Tobias Sammet is back and this time with his band Edguy. Last year’s performance with his Avantasia was sublime but it’s been a while since the German metalheads played a regular Edguy show. Closing down the Rock Stage on the second day and after Aerosmith must have been a real privilige. Variety is the keyword for an Edguy gig and this time shows no difference. Songs like Vain Glory Opera, Tears Of A Mandrake and Sperheroes are almost obligatory and played with nearly perfection. Only problem is that sometimes Mr Sammet does not shut up. When he touches subjects in German English you can’t help but looking at your watch. Needless to say he remains an excellent frontman and entertainer.

Aerosmith is saying goodbye so the Aerovederci tour is hitting Sweden Rock. The field is packed because everybody wants to see Aerosmith’s last performance in Sweden. After the intro Aerosmith come on like they are still teenagers and Let The Music Do The talking. Young Lust follows and it’s clear the come to rock. This gig is all about saying goodbye so the dish out a greatest hit setlist featuring songs as Dude Looks Like A Lady, Cryin’, Living On The Edge, Love In A Elevator and many more. Highlight of the evening still is the ballad Dream On, a song Tyler wrote when he was only seventeen years old! Is this really farewell? The future will tell!

Steel Panther. It’s unbelievable this band is still around after almost ten years. They started out as parady on glam metal bands from the eighties. Spandex, tattoos, colourful outfits, dirty lyrics and some good music launched their career. If you see the band for the first time it’s a once in a lifetime experience but after a while you’ve seen it all! Songs from their debut album are the ones getting the crowd aroused, what can’t be said about the newer material. To conclude Steel Panther is a lot of fun, tits are swinging from left to ride and it’s a great opportunity to have a beer or two!

Progrockers Fates Warning are one of the better bands in the genre but they don’t seem to achieve the same status like bands as Rush or Dream Theater. Playing on a small stage fits them so well. The music comes to life much more than on a larger stage. Ray Alder is singing his ass off and possesses an amazing vocal range sided by original bass player Joe DiBiase. Playing several songs from different records, it all sounds fantastic and we hope to welcome them again in the near future on a Sweden Rock stage!

Now that Slash is back on tour with that little band called Guns ‘n’ Roses, it’s time again for Myles Kennedy to hit the road again with his other mate Mark Tremonti. As always Alter Bridge performs above the automatic pilot standard and deliver the goods. Songs from every album are performed with great enthusiasm and sound really heavy. If the band carries on like this, a great future is looking straight back at them and they deserve their place at the top. Great gig!

One of the great things about Sweden Rock is the diversity of bands. Ian Hunter and the Rant Band is one of those acts. The former Mott The Hoople frontman truly is a living legend. Altough the man is in his seventies, he doesn’t mind giving it all he’s got. Playing what people expect him to play brings a variety of songs we all know. All The Young Dudes, All The Way From Memphis and Goodnight Irene seem to please everybody including Hunter himself.

Doro Pesch has been around longer than most of us can remember. In the eighties she used to front German band Warlock and Sweden Rock announces her as Doro Pesch’s Warlock. In fact it is Doro’s regular band featuring  Tommy Bolan who played on the Triumph And Agony album. As known in advance they played the entire album but strange enough they didn’t open with All We Are as the record does. Bolan seemed to enjoy himself playing alongside Doro again and played his ass off. Doro, as always, still is an amazing performer. Her backing band is solid and played tight as ever. The set came to an end with All We Are and encores True As Steel and Eartshaker Rock. A real treat follows with the Judas Priest cover Breaking The Law. In the early days Doro was taken on tour several times with the Metal Gods and this is her way of paying tribute.

Jon Schaffer and his Iced Earth are promoting their latest release Incorruptible and are mostly playing festival stages. Only two songs are played from their current album and it must be said that Stu Block is doing a great job behing the microphone. He’s been with the band since 2011 taking the place of one Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens. It’s a kick ass show featuring some great songs from their back catalogue. Schaffer has known ups and downs with his Iced Earth but he seems to be on top at this moment. The one hour set is concluded with Watching Over Me.

Hardline is an American band formed by the Gioeli brothers and Neal Schon, guitarplayer and main songwriter for Journey. Vocalist Johnny Gioeli is the only remaining member of the original line up and even sings parttime with German rocker Axel Rudi Pell. These days he has maestro Alessandro Del Vecchio in the band. Besides being a wonderful keyboard player, he is a fantastic songwriter and producer. Having a new record out they are playing the title track Humane nature and Take Me Home amongst others from that brilliant piece of music. Guitar player Josh Ramos is providing all songs with great and angel like solo’s while Anna Portalupi on bass and drummer Francesco Jovino provide the solid foundation for every track. Special appearence by Gioeili’s daughter for her birthday followed by their greatest hit Hot Cherie. Great gig where everything went as it should go. See ya next time!  

Needless to say that when legend Lemmy from Motörhead died in December 2015, both Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell were out of a job. Dee is currently hitting with the Scorpions since Kottak is fighting his battle with demon alcohol on their ‘final’ world tour. Campbell decided to take his sons Todd on guitar, Dane on drums and Tyler on bass on the road as Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons. The only one not related is young vocalist Neil Starr who’s doing a great job. Of course it’s difficult to sing songs Lemmy did but he did a it without raping those classics. Tracks Big Mouth and Spiders from their first ep sound great but the Motörhead classics like Rock Out, Going To Brazil, Eat The Rich and Killed By Death really put the crowd in motion. Black Sabbath’s Children Of The Grave and a Hawkwind cover are nice surprises but we are looking forward to their first full release. Great way to start the day!