The first ever Sweden Rock Festival was held back in 1992 and was a one day happening. The year 2025 sees the 32nd edition of one of the leading festivals in Europe and probably worldwide.
This year’s edition features headliners Korn, Slipknot, Scorpions and Sabaton alongside other great bands like Adrian Vandenberg and his Whitesnake years, Within Temptation, Apocalyptica, The Warning, Black Country Communion, Turbonegro, Blind Guardian, Soen, DAD, Skillet, Dream Theater, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Jinjer, Samantha Fish, Hardline, Pretty Maids, King Diamond, Kreator, Myles Kennedy, The Night Flight Orchestra…to name but a few.
LA Guns and Stryper were to perform as well but they cancelled.
The festival has an excellent reputation mixing different genres of rock, metal and blues while creating a great and positive atmosphere including excellent food for festival standards and rather clean toilet facilities. There are no reports on major problems and a lack of agression seems to be the key for a smooth running four days of music.
Swedish rockers from The Night Flight Orchestra are to open the Sweden stage on the first day of the festival. The band was formed back in 2007 while Björn ‘Speed’ Strid and David Andersson were on tour with their band Soilwork. Andersson sadly passed away back in 2022. The music of The Night Flight Orchestra can be classified as classic rock or AOR because they seem to like and emulate music from the seventies and eighties. The powerful vocals of the impressive Strid are the guideline for the music this well oiled machine is pouring out. The choir ladies add an extra few layers to this classic music and the sound of their voices in harmony is really impressive. Performing a great selection of songs from nearly every album and with the latest release spanning the crown with four tracks evens out in a ultra balanced rock show. Just a bit of a shame not a single tune from Skyline Whispers made it onto the setlist.
San Antonio Texas rock band have been around since 2003 but have always struggled to maintain a consistent line up or attract record label interest and now Nothing More is playing the Sweden Rock Festival. Hard work and true belief in oneself always pays!
They get to open the festival stage on this first day and that really means something. They had some trouble getting here but lead singer Jonny Hawkins, who used to be the drummer for the band by the way, screamed they are excited to be here. They are promoting their 2024 release Carnal and logically they are performing six tracks from that album. Nothing More deliver a very dynamic and explosive set while showcasing great confidence. If one should grade their passage at Sweden Rock it would have been an A+!
The old farts from Danish rockers Pretty Maids have been at the festival a few times before. They are here to do what they always do and always have done and that’s to rock their and your asses off and this is just what they did at this year’s passage. They still sound so impressive live after years of recording and touring. Ronnie Atkins still sings with the conviction of a teenager considering what he has been and still is going through. After somewhat sixteen studio recordings it must be so diffuclt to compose a setlist where everybody in the band feels comfortable with but they succeed. Showcasing one or two songs from their releases Pandemonioum, Future World, Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing, Kingmaker, Motherland, Undress Your Madness and their very first release Red Hot And Heavy only proves they have a solid career in serving classic eighties hardrock with a modern feel to it and accordingly still matter in this business called music industry. A must see for many aging rockers and young addicts!
Next up is Jinjer, Ukrainian kings and queen of what is called harcore industrial metal. These last few years their star has risen and it’s already their second passage at the Sweden Rock Festival. This time around they are playing the festival stage and that truly is an upgrade. Today they are performing a nice selection of tracks from their back catalogue with the emphasis on their latest release Duel. Main attraction is Tetjana ‘Tati’ Sjmajljoek who is still showcasing a extreme versatile singing style ranging from brutal to clean and from grunt to deep. The band is itself is just on top of their game. It is such an accomplishment to perform these quite complex musical pieces live but they are doing a superb job and there’s not a single note that doesn’t belong. Jinjer may be up for a spot as headliner within the next ten years or so if they keep up the live quality they deliver at this time.
