Tuesday:

As we arrived very late Tuesday night, there was not much else to do than to find a spot to camp down on and get our gear out. Lo and behold the surprise we got as we found out that our tent-pins were missing from the pack!
Well, we chose to believe in the mercy of the weather, and let the tent stand as it was.
After we were done we grabbed the sacred first beer of the festival and then we went out to say farewell to my sister, as she was actually first going to go to the festival the day after us, but had chosen to come out now as well to find a good spot for her tent.

After this we went for a quick walk around the merchants’ area, and as most of them were already unpacked there was a lot to look at in CD’s, vinyl’s and all other sort of stuff you might find at a festival vendor.
After a quick snack we decided to head back for camp and call it a day. As it had started to rain we opted for the car as this was more water resistant than our tent, but just before bunking down I glanced outside just in time to see our tent being carried off by the winds!
Out I went, and in some hurry. Luckily I managed to catch it before it had gotten too far away, and we decided to anchor it down with the heaviest of our packing; such as chairs, beers and a toolkit for the car. It wouldn’t be going anywhere else anytime soon, I assure you…

Wednesday:

The coldness and wetness of the previous day where like a distant dream as we awoke to a warm and sunny day filled with promise of the greatness to come.
After a quick (and a bit too small it would later prove) meal we went out to meet some friends who were staying at the Festival Camp camping ground.
As we were all in a great mood this fine day, we cracked open some drinks, as things usually go in good company. After a while the Englishmen and the Scots headed of to go check out the sales booths, as us Swedes and Danes kept on drinking and chatting.
As even more time had passed Lunah (Lauridsen, our photographer) and I decided to go on a walklabout to get a feel for the location before the bands we wanted to see went on.

This is where things started to go wrong...
In one tent Sweden Rock Festival had been kind enough as to put a large, red and very comfy sofa which I ended up landing in. As luck would have it (or un-luck if you will) I fell asleep right then and there, and as I awoke Lunah was nowhere to be found. No problem I thought to myself; it was still some time before the first band for us for the day was set to go on, and she was probably just at the bathroom or something.
Worry began to rise as the minutes turned to hours and the time for Amon Amarth was drawing ever nearer. It did not help that I had ended up carrying both of our cell phones, and after calling all our friends at the festival worry turned to slight panic as no one had seen her. I waited for as long as I could down by the sofa tent, but finally decided to go up for the show to see if she might be there.
Still no Lunah around, so I had to start shooting some photos myself. The result was, to say the least, appalling as I have no idea as to how to work such a contraption.
Then, about halfway through the set a familiar face broke out of the moshpit. With blustering cheeks and a grin from ear to ear Lunah came over just in time to take over the camera and get some decent shots off of the band.

After Amon Amarth it was time to quickly head over to Zeppelin Stage to see Blaze Bayley rocking with a fair amount of people.
As he finished up we went for some relaxation time in the backstage bar as I awaited one of the shows I was looking the most forward to at this years’ Sweden Rock Festival; Uriah Heep.
It was late night when they came on, 23:45, and the warmness from earlier had disappeared without a trace. I had heard reports about polar winds on the news before leaving home, but had mostly laughed at it as it sounded ridiculous and farfetched. Now, I was not so sure...
As Lunah headed back for camp, I decided to ignore the chill and stick around. I was rewarded by what can only be described as a fantastic show by the band, and even though I am not as familiar with their repertoire as I would like to be, I still had a great time, and sang loudly along with the songs I knew; such as Gypsy, July Morning, Easy Livin’ and the classic Lady In Black.
Some new songs also stuck with me straight from the first listen; here I especially think about Shadow from their latest release, their first album in ten years time with the fitting title Wake The Sleeper. Singer Bernie Shaw told us that they would play this album in entirety; although, as I’m not familiar with it I can’t say if this promise held up or not, but I think they did. Some titles stuck with me, like War Child, Angels Walk With You and of course the aforementioned Shadow, all from said album.

After this there was nothing to do but head back and get some sleep...

