, as far as I know the later has not been confirmed though, luckily. However, apart from minor events this has been one giant party as usual.

The organisers of the festival cannot be praised enough for their efforts making this an absolutely perfect festival, everything runs so well, and every year enhancements are being made to serve to the comfort of the visitors. And even though there was a massive amount of spectators walking around the festival area everything seems to have clutched as planned, at least that is what you as a visitor experienced.

One downside though, was that the sound at some stages at some times was not as good as we are usually spoiled with, especially the Sweden Stage had to suffer from this. Moreover, an entrance was closed located near the major stage, the Festival Stage, making life, well not miserable, but surely harder, for those who lived at the camping-sites next to where that entrance used to be earlier years.

The cancellation of the performance from Sebastian Bach was of course out of the festival's hands, and sadly it was the first time in many years one of the major acts had to cancel with short notice. A problem with a delayed flight was the cause given for the cancellation, and sadly that was one concert that I had looked forward to quite a bit. Shit happens, no use crying about what I missed when there was so much that I saw that I can be happy about instead.

In conclusion, one thing is for sure - see you all at Sweden Rock Festival 2009!

~ Thomas