This year at Sweden Rock, there were fewer bands on the bill than usual that I was excited about! Sometimes it goes that way and TBH, that’s totally fine. It gives me a chance to mingle with friends old and new a little more as I’m not running from stage to stage trying to catch too much. Annoyingly, however, almost all the bands that I really wanted to see had direct conflicts with others on my list. Again, it goes that way sometimes and you must make hard decisions.
To that end, there were quite a few half-shows that I caught, but I only rated full sets here for my top 5 bands of SRF 2023. I will mention one half set here as a near-miss to the top 5. Had I seen the whole set, they would have been in! And that was:
**Mindless Sinner:
Classic Swedish metal done right! These guys sounded fantastic on stage and ripped out just the kind of traditional metal style I love. Strong voice, catchy songs, and lots of headbanging.
5-Hot Breath:
I knew relatively nothing about, but recall thinking the album was decent. Wow, did they have a great energy, and their I would say 70’s inspired rock and top-notch sound made a great set!
4-Wig Wam:
Was right up front on the barrier for this one and having seen them at Indoor Summer and MORC, I knew what to expect! There’s a video on their page that an eagle-eyed friend watched and spotted me up front!
3-Enforcer:
Traditional metal from Sweden that I’ve been following for years now. Even seen them in Sweden, Toronto, and Tokyo, Japan! Been a while but they haven’t lost a step IMO.
2-Strom:
Are a relatively new Swedish band that I knew little about until shortly before SRF. Just the kind of hard-driving, foot-stomping, fist in the air straight ahead rock that I love. Unfortunately, the lyrics are all in Swedish so I can’t understand a word…..but great set nonetheless
1-Coney Hatch:
Ok, ok, yes I put the 🇨🇦 band as #1…..and it’s not because I’m biased or allegianced to them. They really were my best show this year! They had the best sound mix and were so absolutely tight when playing. The only band that brought me to tears this year! Fantastic, but they missed “Wrong Side of Town” and “Don’t Say Make Me” to make it perfect🤣. Coney Hatch SRF Spotlight Review
Cheers,
The Meister
Meister Music Live To Air Radio/Video Shows on Mixcloud / CGCM Podcast
Find more of my album reviews and blogs here: Meister Music
Meister on Facebook / Meister on Instagram / Meister on Twitter / Meister’s Email
SWEDEN ROCK OFFICIAL FESTIVAL WEBSITE / FACEBOOK
All of the continuing CGCM coverage of SRF 2023: LINK
