220 Volt Live in Borlänge, Sweden. Photo by Mikael Svensson |
It´s been 27 years! 27 years since I last attended a 220 Volt concert, then as part of a Swedish ”Monsters of Rock” package featuring the cream of Swedish hard rock and featuring the main contenders for the crown that Europe wore. The package included Treat, Electric Boys and of course 220 Volt, the band from the Northern county of Jämtland and its “capital” Östersund. I was 15 years old and this touring package came to my tiny hometown of Hofors in the summer of 1988. I was completely blown away by both Treat and 220 Volt that hot summer night and left with memories that will never fade, the biggest impression being made by 220 Volt. I was hooked! The sheer energy when they hit the stage to ”Firefall” blended with that unique feeling for writing a big hook! Guitarists Peter Olander and Mats Karlsson traded solos like I had never heard before and on top of that – the great and very personal voice of Joakim Lundholm.
Mats Karlsson (lead guitar) Anders Engberg (lead vocals) Photo by Mikael Svensson |
Back to 2015, March 27th to be exact. Eagerly I enter my car to drive the 70 kilometers from my home to Borlänge, a mid-sized Swedish town of about 50,000 inhabitants situated in the middle of Sweden. It is here that 220 Volt has decided to start their support of their brilliant new album Walking in Starlight (reviewed here: Electric Messengers Want Us To Walk In Starlight). It´s a different band I will be seeing tonight. Joakim Lundholm is long gone and the vocals are now handled by Anders Engberg (Sorcerer, ex-Lion´s Share) who I have previously seen when Lion´s Share opened up for Saxon on their Unleash The Beast tour in 1997. A great frontman indeed to pick up where Lundholm left off to join Kraftztoff. God knows who will be handling the bass duties tonight, filling in for Mike Larsson who is no longer with the band. My guesses are either of the session musicians on Walking in Starlight, Johan Niemann (Evergrey) or Lars Ericson. I guess Johan would be busy with Evergrey so Lars Ericson then? All my guesses will turn out to be wrong but more on that later. Olander has also been replaced by the returning Thomas Drevin (guitarist on the first two albums). My expectations are high and as they should be when you go and see a band of this quality.
Thomas Drevin (lead guitar) Photo by Mikael Svensson |
220 Volt hits the stage and starts out with ”System Overload” from the new album. The band seems a little uncomfortable at the start but soon find their way in ”The Harder They Come” from their ”big” Max Norman produced Eye to Eye album (1988). ”It´s back to the 80´s” as Engberg says and they plow through ”I´m On Fire” which is another gem from Eye to Eye. Anders Engberg introduces the band and on bass we have newcomer Fredrik Hallström who also provides backing vocals. The people in the front seem to be as excited as I am by now and knowing every word of the songs from Eye to Eye I find myself singing along to the entire songs. Engberg seems a bit uneasy at times having to glance at the monitor to find the right lyric, but this is also the first gig in a long time. After the start with songs from Eye to Eye and Walking in Starlight the band announces that they are going to take us on a journey from the start (well nearly) to today and the new record. They start off with ”Woman in White”, the album closer from the very first self-titled album released in 1983, which also has Mats Karlsson singing the part of the verses. The song sounded great and very true to the original, but is sort of an odd pick in my book. It is followed by another old gem called ”Lonely Nights” – opener from the very same debut album. It is then time for my favourite performance of the evening. The intro to ”Walking in Starlight” starts with a distinct noise from Drevin’s guitar. The band then jumps into the song and it gives me chills through my spine. This rocks like hell! An epic and melodic song of the highest standard possible. When it’s finished Engberg talks a bit about the band existing for a long time – long before he joined and introduces the ”biggest song 220 Volt have written”. It´s time for the ballad of the evening and ”Love Is All You Need” which is of course, the big single off Eye to Eye that gained heavy rotation on MTV in the late 1980´s. On this song, I think the band hesitates a little and they seem a bit uneasy including lead vocalist Engberg. Still he invites the crowd to sing along to the chorus line and we all do what we can. The concert then ends with the band back on top and in an ecstatic way when they close with regular concert opener ”Firefall” The band is virtually on fire and it only leaves me wanting some more. I want ”Beat Of A Heart” and ”Power Games” but there is no time left and the Wolf is waiting in the wings.
Engberg is rockin it out at Liljan, Borlänge Hallström is providing some bass grooves and backing vocals. Photo by Mikael Svensson |
I move back to my sofa in the back sorting out my thoughts when Anders Engberg grabs a beer and places himself in front of me. Time for a chat with him and some signatures on the CDs! I tell him about my experience with Lion´s Share and he signs my CD with them saying ”This was not yesterday”. Anders seems like a nice guy and he tells me they are not actually doing a tour because they all have got 9-5 jobs now and can only do this on weekends. They will play Uppsala tomorrow with Wolf again and then play the odd weekend gig before the festival seasons starts. Then they will play the Peace and Love festival here in Sweden and will return to my area in September for a gig in Gävle. I tell him I will be there and congratulate him on a great gig. Anders is not satisfied and says it could have been better. I leave him to his beer and now Wolf is on stage. They belt out their traditional heavy metal and they sound good. I find it a bit hard to digest the rough vocals that are not my cup of tea, but they have some loyal fans in the front singing along to their songs. I decide to buy a T-shirt so I go to the merchandise stand again. After watching Wolf for a while Thomas Drevin appears and I need him to sign my CD. We exchange a few words before I start talking to Mats Karlsson more in depth this time.
The band with “Hermie” Hermansson behind the drumkit Photo by Mikael Svensson |
Mats also revealed that there are unreleased songs that could be used as bonus tracks on possible future re-releases, but the band has some degree of control over it. Sony cannot issue them without the band’s approval. Mats also said he was not sure of the quality of the songs, but that opinion could change from person to person. I think you are right Mats! I´ve bought records where one of the bonus tracks was the best song on the entire album. It´s a matter of taste I guess. If you read my review on the new Dalton disc called Pitstop for Decibel Geek (Dalton – Pitstop Review) you have this being the case. Mats also said he was not 100% happy with the gig (just like Anders Engberg) and told me this was the first gig since they reformed two years ago. They need some time and gigs to become tighter. I told him it sounded good from my point of view. Mats told me they would play a longer set tomorrow in Uppsala when only Wolf and them played. I told him I missed ”Beat Of a Heart” and he told me they would play that and ”Power Games” tomorrow. The people going to Katalin, Uppsala Sweden are in for a treat. Maybe it was also a bit surprising that the Mind Over Muscle album was left untouched.
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