Dark Forest of North were also playing, but I really have nothing to say about them.

Frantic Amber
Swedish Death Metal, girly style! Seen the girls quite a lot of times the past year as they're working hard to play everywhere and all the time to get some recognition. And it's paying off! They start to get a really nice crowd these days, and the fact that they're signed up to play Sweden Rock Festival before any full album is released speaks for itself.
That's not the only gain though, as they actually get better and better each time I see them! This was a really tight gig, and you can see how the girls really work well together on stage - they're a band, not just a couple of musicians that happen to be on the same stage. Great to see! This show we also got to see Erik Rojås (Decadence) handling the drums. I don't know who'll be eventually joining eventually, but they sure know how to pick up great stand in drummers (since the last couple of shows former Valkyrja drummer Jocke Wallgren has been behind the skins)! Hopefully they'll pick up someone of equal skill for recording duties, because those two guys have definitely played a part in making Frantic Amber sound a lot better live than on CD!
But of course, the man behind the drums wouldn't be much of a show by himself (unless he's Mike Terrana...), so huge props to Frantic Amber for offering a really nice show! And this night I was extra happy to hear a cover of Crystal Mountain by DEATH. I felt my choice of wearing my DEATH-shirt for the night has never been better!
Great crowd, great sound, great show!

http://www.facebook.com/franticamber
http://www.myspace.com/franticamber

SKITARG
Ah, the jesters of Metal. It's hard to give these guys a proper description - because they're really one of a kind. Madness. Psychotic? Total chaos. And a lot of hate for caps.
Their music is a weird mixture of Black Metal, Grindcore, Death Metal, Reggae, Lounge music, Christmas carols... yeah, I think you're starting to get the picture. Then you add really silly and funny lyrics. And on top of that you just look at them; clowns, bloody diapers, science robes, huge dildos, weird haircuts... And then there's the performance itself. Two singers jumping around like possessed, one of them frequently ran out in the crowd - even so far as to the bar area which was in another room - and sang from there, guy on guy kissing, those kind of party streamers that you spray out coming out of suspect areas...
It is quite entertaining however, especially as they're actually really really talented musicians. You might think that they're only fooling around, but they're actually really good at what they do! And then you add the extreme presence on stage and you end up with a really good live band! Okay sure, they cheated some with pre-recorded parts in the background - like adding some to the choruses and so on. But that's totally okay, since it only adds another subtle element to the show!
Also I must say they made the best exit I've ever seen I think. They simple walked off one by one in the end of the last song. One after the other, leaving the rest of the band playing without them, until finally it was only the drummer on stage... until he realized he was alone and ran off too!

http://www.facebook.com/skitarg
http://www.myspace.com/skitarg

Degradead
These guys are from my hoods! So I've seen them countless of times these past years, most of that from the time before they were signed! I remember that the first time I saw them I was thinking "these guys just needs to practice on their stage performance and they might get really big", because back then they were just standing still on stage playing their stuff. It was good stuff though, and they're very skilled. But it's a bit boring to watch a band just standing there. Then a few shows later Björn Gelotte (In Flames) was there to check them out. I don't know if that's what lead to Jesper Strömblad (In Flames) eventually offering to produce their debute album or not, but I know something did!
And here we are, three albums later (this was the release party for their third album World Destroyer) in one of the larger venues you can play in Stockholm, the same stage that bands like Kreator, Opeth and Meshuggah plays at usually. That's pretty damn fun to see!
And it's not undeserved either, because these days Degradead is a really great live band! It shows that they've been busy touring a lot these past years because they've become an well oiled machine on stage. Everything they were lacking in the early days are there now, energy, action and great interaction with the crowd! And it's not only Mikael Sehlin (vocals) that's listening to the crowd either - at one time when someone cried "Play hardrock!" the band spontaneously started playing Smoke on the Water!
This style of Melodic Death Metal is not really my favourite, but these guys make their stuff so damn well that when they play Pass Away - one of the first songs I heard with them - I just can't help but headbang with the rest of the crowd. The set consisted mostly of songs from the new album however (as appropriate - it was a release party after all), and I just couldn't help but thinking about the latest In Flames effort. Because Degradead are what In Flames should have been, here is a case when the apprentice has way surpassed the master. I may not enjoy their style that much on CD, but damn they're good live!

http://www.myspace.com/degradead