American band Skillet from Memphis is having their second run at the Sweden Rock Festival. Their first passage dates back to 2014. The band is known to play a mix of alternitive, industrial, christian and plain hard rock. The christian identity comes forward in the lyrics of these tracks. They display extremely catchy choruses and huge sounding riffs which is of course the ideal recipe for an outdoor festival like SRF. Skillet comes across as a group of musicians still enjoying what they do with a natural energy that gets the crowd going and singing along. Mostly playing tracks from their recording time after the year 2000 the album Awake is represented with three tunes which are the highlights of their set today. Still very much alive after almost thirty years they still deliver the goods. Welcome back and hope to see you again in the future!
If you have seen Within Temptation live before you know they kick ass. They have been to the Sweden Rock Festival a few times before and always deliver a great show musically as well as visually. The Dutch symphonic metal band are considered as Holland’s most successful export product so to speak. Within Temptation is fronted by Sharon den Adel who very much possesses an angelic voice and was the co founder of the band back in 1996. Being awarded with numerous prizes and owning several gold and platinum records all musicians have both feet on the ground and connect on a personal level with bands and press. Today’s performance has the focus on their 2023 release Bleed Out with four powerful tracks. Like many other bands having a thirty year career it’s hard to compose the ultimate setlist but Within Temptation tries to give you the best of both worlds with selectively choosing an exciting mix from several era’s they have gone through. A perfect show for your eyes and ears!
Myles Kennedy is well known as the frontman for Alter Bridge and his collaboration with Slash from Guns N’ Roses in the band Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. Those two bands take much of his time but the American singer still manages to release solo albums. His last effort The Art Of Letting Go was thrown into this world at the end of 2024 and tonight’s performance is all about that album. Behind The Veil, Miss You When You’re Gone, Mr Downside, Nothing More To Gain, Say What You Will and the title track The Art Of Letting Go are too beautiful to be true and are proof Myles Kennedy can stand on his own two feet as songwriting is concerned. Music totally different than Alter Bridge or his singing for Slash. Despite the heavy rain during his set Kennedy showscases a strong presence accompanied by a strong melodic voice and impressive guitar playing. Together with Zia Uddin on drums and Tim Tournier on bass this power trio produces a large sound in quite an intimate setting. Well done!
American nu metal band Slipknot is playing the Sweden Rock Festival for the very first time and they are closing down the first festival day with a headline spot on the festival stage. What can be said is that the band from Des Moines Iowa deliver a highly energetic and very powerful set but the crowd is divided in two. True Slipknot addicts adore the band and are so caught up in the music while mainly the older rocking headbangers (read above 55 years of age) think Slipknot doesn’t deserve a headlining position. In some respect we have to admit that headlining bands have changed over the past few years and the true headliners from the eighties and nineties are slowly fading away. Nevertheless their strong and agressive performance with lots of classics from their back catalogue results in a truly packed crowd in front of the stage. To conclude Slipknot made a historic debut with a high energy performance of classic and newer material and with an attempt of making tracks accessible to a broader audience.
PICTURES JOSEFIN LARSSON SWEDEN ROCK PRESS TEAM PICTURES JOSEFIN LARSSON SWEDEN ROCK PRESS TEAM
Kim Bendix Petersen better known as King Diamond is a Danish vocalist fronting Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. He is well known for his countertenor voice and falsetto screams. Besides writing lyrics for both bands he also plays keyboards and guitar but only in the studio because live he wants to focus on his vocal performance. Tonight’s headline spot at the Rock Stage is in one word sublime. Mesmerizing their audience with his fantastic vocal range, excellent visuals and a tight playing band creates a unique feel to the performance and that while rain is pouring down from the Swedish skies. The performance at the Sweden Rock Festival marked the beginning of the 2025 European tour and it must be said the kick off set a very high standard for the upcoming shows and their are plans to release new music!
Adrian Vandenberg or Adje for short is on tour with his band Vandenberg performing My Whitesnake Years meaning all Whitesnake songs from the period he played live with the popular eighties rock band. Adrian had quite a successful career starting back in 1981 with Vandenberg and releasing three albums which resulted in touring with Kiss and Ozzy Osbourne. Eventually David Coverdale convinced him to join Whitesnake in 1986 after his own band disbanded and stayed with DC for a decade. Then due to personal reasons Adje stepped back from the music business and concentrated on his art but formed Vandenberg’s Moonkings when the music bug started to itch again. This band ended in 2019 and from 2020 he started to use the Vandenberg name again and recorded an album with the great Romero. In 2021 Mats Leven joined and has been performing vocal duties until this day.
