KRAMP – Kramp (Subliminal Sounds, 2026; rec. 1978)

 
Instrumental
International relevance: ***

Unknown and previously unreleased recordings from a three-piece with members from Hallstahammar and Västerås in the middle of Sweden. Kramp were founded in 1975 and kept going until the mid 80s without releasing a single note, leaving only rehearsal tapes behind finally unearthed and released as a digital album by Subliminal Sounds. All longhaired, instrumental power trio jamming, they sound like a heavier and darker Rävjunk at their very jammiest. It's definitely wanky with a clear influence from Hendrix during his Band Of Gypsys days, but it's also incredibly energetic with a pronounced basement feel in over the top distortion fidelity. Melody takes the back seat with the massive chunks of Erik Åström's lead guitar being Kramp's sole raison d'être. Fucking annoying or an indispensable fire spitting take no prisoners blow-out depending on your mood. If you think Terry Brooks & Strange are too held back and Id's 1976 underground six string wanker classic ”Where Are We Going?” is too mawkish, this will blow your mind to smithereens. Especially the first track (simply entitled ”Jam 2”) which is so intense it will sever your limbs if you can withstand its full 23+ minutes running time.

Full album playlist (Bandcamp)

LEVITICUS – STÅ OCH TITTA PÅ (Stanley & Andrew Music, 12”, 1982)

 

Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Although Leviticus never acheived the same general success like Jerusalem did, they were one of the major Christian hard rock bands back in the day. Leviticus were closer to heavy metal (where Jerusalem were steeped in the older hard rock tradition), and most of what they did is both too late and too metal for this blog. This debut 12” makes it by the skin of its teeth thanks to the final track of the four. The first three aren't something to waste any words on, but ”Min mästare” is more symph than heavy metal. And with its seven minutes, it becomes rather epic in scope with synths and extended solo guitar. Had it only been better mixed (drums and vocals too low, synths too loud) it could have made more impact though. ”Stå och titta på” is a bit valuable in its original vinyl incarnation and was reissued as a CD EP in the early 00's by a U.S. label, but it's not really worth seeking out. ”Min mästare” is indeed the best track in this set, but still not good enough to motivate a purchase in any format.

Full EP playlist

VARIOUS ARTISTS – MUSIKFESTIVALEN 1978 (no label, MC, 1978)

 
Featured artists: Magnum Brus / Trycket / Harline Blue / Handkraft / Staffan Pettersson / Kylans Rockorkester / Horny Band / Inferno
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: *

An incredibly rare cassette, home copied on standard TDK tapes and privately released locally in the northern town of Örnsköldsvik in 1978. The compilation was recorded live during a benefit festival for Örnsköldsvik youth club that needed renovating. Several local acts performed at the festival, the best known being Kylans Rockorkester along with several bands that never made it beyond the city limits. Apart from Kylans Rockorkester, only Hairline Blue got as far as to have a 45 out under their own name, although a couple of the performers also appeared on ”Musikfest 80 Örnsköldsvik”. There's heavy rock, bebop, jazz fusion, and funk, and the level of playing varies almost as much as the musical styles. Some bands are pretty skilled while others are not. The sound quality isn't great but OK for a 70s audience recording. Neither is the music. The best selection is ”Spränga hela skiten”, the first-ever released Kylans track, atypically dark in mood coming from them and not as bluesy as their better known stuff.

”Musikfestivalen 1978” is definitely of interest to collectors of local releases, but the average listener need not bother.

Full album playlist 

TEMPELROCK – Det stora lyftet (Planet, 1979)

 
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A somewhat energetic hard rock band with former Solid Ground member Björn Uhr as the songwriting guitarist. I don't think Solid Ground's ”Made In Rock” deserves its standing as a classic. I find their Deep Purple approximations to be quite clumsy and unsatisfactory, but ”Made In Rock” is still at least seventy-four times better than ”Det Stora Lyftet”. It takes a lot more than chugging guitars and a boogie rhythm to make good hard rock, but that's just about everything Tempelrock had to offer. Oh, and some radio friendly pop rock with disco touches. Plus one of the most pointless covers of ”Ticket To Ride” imaginable.

Two album tracks were released as a single. Tempelrock reformed in the 2010s (but I can't imagine anyone actually asking them to). Bassist Peter Jägerhult appeared post Tempelrock on a debile single by Staffan Runius & Mia Alasjö in 1978 before joining the incredibly crappy band Attack (featuring Wasa Express drummer Åke Eriksson). Drummer Werner Lindström joined Råg I Ryggen singer Jonas Warnebring in the band Spray. Guitarist Sten Tempelman became a record producer. Björn Uhr followed suit with Jägerhult and joined Attack and also did lots of session work.