Thursday:

The first time we woke up was around 4 o’clock. The night was still calm; there was no life in sight. It wasn’t that we felt fully recovered from the day before yet or anything, the reason why we woke up was because of the extreme cold!
Even though we had opted for staying in the car for the night, and had thick covers pulled over us, the chill was still so strong that I couldn’t help but lay there shaking, frozen to the bone. We got some food out in hope that this would provide some energy for the internal heating system, and somehow managed to fall asleep again a little later.

Waking up again at more reasonable hours we found that the sun had made a triumphant return and once more heated our northern hemisphere.
Since we did not wish to repeat yesterdays mistakes, we decided that a calmer day was in order, and spent most of the morning working, with the result of us actually getting the first review from the festival up this quick; needless to say it was the Amon Amarth review, as this was the first band we saw.
Interestingly enough, the first band to see this day was another house favourite, and they were playing the very same stage as well; we’re talking about Swedish electronica metal band Pain.
Here we met up with my sister, who had agreed to provide us with some well needed tent pins, and as we were going off to collect them after the show we accidentally bumped into my brother and his wife as well. The clan was gathered.

As we once more had some time to spare we headed back to camp to finally nail down the final corners of the tent; Nina, a friend of ours from Denmark had managed to spare some pins for us as well the day before.
After this it was time for Denmark’s pride Volbeat to hit the stage, and they did so before an impressive, and impressed, audience, and as soon as they were done it was time to head over to Zeppelin Stage to catch as much as we could of the Swedish glam band H.E.A.T, who also managed to pull quite a crowd even though they were playing the smallest open air stage on the festival.

After this it was time for a quick meal from and then back behind the screen of the computer to get some more work done. We had a long pause before the last bands of the day, so we also decided to get some warmer clothes on, taking the earlier experiences into account.

The first of the last, so to say, was Swedish NWOBHM band Bullet which rocked their audience from the Zeppelin Stage, and then we moved quickly over to the Rock Stage for a dose of Hammerfall. The rain started, and the cold began to creep in, but it wasn’t something we took notice of as we stood as tightly packed as tunas in a can for the entire show; their support was unbelievable!
The cold did make its mark after they finished however, and I was very happy that I had brought an extra thick shirt as we headed over for the main stage, the Festival Stage, to see one of the biggest bands of the festival, Twisted Sister, who with their 25th anniversary of their Stay Hungry album was set to close the day.

As we weren’t as tired as we had been the earlier days after the concert we decided to hang out in the bar, where we met up with friends and familiars from different places before calling it a day.

Friday:

Another rainy day made for another work day. Also, the Friday was definitely the day where we had the least bands planned to watch. In all honesty, we only had two concerts we felt we needed to see; Unleashed and In Flames. Lunah was also doing a photo shoot of the Kamelot show for another netzine, so it was quite a calm day for us.
Actually, we would have wanted to see Thor as well, but sadly only found out about him after the show. We heard from some friends who did see the concert that it had been great fun.

For the start of the day we were sitting working and watching the rain pour down outside, with only short breaks from the wetness, so as it was beginning to clear up some for the Unleashed show I was very happy. Ok, the rain did make a return during the show, but also went away again. This was actually pretty much the story for the whole day, coming and going...

As we had some time to kill between Unleashed and Kamelot, we ended up in the Gibson Stage, the only tent stage of the festival. Aside from the actual concert stage, the tent also held some smaller stages, where guests could go on and play Guitar Hero: Metallica with the full band setup and also the boxing game Punch Out!.
Neither of these where what drew us in however; what we ended up seeing were some real-life guitar hero’s, as members of the audience were invited to participate in a riffing competition where a brand new MacBook stood as the main award. Some excuses were made about cold fingers and short shoulder straps, but on the most hand I was impressed with the quality of the men who dared the stage.

Kamelot performed an interesting enough show on the Rock Stage for a group of people, with some pyro effects to warm us in the cold. Actually, this show was almost dry, only a few small raindrops remained in the sky. Kamelot’s music has never grabbed me though, and the show was quickly forgotten after we left.

Back at the bar, we played some Guitar Hero ourselves, as there was a game put available in there as well, and watched as the rain poured down outside once more.
Actually, we had such a good time in there we ended up spending all the time we had before In Flames in that very location!