Today’s set consist of only Whitesnake hits performed at the highest level. Perhaps these songs sound even better than the original Whitesnake and this could be the understatement of the last decade. The guys on stage are enjoying themselves and are playing music on a very high level. Sailing Ships really stands out and here you can observe what a great singer Mats Leven really is. All other Whitesnake greats are proof that these tracks stand the test of time due to the excellent musicians playing these tunes with heart, soul outstanding musicianship and lots of fun onstage!
Dark Tranquility is considered one of the pioneers Gothenburg metal scene with their melodic death metal alongside other bands like In Flames or At The Gate. They have been around since 1989 and still stand their ground in the genre. Today they fill an afternoon spot and not everyone is quite ready for this brutal sounding music. There wasn’t a large crowd present. Performing twelve tunes from seven different studio albums is a nice way to present your history but also nothing more. Only true band fans have enjoyed this dry performance without any visual effects or stage props.
Doro the queen of German metal is back at the Sweden Rock festival again. This will be the fourth time she and her band played the festival if you don’t count the performance as Doro Pesch’s Warlock back in 2017. What can one say about a Doro gig? She has an ubrideled enthusiasm, a reasonable sounding voice, a great energy considering her age and a genuine connection with her fans but that’s about it. The big question is if she still is relevant in 2025. Sure there’s a mix between own songs and Warlock covers, the band she fronted in the eighties and a tribute to the great Judas Priest but it just feels like watching the same show with every passing through. Many true Doro fans praised the performance and got goosebumps with every single song. It is what it is!
The Warning is three sisters from Mexico. Dniela (playing guitar an piano and is singing lead), Paulina (hitting the drums, playing piano and singing lead as well) and Alejandra (slapping the bass, also playing piano and doing some backing vocals) formed the band back in 2013 at a very young age. It is the band’s very first performance in Sweden and they get to do their thing at the Sweden Rock Festival. What a great opportunity to show what they are worth. With only a simple backdrop the three sisters let the music do the talking…and the music speaks very loud! Really impressive the sound these three sisters produce. Each track is brought with a lot of confidence, powerful songs and an energetic dunamic sound. Only downside to their performance is the lack of guitar solos in this splendid performance but they gather a big crowd and that speaks for itself! Welcome back anytime!
Samantha Fish from Kansas City Missouri is often regarded as a modern blues guitar player and singer songwriter but the truth is her work features tastes of many other genres like rock, country, funk, bluegrass and even balads to create her own sound. It is also great she got a spot on the festival amongst all the heavy stuff floating around. Onstage it is obvious she’s been around for many years. Her presence and musicianship are stunning while being in complete control. She is playing her tunes with fierce on a high energy level filled with raw power and outstanding singing…and so does the band. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she was asked back again by the festival next year orsome near future. Highlight is Bulletproof from Kill Or Be Kind release!
Everything is possible at the Sweden Rock Festival. What about some true English punk rock? What about the godfathers of punk? Here are the Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter. Sure it’s not the original Sex Pistols but the music the band produced is simply legendary and a very important part of music history. Johnny Rotten or now John Lydon isn’t there and Sid Vicious died in 1979 so what can one expect from a Pistols performance these days? A large crowd gathered some time before they were going onstage at a festival not known for givng punk bands a stage. There were no real expectations just curiosity and curiosity was rewarded. From the very first second you could feel the punk vibe touching your heart. From Holiday In The Sun, Seventeen, New York and many others to the finale with EMI, My Way and Anarchy In The UK…everything fell into place. The Sex Pistols are the true heart of punk rock music and belong on the Sweden Rock stage…there is not a single doubt! An excellent performance with a superb Frank Carter who almost made you forget he wasn’t the original singer!