No links found 

JIMMY NIELSEN & KARMEL – Complete recordings 1980-1982

 

Försök förstå vad livet är... / Är du beredd??? (no label, 7" 1980)
released as Jimmy Nielsen

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Jimmy Nielsen came from Norrahammar, a part of Jönköping, the capital of the Swedish bible belt. It's no surprise then that Nielsen is a Christian singer, but his music is often heavier than your typical Jesus pop fare, possibly inspired by the commercial success of Christian hard rock band Jerusalem. Nielsen's debut came with this self-released 7” in 1980. The 'A' side isn't that heavy though, it's just a terrible perky pop tune. The flip's ”Är du beredd???” is better, although it's too light to fully work as the boogie rock Nielsen and backing band Karmel attempted.

Varför är din blick så negativ? (Karmel Musikproduktion, 1981)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

After the weak debut 45, Nielsen and his band now renamed Karmel -81 went for a full length album. With a better production they come closer to what they aim for. The sound is better and the band is tighter, but the songs still aren't very good. The pedestrian blues rock and boogie stomp is diluted with some absolutely dreadful funk moves including the then fashionable slap bass technique that those who use it certainly won't get into heaven for. Neither will drummers wasting space with drum solos à la the two and a half minute ”Smurd” on side 2. Best track is ”Fort fort springer du”, a surprisingly garage-y track that was recycled for the band's final 7” in 1982 along with another album track, ”Heroin där fick du tji”.

This turned out to be Nielsen's and Karmel's only album, but it had a second pressing as Jimmy Nielsen Band with a different artwork, so I guess it was fairly successful among their Christian peers.

 

 

Maxi-EP (no label, 12" 1982)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

This four-track 12” is probably the best thing Nielsen released, even though it rehashes the disgusting slap bass jazz funk instrumental ”Funk My Soul” from the LP. But apart from that, he had the good taste of dropping the constipated boogie blues for a more singer/songwriter oriented material which suits him better. Not that any of it is particularly imaginative, but I think the last track ”Misslyckad” is at least passable.

Full 1980 single playlist
Varför är din blick så negativ? full album playlist
Maxi-EP full 12" playlist

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 11: Late era hard & heavy

GUN SMOKE
Midnight Train / Thoghts (Artside, 1975)
English vocals
International relevance: ***

Housed in a very fetching sleeve, this is a bit of a lost gem. Regional label Artside is almost exclusively known for dance orchestras of the most dubious kind, so how Gun Smoke ended up on the label is way beyond me. ”Midnight Train” is hard rock and and psych rock in equal parts with an urgent drive and a very appealing melody. The excellent lead guitar is present all through the track and really fires it up during the solo. ”Midnight Train” is a mini masterpiece that has gone under the radar for far too long. The misspelt ”Thoghts” is a ballad with a nice, drowsy, hazy atmosphere. It's decent I guess but it just can't touch the A side's brilliance. But ”Midnight Train” alone makes this one of the best 45s featured on this blog.

Gun Smoke reunited in the 00's as Gunsmoke and released a CD in 2005. It has a vastly inferior re-recording of ”Midnight Train”, and is more in a southern rock style.

 
HIGHBROW – Rock On (T-Bone, 1978)
English vocals
International relevance: **

Rooted in mid 70s hard rock but moving in the heavy metal direction with dual guitars and some boogie rock moves. The A side ”A Loser” found its way onto the all-Swedish volume of the ”Jobcentre Rejects” compilation series doing a great job documenting rare NWOBHM (and FWOSHM - first wave of Swedish heavy metal) singles otherwise lost to obscurity. The vocals, handled by Norweigan born Dave Nerge, leave bit to be desired but at least they're gratifyingly free of the genre's more annoying mannerisms. B side ”Roumers” (which I guess is supposed to mean ”Rumours”) is perhaps more interesting with an unusual melody with overlapping vocal lines. All in all, it's pretty well executed and not without talent. It's not surprising that all members went on to other bands, some of them quite successful, after releasing a second single in 1979.