In Flames was the headliner and closing act of the day, a duty they handled with their normal flair.
Thankfully, the heavens had finally dried up, so the only thing biting into our bones was the freezing cold. As usual, In Flames had a great pyro show which warmed us up a bit, and as jumping up and down is mandatory at their shows, we managed to stay alive and well during the concert. After they were done we somehow ended up right back at the bar once more, with a friend this time, and spent the days few remaining hours there.

Saturday:

In the tradition of saving the best for last, Sweden Rock Festival finally managed to produce a full day of sunshine and baking heat! I was astonished (in a good way) by this sudden change of pace, and savoured every second of it.

Not only was this a day of perfect weather, it was also a day filled from early morning till late night with good music! This was the day for which we here at Metalmoments had the highest number of planned concerts to attend; some smaller and some larger.
Actually, pretty early on we decided to drop two of the shows, in part to be able to get some more work done, but also to keep the day relaxed and enjoyable. There is nothing so frustrating as running between stages for medium sized acts only to miss out on the grand finale because you’re too tired to stand up (yes, I have tried it, and I have no desire to relive the situation).

Opening as the first band of the day on the Rock Stage was Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens who was visiting as a solo artist for the first time, and backing him were a number of famous names from various metal constellations. Not many had woken up and decided to hear music at this early time however (12:00), so there was no problem for us to end up right in front of the large stage and have a close experience with the man himself.
Time was short however, and before the show was even done we were rushing over to the Zeppelin Stage for a very special treat.
Due to its location in the calendar, Sweden Rock Festival has made it a tradition to celebrate the Swedish National Day, and this year it was Sabaton who were leading us into the National Anthem. And what a great way to do it! The support was unbelievable and so was the party.
After this we stuck around the stage for a short time just to see what kind of band would go on next.
It was Stormzone, a Swedish power metal quintet, who did the honours, but as neither of us felt that they were up for the task of filling the void after Sabaton we took our leave after only a short time.

Back in the tent it was time to get some fast writing done before getting back once more to the Zeppelin Stage. This time it was for an older Swedish band called Kebnekajse, with whom I was not familiar, but as I had heard they were mixing classic rock elements with old-time Swedish folk-music I was curious in a good way to see and hear how they were. The effect was astounding, to say the least!
We decided the best way to digest the experience was with a cold one from the bar, this way effectively skipping Soilwork which neither of us has had any really good times with anyway.
On the other hand, both of us have had nothing but good times with the old-school thrashers in Forbidden, so this was a show we were not prepared to miss out on!
What astounded me at first was the extremely low amount of people waiting for them, but as soon as they got on stage, the crowd started to come out of the woodwork as well.

Another grand experience later and we were ready to tackle the most stressful moment of our festival time; covering both Europe and Immortal, who were playing at the exact same time!
We started out at Europe, since Immortal were playing the Sweden Stage which would be easier for Lunah to get photos of from up on the hill, and after a start with some tracks neither of us knew we headed over to the northern chill that was the painted Norwegians, who’s show we stayed at till the end.
After they were done we were still able to run back to the Rock Stage and catch the end of Europe, who was now opting for playing a more classic era of their song material.

Now only one thing remained; the majestic Heaven & Hell, who were set to round up the day and this year’s Sweden Rock Festival from the large Festival Stage.
I believe everyone was gathered, and I’m sure everyone got what they came for. If not, at least I have no idea what more they could possibly ask for. This was what it is all about, pure and simple! And what better way than this to bid adieu to Sweden Rock Festival anno 2009?

Postscript:

In retrospect I must say that I was very happy with this years’ Sweden Rock Festival.
It had a good program, which was still varied enough to allow for breathers in between concerts, and the organisation was tip top, as there were no delays to speak of; at least I didn’t notice any.
On a whole, the bands performed excellently, with only a few minor hiccups, and I think that giving almost all bands (even the smaller ones) an hour or more to play in really is a good way of saluting not only them, but also their fans who might not get to see such long shows when the bands are on tour.
The weather might not always have been on our side; but hey, you can’t really blame the festival for that, now can you?
All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience, and I am happy I finally had a schedule which allowed me to return to this festival. Hopefully not for the last time...