German gathering of rockers Kreator are playing that typical German trashmetal which is far more agressive and faster than those Bay Area trash bands. Kreator’s performance on this year’s Sweden Rock Festival can be categorised as a highlight. The sound was truly exceptional, a powerful stage presence as always and a fantastic stage design involving lots of pyro and demons. Songwise they are blending old and new where Hate Uber Alles and Phantom Antichrist blend in perfectly with tracks like Enemy Of God, Betrayer and Phobia. Performing fourteen tunes from eleven different studio albums is a real treat and the crowd is taking it all in while headbanging away. This is the kind of trash a festival needs to have a perfect highlight everyone talks about.
Second headliner at this year’s festival is the mighty Korn. They have worked their way up for the last two decades to become a valid top of the bill. Well that’s just a matter of opnion. Some believe that the bands from the eighties like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Journey, Aerosmith and many others are the ones to close a festival day. Anyway Korn delivers a great show both visually as well as what the music concerns. Their performance can be described as extremely powerful with a great connection to the fans. The nu metal they produce filled with extreme drumming and some unreal bass lines combined with the screaming vocals from Jonathan Davis sets the field on fire. Performing nineteen songs from eight releases is like a perfect overview of their career with the emphasis on their first, third and fourth record good for over half of the setlist. Korn is in 2022 still significant in the world of metal!
Closing down the Rock Stage at the end of the second day is Dream Theater, one of the leading bands in the progmetal genre. Tonight’s performance is somewhat special because original drummer Mike Portnoy is back. What is there to say about a DT performance. All musicians control their instruments to an extremely high level and a show is almost never disappointing if you are a Dream Theater adept. If you are not a hardcore fan the music is sometimes quite hard to follow. Strangely enough the focus tonight is not on their latest release Parasomnia. Only the opening track Night Terror is from that album just to show they have recorded new music with drumwizard extraordinaire Portnoy. The rest is a selection of brilliant music they recorded over their entire career. Tracks like Panic Attack, The Enemy Inside, Midnight Messiah, Peruvian Skies, As I Am and Pull Me Under are showcased to perfection. Even Mr James Labrie is singing very well which is not always the case…a night to remember!
Kee Marcello is best known for his collaboration with Swedish hardrock superstars Europe, this other band called Easy Action, Kee Of Hearts and his own four solo releases. This time around he is announced as Kee Marcello performs Europe because he actually recorded both Out Of This World from 1988 and Prisoners In Paradise released in 1991 with the band. Marcello recruited The Poodles vocalist Jacob Samuel for the job alongside bass slammer Ken Sandin from Sonic Desolution. It must be said that Marcello Samuel thing is the ultimate combination. The Poodles frontman lifts these tracks up to an unknown level and forces Marcello to up his game and that’s just what he does. Marcello plays with brilliance and performs these classic Europe songs maybe even better than the original band now. It’s just invigorating to hear More Than Meets The Eye, Sign Of The Times, Girl From Lebanon, Seventh Sign, Prisoners In Paradise, Superstitious and a few more in a different but most enjoyable version. This project is not just some tribute to Sweden’s most important export product next to Abba.
Another Swedish revelation is hard rock band Crazy Lixx. Well they are not exactly new because they started out in Malmö back in 2002 influenced by classic bands like Aerosmith, Kiss, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Alice cooper and what have you. Only original member remaining is singer Danny Rexon who is also co founder. The eighties inspired melodic hardrock from Crazy Lixx is well received by the crowd at Sweden Rock. They might look like the eigties bands but they don’t sound like them. These Crazy Lixx actually deliver a ultra modern eighties sound with a high energy level stage presence and melodically agressive guitar parts and solos. Presenting a very nice blend of older and newer tracks with the emphasis on their latest one called Thrill Of The Bite. They establish their place in the Swedisch metal scene thanks to their live capability and their commitment to the melodic rock genre altough breaking through worldwide isn’t very likely…but would be deserved. Fan favourites are Little Miss Dangerous and Who Said Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Dead.