 

ROCK SET – Piteå kommun / Up In My Room (Frontalrock, 1979)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

Rock Set really must have hated their hometown judging by the track ”Piteå Kommun”. They vehemently describe it as a terrible place where time stands still, everything is boring and everyone has alcohol problems. Set to a riff suspiciously similar to Eddie & The Hot Rods' ”Writing On The Wall”, the message gets through loud and clear. Coupled with a blues rocking ”Up In My Room”, this is a great and highly sought-after classic, sometimes going for up to around 200 euros! Thankfully, the guys behind the aforementioned ”Jobcentre Rejects” series reissued it as a deluxe 7" in 2021, making it easier (and cheaper) to obtain. Perhaps too punkish for some, it still remains an excellent example of the rough-hewn DIY ethos that signified punk as well as progg. 

Rock Set released a few more singles (and there's a self-released CD-r compilation of theirs including previously unreleased material), but none of their later outings were as good as this one. 

 

KARL BRUN & HIGHWAY – Ikväll / My Love Is Burning (no label, 1979)
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

Highway were a Gothenburg band augmented with Karl Brun (real name Kenneth Pilo with his nom de plume being a reference to Snoopy character Charlie Brown) and issued this self-financed 1979 single in 200 copies. Brun only appears on ”Ikväll”, an example of idiotic radio friendly boogie stomp. The English spoken B side is credited solely to Highway and is better in a Deep Purple-ish style sans the organ. Obviously rare and seemingly quite expensive when offered for sale, but definitely not worth the price.

TEJP – Tung rock / Sanningen (Tejp, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

”Tung rock” means ”heavy rock” in English, and it's not far from the truth. Or perhaps this one's more speedy than heavy. Both tracks on this very rare and valuable 7” are a revved up mix of harder rock and punk, a bit like Hela Huset Skakar but not quite as good. Tejp won't win any awards for groundbreaking songwriting, but both tracks are soaking with a devil-may-care attitude, and the unpolished execution gives them a very charming underground feel perfectly matched by the primitive cover art. I'm quite fond of the kind of energetic no-nonsense, hit-and-run rock'n'roll Tejp play, but it will definitely not satisfy anyone demanding complexity or sophistication.

 

VANADIS – Heaven Can Wait / Do Me A Favor (CF, 1979)
English vocals
International relevance: *

This year's award for strangest cover art goes to Vanadis from the southern city of Helsingborg. It's not the only quirky thing about their only outing, recorded in 1978 and released the following year. Singer Jan Göransson has a dry, strangely timbreless voice which is very far from what you associate with a hard rock singer. The drum sound is peculiar too, especially on ”Do Me A Favor”, with the flat, thuddy bass drum being too loud and the guitars to low in the mix. Producer Göran Sandquist was responsible a few more records in the years to come, but this was done in of his earliest days on the job and he obviously hadn't gotten the hang of it. It sounds as if he was more accustomed to radio production than music ditto. Not that the songs are too impressive either – they're too standard sounding – but they would certainly have had more oomph had they hired someone who knew what he was doing at the mixing desk.

Vanadis started out in 1975 as Aniara. They split up in 1979 due to military service, but some of the members later joined other bands.

BAKRUS
Kärnkraftsrock / Blåljus (Bakrus, 1979)
Nettan / Lämrock (Blåljus, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A band from Åsa, a small town a few miles south of Gothenburg. They left only two self-released singles behind, and the first one at least was recorded in Nacksving's studio. Generally undistinguished semi-hard rock hinting at '77 punk and lyrics with typical post-Nationalteatern sentiments. ”Kärnkraftsrock” is against nuclear power, ”Nettan” against drugs and prostitution. Both singles are rare and sought-after but just not worth it. The best track is clearly ”Lämrock” which can be also found on ”Killed By Death, Vol. 51”. 
 

HAIRLINE BLUE – Snart så kommer jag hem / Månen (Harline Blue, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Had the mix been better balanced, maybe this would have made a greater impact although not by much. ”Snart så kommer jag hem” is semi-boogie rock with shouty vocals. Not good. The B side is a ballad of sorts with a pseudo Christian vibe (although it isn't religious). ”Månen” has some decent heavy lead guitar with proggish overtones, but it's not enough to save it. 

 

ARMATUR – Rock 'n' roll / Mr. X (Duvan, 1980)
Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

The A side is every bit as daft as its title – if you have to convince people you're rock 'n' roll, you're not.

”Mr. X” is quite good however, although it has a loan or two to repay to Black Sabbath. But Armatur are hardly the only ones in debt to Sabbath, so I let them get away with that. The vocals are only so-so but the track has a nice push to and a very good lead guitarist. Only 500 copies were pressed, and with one of the tracks being so good, it's easy to see why it's in such demand with asking prices in parity with that. Recommended if you can find a copy. But don't play the A side.

