I must admit, this was more Lunah’s (Lauridsen, our photographer) choice than mine. Not that I have anything against the band, I just don’t know them that well; I’ve only heard them in a distant past, and even then only to a minor degree.

The fact that there were others present with a more extended knowledge than mine was quickly made apparent as I gave up counting the number of bandana-dressed heads screaming in front of the Dio Stage. More importantly, none of them were pink, so this was obviously not just a warm-up for Guns N’ Roses who were playing the next day… These guys were in it for the music and nothing else!
Mike Muir (vocals and only remaining original member) also tried explaining his special relationship to Sweden by telling a long story about a great grandmother who was Swedish and a great grandfather (a Scotsman), who split and… Well, it continued for a bit, and I can’t remember the exact details, but the point was that he felt connected to Sweden.
Muir also had several other stories he shared with us throughout the gig, and it was apparent that he enjoyed his time performing for us; as did the rest of the band, even though they were not quite as talkative.

“Don’t fight the boogie baby!”
- Mike Muir (vocals)

Well, the important thing was still the music and the performance, and also here Muir and the boys proved their worth; Muir himself was constantly walking or hopping across the stage, and the others were getting into the vibe as well, and they all seemed to have great fun, as did the people gathered to see them. Actually, the moshing was pretty heavy and intense straight from the start, and it didn’t let up for the remainder of the show!
The only major problem was with the sound, as Muir’s vocals were much too low compared to the music. In the beginning it was so bad it was nearly impossible to hear him; it improved a bit throughout, but it was never really good…

As I hadn’t had time to get properly acquainted with the material, combined with the aforementioned sound-issues, I didn’t get totally into the show like so many others, but I did enjoy my time with the fathers of crossover thrash.
I just wonder if it was Sweden Rock’s strict security which stopped the band from implementing the usual trick with having the audience invade the stage…

Setlist (incomplete):

War Inside My Head
Subliminal
Come Alive
Cyco Vision
I Saw Your Mommy