If Johnny Gioeli is on a stage somewhere with either Axel Rudi Pell or Hardline it’s always a must see. Hardline has been to the Sweden Rock Festival a few times and always stands for an electrifying performance and today is no exception. Formed back in the early nineties their debut Double Eclipse with Neal Schon of Journey taking care of guitar duties was very well received worldwide. Schon is no longer there but the Hardline is still going strong. In this line up Gioeli is accompanied by guitar slinger Luca Princiotto who did service with Blaze Bayley and Doro and the famous Italian Alessandro Del Vecchio who is involved in almost every album released by Frontiers. Hardline put out seven albums and today’s set sees five songs of Double Eclipse passing by. With the addition of one track of Heart Mind and Soul and Danger Zone each, a Danny Spanos cover called Hot Cherie with a little bit of In The Air Tonight and a sublime mix of Who Wants To Live Forever – In This Moment – Take You Home you have all ingredients possible to call this show the highlight of the festival.
Cello metal from Finland that is just what Apocalyptica is about. They started out playing Metallica covers for the fun of it but in 1996 they released their very first album called Plays Metallica By Four Cellos. Releasing the second one Inquisition Symphony with covers from Sepultura, Slayer, Pantera and Faith No More got them the worldwide attention they probably deserve. Later on they threw their own compositions into the metal landscape but it is still the covers that do the job in a live setting. Today’s set consists only of Metallica covers and that is really what every audience wants from Apocalyptica because they arrange those classics very well. On the other hand it’s a shame because their own stuff testifies they can write some decent pieces of music. As the excecution is concerned all is played with perfection and you get to hear a different Metallica than one is used to!
Norway’s own David Coverdale holding the name Jorn Lande is back at the Sweden Rock Festival. Singing with so many bands like Vagabond, The Snakes, Mundanus Imperium, Ark, Millenium, Beyond Twilight, Masterplan and collaborations with Russell Allen and Trond Holter he still decides to perform five covers in a ten song setlist but that is the only downside to his performance. He has been here a few times before but on a worldwide level he doesn’t tour that much. Anyway he seems quite happy to perform for this Sweden Rock crowd today. Starting of with a medley gets the crowd going immediately and his own Life On Death Row. What follows is the perfect excecution of Christopher Cross, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and Ghost tunes as if he has written these tracks himself. A thrilling and high energy performance with brilliant guitar work from Adrian Sunde Bjerketvedt! The big Norwegian left his audience with a satisfied feeling!
Yes yes yes DAD is back again! The band is well known to turn their gigs into a danceble rock and roll party and that’s just what they did today. A bufallo skull is covering almost the entire stage and it’s going up and down several times during their set with the drumkit rising up from the center. Just fabulous! With so many songs to choose from they stick to five songs from their third release No Fuel Left For The Pelgrims with Sleeping My Day Away as the first highlight, three from Riskin’ It All with Laugh ‘N’ 1/2 as the second highlight, another three from their 2024 release, two from Everything Glows with the title track being one of them and one tune from their very first album. Another electrifying performance from an electrifying band. Musically and visually there is so much to take in but one always leaves a DAD gig with the upmost satisfaction and fulfillment. Simply great rock and roll times!
Running Wild dates back to 1976 and are part of Germany’s big four alongside Grave Digger, Helloween and Rage. Up to this day they released about seventeen albums and are highly appreciated in the power speed metal genre.
From 1987 on they were often labeled as a pirate metal band because of their Under Jolly Roger release with lyrics about pirates and other historical events. However their 1989 studio recording Death Or Glory is the band’s most successful album to date. Their passing through at Sweden Rock is quite enjoyable but doesn’t hold any real highlight moments. The sound is excellent and there are some pyro visuals but they could have chosen a different selection of tracks to show what is in their back catalogue. Missed opportunity!?