 

DAKKS – Änglarna / Tema för säsongen / Metallmani (Dakks, 1981)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Not very wellknown, and not very expensive. Not very good either, and certainly not stringent. During the course of only three songs, they swing from one style to another, and I've no idea if they want to be a hard rock band, a pop band or an experimental ska band. Given the main track, the artwork, and the song title ”Metallmani” (=”metal mania”), I guess that hard rock/heavy metal was what they aimed for. But who am I to say from such an inconsistent effort. Singer David Taylor sounds like he would be in a Christian band – there's something about his tone colour that would fit that. However, one source claims he's the guy later known as Roy Taylor (real name Tony Hellander) in Swedish hair metal band Trash, but I can't decide if that's correct or not. No matter what, Dakks only release is more confusing than appealing.

 

REPULZ – Telling Your Future / God Save Rock 'n' Roll / Problembarn (Stepping Mexicam Produktion, 1981)
English vocals, Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Sometimes classified as punk, Repulz actually think they're hard rock. But whatever idea they might have had in their heads about their own sound, they failed to put it into practice. This 45 is just plain bad with pedestrian songwriting, a clumsy drummer and a singer who obviously skipped English classes in school. ”God Save Rock 'n' Roll” is as clichéd as its dull-witted title. The slightly punkish ”Problembarn” (=”problem child”) is the only song in Swedish and is probably the best track here for that very reason.
 

BOOGIETRYCK 

Röd eller blå / På andra sidan (Try Musikproduktion, 1982

 Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

An insignificant band from northern Sweden that nevertheless released another 45 and a full LP in 1984 in addition to this debut 45. Pretty much in the typical straightforward Northern rock style with a fair amount of boogie rock mixed in. ”Röd eller blå” is the better of the two tracks but none of them is very good. Rekyl and Kylans Rockorkester did this thing better even if the style itself isn't too interesting to begin with.

 

WULCAN – Mysterier / Travellin' (Wulcan, 1982)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A very obscure, very rare and very expensive 45 from a band originally known as Paradox formed when the drummer was only 8 years old! As Wulcan, they won a local talent contest in 1986 which resulted in a second single. This their debut was paid for by the band, and display a fair amount of talent. ”Travellin'” is a bit on the mediocre side despite some fully functioning harmony vocals, but the Swedish side ”Mysterier” (=”mysteries”) is very good with a mood setting piano intro and a really beautiful melody. The lyrics seem to have Christian overtones but it's hard to say for sure – there's certainly no overt preaching going on here. Although not really in the old school hard rock vein a la November, Midsommar or Great Ad but a couple of steps closer to heavy metal, it's such a wonderful track that I still recommend it. I really hope it will reissued in some way considering the asking prices for an original. Maybe there's even some unreleased stuff of the same calibre hidden away somewhere?

Gun Smoke
Midnight Train / Thoghts (poor sound) 
Highbrow
A Loser (Bandcamp)
Vanadis
Heaven Can Wait / Do Me A Favor
Bakrus
Kärnkraftsrock / Blåljus 
Nettan / Lämrock 
Hairline Blue
Snart så kommer jag hem / Månen  
Armatur
Rock 'n' Roll / Mr. X 

Tejp full single
Karl Brun & Highway full single playlist
Rock Set full single playlist (Bandcamp) 
Dakks full single 
Repulz full single
Wulcan full single

PROMILLE – Tonåring (UFS, 12", 1979)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

A small scale release with four tracks pressed onto twelve inches of vinyl. Promille had a melodic sense but also a rather heavy sound – last track ”Drömmen” for instance has a lot of AC/DC in its hereditary material. The 'political by proxy' lyrics deal with social issues of small town youth (”tonåring” means ”teenager”) and are quite well written. All songs are band originals and OK. The performances are convincing and it's clear that Promille had more talent than a lot of other obscure bands lacking the financial back-up from proper record companies. Unfortunately, they wasted it when they changed their name to Midnight releasing two dreadful AOR tracks on the Pang Records compilation ”Göteborgsrock/Ytterrock” in 1982. 

