On it again. It appears, there’s barely any rest for me what so ever when it comes to festivals. And honestly though, why would it be? And especially so when Lordi’s on the bill. We got to Trollhättan the day before in order to get there in time, get settled and basically get to relax. Sjorven was coming from Belgium, so it was either the day before or waay too late. It was a nice evening of dinner and catching up, and getting ready for the day to come. Oh by the way. I think I have officially had the smallest hotelroom yet. It was basically just a bed! Haha!
We were actually a bit lazy, which I always tend to be when I’m attending something where only one or two bands excite me. We got up fairly late, went to MAX for a change (at least for me) and had lunch / dinner before walking down to the area. Time optimist as I am, we of course did not get there an hour before Art Nation started, rather ten minutes. But hey – at least we weren’t late! That must count for something, no?
Art Nation
Art Nation bravely went on stage for the approximately 20 people that were in front of the stage. They opened, much like on Sweden Rock with “One Nation”, and quickly followed up with “Alive”. The newest single “The Real Me” was next, and I was happy to see they did, despite the thin crowd, have quite a few fans, that knew the songs and such. I like that.
“Need You to Understand” and “Kiss Up & Kick Down” followed suite, and the band… Was doing good. You know, considering the circumstances. I can imagine it’s hard to really get anywhere when the crowd is… fairly small.
“Paralyzed” and “Don’t Wait for Salvation” was next, followed by “Start a Fire” until they finally wrapped up with “All In” and “Ghost Town”.
Given the circumstances, it was a very very good show. I still think some of the member might have to get a bit more comfortable in their own skin, but I reckon that comes with time.
After that, we planned to stay in front of the stage for the rest of the day, but pretty soon we figured that, yeah, we are not going to have to do that, so we wandered about the little place that was the festival area, checking out the practically non-existing merch and shopping booths. We did get some patches, though!
We lazily watched Chris Holmes and whatever band was really playing, and it wasn’t until after that (meaning it was just Sator and then Lordi) we claimed our spots at the barrier. And then the wait began… and then… You know.
Lordi
Sjorven is a first timer. He’s never ever seen Lordi before, not even being NEAR seeing Lordi before. So he’s a first timer. So I told him – you know it will start when “God of Thunder” starts. Much like “In The Army” with Sabaton. So imagine my confusion, when what started echoing from the speakers was in fact “SCGVIII: The Opening Scene”. I got dumbfounded and I was just like “what”. Wasn’t exactly prepared.
After Mana and NALLE (!) had gone on stage, Skeletor came out and “Let’s Go Slaugther He-Man” was set off. The crowd was pretty thick actually – I liked that. A lot. But sadly… Yeah. It is like it with Lordi, let me leave it at that. “The Riff” was next on the list, followed by, already as the third song, the song I was the most exicted about for the evening – “Demonarchy”.
Never in my life did I think I’d get to witness “Demonarchy” live, at least not like this. At least not this soon. I knew they spoke of some, potential, probable special show, but aside that, we all thought and felt that as far as the “Demonarchy” side goes, we are all screwed. But apparently not. And it was absolutely dreamy live. I love this song so much, do you understand? OX’s bassolo together with “Bite it Like a Bulldog” was next on the list, and then “It Snows In Hell / Children of the Night”. Upside down never gets old. Well at least not for me. I was a bit worried the guards wouldn’t let me do it, but we always manage to persuade them. One way or another.
“Hug You Hardcore” was next on the list, and then a bloody return of “Sincerely With Love”. Like, I really did not miss this song, and I remember I just turned to Sjorven shaking my head like “why is this back?” Oh well. If they like it! And then, the second surprise for the night.
“Sick Flick”.
I’m pretty sure this song was the most wished for song ever since like, “Icon of Dominance”, and finally they are doing! And it was absolutely amazing. “Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein” was next, this song I DID miss on the other hand, so good one. The set was then wrapped up by the big three, if you like – “Blood Red Sandman”, “Hard Rock Hallelujah” and “Devil is a Loser”. And of course, encores in the shape of “Who’s Your Daddy” and “Would you Love a Monsterman?”.
The monsters thanked for the evening, and walked off the stage. The show was really good, like really good. Hello, “Demonarchy”? And it was good to see Nalle in action. I guess you could say I “missed out” on him last time around, and even if I miss Hella, (where the hell is the women?!) it was really good to see him.
Thank you!
After the show, we lazily watched Niefelheim before buying popcorn and walking back home to the hotel.
Thank you, Lordi, again for a great show. I love you always. Thanks to Art Nation and Sjorven as well for the festival!
// Sara
Sara Hammerzmith 