Scorpions are back on tour again celebrating sixty years on the road and saying goodbye again like they did many numerous times before in the past few years. The stage is filled with a huge Scorpion and the light show is impressive as ever but what about the performance. Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker are pushing towards eighty while Matthias Jabs is heading towards seventy. Are these old rockers still able to perform their music with the same energy and flamboyance as they did say ten years ago? After the obligatory intro Coming Home is kicking in or trying to Klaus Meine leaves quite a fragile impression and is constantly leaning on his mic stand. A few songs into the set Schenker seems to be toning down as well. He doesn’t move as much around as he used to with the exception of the few sprints to the ‘runway’ just to please the press. Songwise there are no real surprises and it is mainly Jabs, Dee and Maciwoda keeping these sixty years together. This Scorpions performance is acceptable but by far historic. Many think it’s time to really say goodbye and remember all the great years!
All female Swedish hard rock band Crucified Barbara are back. Their last tour dates back to 2015 when they joined Girlschool on their North American tour but now they are back. So today’s performance at the Sweden Rock Festival is the very first one since that time. Having released four albums since 2005 they play tracks from each and every single one and that means they like what they have recorded in the past. With the addition of Killed By Death cover from the great Motörhead they are rocking their hearts out. All songs are performed very well but it seems they lack an ounce of excitement or is it they have to find their groove again after an absence of nine years?
Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and record producer. He is also the founder, main songwriter, guitarist and vocalist for the bands Pain and Hypocrisy and has worked with Rammstein’s frontman Till Lindemann. Today he is at the Sweden Rock Festival with his Hypocrisy performing unadulterated death metal and that is something he does very well. To play tracks from every release with Hypocrisy is impossible because of the playing time he gets but he does touch nine of those sublime recorded albums with true death metal conviction. All players dressed in black and a very clean stage Tâtgren and company deliver as they always do. Highlighting tunes is nearly impossible but Roswell 47 and Chemical Whore really stand out!
It has been fifteen years since co founder and singer Steve Lee died in a terrible accident but Gotthard survived and do still matter altough his replacement Nic Maeder still asks himself if he can fill the shoes of the great Lee. Rest assure you can! On this tour Gotthard is promoting their latest release Stereo Crush and they do that in the form of well executed versions of AI & I, Boom Boom, Burning Bridges and Thunder & Lightning. For the remaining part of the set they present a kind of an overview of their career always with their former singer in the back of their minds and adding two remarkable covers with Hush and the Bob Dylan track Quinn The Eskimo. Excellent good old fashioned hard rock with a twist from Switzerland! Other highlights are Heaven and Feel What I Feel.
German power metal band Blind Guardian has been in the business for over forty years. They are often credited as one of the most influential bands in the genre. They have established themselves as succesfsful pioneers of this power metal movement and have an impeccable live reputation and today is no exception. Only performing ten songs from six different albums they still know what their followers expect and they just feed them what they need. It’s just a perfect miss of some old, some new and some in between and it all gets very well received. Maybe there is some new material to be released in the near future!
Supergroup Black Country Communion was formed back in 2009 and composed of legendary bassist and the voice of rock Glenn Hughes, blues royalty Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham son of and keyboard wizard Derek Sherinian. Are they still to be considered super? Sweden Rock 2025 is about to find out. There are no words to describe how Hughes is still singing, Bonamassa’s guitar sound is to be recognized everywhere, Bonham is beating the drums just like his father did and Sherinian adds layers to this music as nobody can but the coherence between all these supertalents seems to be gone. Don’t get me wrong because all tunes are carried out to perfection but it’s just that the spirit seems to be missing but it it remains great to enjoy tracks like Sway and The Outsider alongside new songs like Stay Free and Red Sun.
Last but not least to close down this year’s edition of the Sweden Rock Festival is Sweden’s own powermetal band Sabaton. The google AI review said it was a triumph featuring an enormous stage production with elaborate visuals, pyrotechnics and a special live debut of Hordes of Khan. The band’s iconic historical concept was amplified through visually stunning backdrops and choir elements, culminating in an euphoric, high-energy finale with hits like Primo Victoria and Swedish Pagans. The set was a powerful, communal celebration of history and metal, demonstrating why Sabaton remains a giant on the festival’s stage. Now who can do better than AI? This is so true the production was huge, Carolean’s Prayer and Carolus Rex were performed in the Swedish language with great reference to Swedish history and made the huge crowd sing along. The Sabaton show might just go into the Sweden Rock book as historic!