Sweden Rock Festival
2018 Preview

Winter has finally hit Australia, it’s cold and wet, the days are getting shorter and the nights are long. This can mean only one thing – it’s summer in Europe and that means Metal festival season.

Summer in northern Europe is a real treat, long sunny days spent discovering the cradle of modern culture and the vast array of incredible music festivals that exist to whet the appetite of anyone with blood coursing through their veins and even a passing interest in music.

A personal favourite and the reason for an inordinate number of travelling miles over the years – the long, rather exhausting and always exciting trek to the lush green fields just outside of Solvesborg Sweden for the rock and metal institution that is Sweden Rock Festival.

Established in 1992, this year see’s the 27th instalment of Sweden Rock Festival and promises to be one of the best yet.

Sweden Rock has long been seen as one of the premier Metal festivals on the gig calendar for fans and bands alike. Over the years all the heavy hitters have played this festival – Black Sabbath, KISS, Aerosmith, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Whitesnake, Rush, Motley Crue and Scorpions are among the slew of huge bands that have frequented these hallowed grounds. It’s an event renowned for representing a broad selection of artists each year, showcasing a diverse range of talent across the genres of metal, classic rock, hard rock and a touch of blues.

Always one of the highlights of SRF is the colourful crowd and good-natured party atmosphere, the festival is famed for providing a high level of comfort for punters, facilities are excellent, a great range of festival food, relatively short queues at the many bars, a killer collection of metal markets and most importantly 5 huge stages providing an awesome platform for artists to showcase their talents.

This year’s lineup continues this tradition with a great selection of artists across all areas of heavy music with the added advantage of being topped off by 3 of the very biggest names in the heavy metal canon.

2018 see’s Sweden Rock Festival hosting the major headliners – Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest – how’s that for a friggin dream trifecta ! and has resulted in the event selling out almost instantly and in record time. The demand has been such that organisers have had to increase the capacity and means that for the first time upwards of 35,000 punters each day will be attending this 4 day celebration of all things metal.

With the usual embarrassment of riches, a strong supporting cast of old and new lethal luminaries makes up the 80+ bands that have been assembled to compliment these headlining behemoths and will ensure each day is an engaging feast of rocking and rolling fun and revelry.

Classic heavy rock as far as the eye can see – Yes, Uriah Heep, Glenn Hughes, Nazareth, Girlschool, Focus and others mix with contemporary movers Meshuggah, Baroness, Killswitch Engage and Stone Sour. The thrash of Kreator, Destruction and power metal of Helloween, Stratovarius and Nocturnal Rites merge with the newer tones of Lacuna Coil, In This Moment and The Dark Element. The hard-rocking fun of The Darkness, H.E.A.T., Pretty Maids and Inglorious and the 80’s overload of Vixen, Madam X and Steelheart join the party with the Scandinavian sleaze of Hardcore Superstar, Backyard Babies and Turbonegro. The dark intent of Rotting Christ, Dark Funeral and Coven, extreme brutality of Suffocation and Pestilence blend with the old school trad metal of Heavy Load, Bullet and Torch. God Damn! that’s less than half the lineup and not to mention Aussie heroes Rose Tattoo, 90’s stars Body Count, Buckcherry and local legends Dark Tranquility and Graveyard.

That sounds like one hell of a recipe for an awesome time. The sun is shining down, the drinks are flowing and the bands will play loud and long, so buckle in and let’s rock!

Head to www.swedenrock.com for more information on Sweden Rock Festival.

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