Full 12"  

HOROSCOPE – Det är inte vårat fel att brännvin är populärt (TPL, 2025; rec. 1979-1980)

 

Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

The album title means ”it's not our fault that licquor is popular”, but having heard their only original release ”Come To Me” b/w ”Gryning” (recorded in '79, released in '80), I objected emphatically to that assertion as the only way to get through that dreck is to be properly pissed. The A side is particularly bad, with a conspicuous lack of understanding of what makes a good song good. ”Gryningen” at least has a decent riff that reminds me of Midsommar's first album, but the song is spoilt by the vocals. So when I learnt that a full album compiling the self-financed single plus two previously unreleased 1980 studio sessions... well, let's say I was skeptical.

But I'm happy to admit that while the songwriting is still a bit shaky here and there, Horoscope made some progress in only a year. Singer, guitarist and songwriter Andrija Veljaca occasionally came up with a few tight riffs and got a better grasp of his songwriting in general. His vocals are still a bit of a stumbling block, but at least they're mostly OK on the 1980 tracks. Far from being an 'A' grade hard rock band (with a couple of nods to punk), Horoscope still had their moments as proven by this album.

The sound quality is mostly good, but as the liner notes warn you of, there's some tape drag on especially ”Nytt land” that will make you nauseous if you suffer from motion sickness. The final tracks also have a more muffled sound than the previous ones. Also note that at least some copies have a manufacturing error with all 11 tracks playing as one long.

Horoscope fell apart in 1981 when Veljaca left for Karlshamn band Turbo (who morphed into long running hard rock band Mercy). He died before his time from a brain hemorrhage in 2005. Second guitarist Tommy Wirén joined Ocean after Horoscope's ultimate demise. 

Full album playlist 

4 LOCAL V/A COMPILATIONS: Musikpuls / Umeå Rocks Vol. 1 / Först Värnamo... sen världen... / Linköpingsrock '82

Region specific compilations are often very hit and miss, with more misses than hits. There might be some nuggets hidden away there, but it's admittedly a dirty work finding them. Also, their main purpose is often demonstrating the musical breadth of a region, meaning they're usually stylistically inconsistent. That certainly goes for the four discs presented here.

 

MUSIKPULS (Wisa, 1981)

Featured artists: Axels Misär / Gathering Freak / Exodus / Untermensch / P-Nissarna / Hellzephyrs Poporkester / Spader Madame / Decerth / Sunshine Explosion / Skilda Världar / Starglide

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: * 

From Dalarna in the middle of Sweden comes this ragbag collection of blues, punk, heavy metal, post punk pop,ska and FM rock. The best known bands are P-Nissarna (punk) and Hellzephyrs Rockorkester (pop/rock with Janne Goldman and Arbete & Fritid connections). Gathering Freak's ”Skywalker” is a slightly under-rehearsed heavy metal track but still probably the best cut on the album, featuring future metal band Six Feet Under's vocalist Björn Lodin.

 

UMEÅ ROCKS, VOL. 1 (Brute Force, MC, 1981)
Featured artists: Steve Roper Band / Döbelns / The Pinheads / Arrows / Ma Connection / Nylle & Nallarna / Peppes / Vampires / Europa / Street Level / Boi Top / Checkpoint Charlie / Caligulas Barn / La Machine / Incontinents / Unknown artist
Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental

International relevance: **

Probably the most interesting item in this quartet of V/A's, but also the one hardest to find as it was released on tape only. It was the first issue ever on Brute Force Records that later would morph into Garageland Records. Some names wellknown to progg heads here, most notably Steve Roper Band, Ma Connection and Checkpoint Charlie, while The Pinheads might be the most widely familiar name overall. As expected, ”Umeå Rocks, Vol. 1” is all over the place genre-wise but there's a couple of interesting tracks here. Ma Connection's ”Cascade Of Love” is a great slow blues that might be better and moodier than anything on their album ”8691” with some really heartfelt guitar playing from Jan Bjuhr. Vampires were a very obscure synth based band with bass and electric guitar augmenting the cold synthetic sound that (to my knowledge) only ever released this one track ”Stake At The Hard”, an ominous instrumental with faint krautrock traits, almost like a drowsy post-apocalyptic Cosmic Overdose. Incontinents are in a similar vein only with a lighter mood and more adept lead guitar. Not as good as Vampires but still one of the highlights of the tape.

The unknown band at the end of the tape is exactly that, an unknown band. Whoever they are, they deliver a pretty bad cover of The Who's ”Substitute”.

I don't think there ever was a second ”Umeå Rocks” volume.

