Stuff Swedish People Like: Heavy Metal

Heavy Metal used to be equal to the end of civilisation back in the 70's when most Swedes were unisex jump suits and nature colored clogs. Today metal has become something of a folk music movement, with middle aged bands returning yearly for summer gigs. Sweden Rock is Sweden's largest rock festival, jam-packed with forgotten spandex-and-leather clad guitar heroes with receiding hair lines.



Sweden Rock is probably a top venue for ageing metal bands. The crowd treats any forgotten metal act like it is still selling millions of CD's and is the hottest thing just off of Sunset Strip. The audience will gladly start head banging and waving the sign of the devil at the simplest of riffs. A typical visitor is a male in his forties, with longish hair or a bald shave, some kind of chin beard, tattoos and a metal band logo-tee. The atmosphere is beer fuelled but friendly, everybody united in the love for hard rock.



Bands like Iron Maiden are almost as popular as Bruce Springsteen, and can boost their retirement accounts by playing for + 100 000 of metal loving Swedes every summer. If God and Satan had a standoff in Sweden, Satan would probably win, since most Swedes already have chosen the path to metallic badness. We have chosen tight spandex pants, exposed chest hair, howling men with headbands, cowboy boots, flying V-guitars and lighter-waving ballads as our favourite kind of music, second only to Springsteen, of course!

If you want to get to know a Swede, who might look the least bit like they might be into metal, you can say something like: "Did you know that Kiss had their first breakthrough outside of USA in Sweden". The Swedish person will say of course, and soon start dropping quotes from the Ozzy Osbourne reality Show. If it's a female Swede in her upper 30's or 40's, you can just mention Whitesnake, and you'll soon be discussing David Coverdale's hair products.