FÖRST VÄRNAMO.... SEN VÄRLDEN... (Värnamo Musik, 1981)
Featured artists: Abcess / Paj-Cana / Snubbelfot / Omar / Luftgrop / Chronicle / Moder Jord / Akupunktur / Fladderhälarna
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: **

Värnamo is part of the Swedish bible belt, situated in the Småland region. Although all bands on this album are from Värnamo, there's not much religion to be found here. The best known group here is Omar featured with one of their better tracks, ”Opium”. They're actually one of the most accomplished bands in this lot too, as many of the other contributing combos surely would have benefitted from a few more rehearsal hours. The emphasis is on rock sometimes reaching into punk and hard rock, although there are occasional ska/reggae influences heard in Abcess and Luftgrop. The most ambitious track comes from hard rock/prog outfit Moder Jord – actually a bit too ambitious for their technical prowess. The curiously named ”Fiskmuskler” (=”fish muscles”) is nevertheless one of the best tracks in this generally pedestrian collection.

The album title means ”first Värnamo... then the world...” which obviously is intentionally ironic, or at least proved to be. Except for perhaps Omar, none of these bands reached very far beyond the city limits.

 

LINKÖPINGSROCK '82 (Studiefrämjandet, 1982)
Featured artists: Articats / DR/DR / Wallraff / Glamour / Axewitch / Midwinter / Dr. Pollon / Bulldogs / Bädda / DNA / Müsk / Skenet Bedrar

 Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

Time to go to Linköping, home to Kultivator, Mendoza and Erik Aschan and an album released by the study circle Studiefrämjandet in 1982. Linköping has always been a musically active city keen to provide rehearsal spaces to young bands, and ”Linköpingsrock '82” is a testament to that. The bands are well rehearsed although the musical styles aren't particularly interesting. There's a bit of formulaic punk, dull funk rock, pedestrian pop rock and mediocre synth pop. Again it's the heavy metal kids that bring home the medals. Axewitch's ”Nightmare” has an effective riff, and they're the most professional sounding band in this collection. No wonder they actually had a career following this compilation, with several albums out during the first half of the 80s. Artifact didn't – ”A Tribute To You” is the only thing they released – but their mix of heavy metal and symphonic rock might appeal to some readers.

Musikpuls full album 
Umeå Rocks, vol. 1 full album   
Först Värnamo... sen världen... full album   
Linköpingsrock '82 full album

ZETA – 1974 (Mimo Sound, 2019; rec. 1974) / Svart Dag (Mimo Sound, 2024; rec. 1977) / Speleman/Walking Down The Starway (Sonet, 7", 1978)

After drummer Björn Malmros's stint in Alexander Lucas, he formed his own band Zeta in 1974. Originally a four-piece, they went through a couple of line-up changes before debuting for Sonet with single ”Speleman” in 1978, followed by a second 45 ”Vicken tjej” in 1979. By that time, the sound had changed fundamentally to a mainstream kind of AOR of no interest to this blog. However, very different sounding recordings by previous incarnations of the band exist and have trickled out on streaming platforms over the years. 

1974 (Mimo Sound, 2019; rec. 1974)
Swedish vocals, English vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

From their formation year of 1974 comes this 26 minute studio session. Three tracks are untitled instrumentals, and as they don't really hold up as such, my guess is they are unfinished backing tracks supposed to have vocals overdubbed at a later stage. That leaves five tracks that reveal a band surprisingly mature in their fledgling year. The vocals are a bit weak (especially on the only English speaking track ”Burning”), but the music is good-to-great early hard rock that surely would be in high demand among collectors had it only been released back in '74. Some tracks are straight up excellent, such as ”Jag går genom staden” and most notably ”En alvkung” – a classic had it been given the chance to become one. The tapes are a bit hissy, but if someone took the time to clean them up, most of these tracks are well worthy of a proper release.

 

Svart dag (Mimo Sound, 2024; rec. 1977)
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: ***

Three years later, and Zeta had become a power trio with only Björn Malmros left from the original incarnation. Despite being recorded in 1977, this nine-track tape – only 21 minutes long – is quite unaffected by the burgeouning heavy metal sound of the era and is much closer to old school hard rock, with the possible exception for the closing instrumental ”Fantasia”. ”En alvkung” makes a reappearance here in a version standing up for itself not needing any comparisons to the original take. Again, some careful noise removal and sensible remastering is all it takes, and then this is ready for vinyl. Make it side 2 of an album with an accurately trimmed down version of the 1974 session on side 1 and you'll have a pretty brilliant slice of long-lost underground hard rock from the classic era.

 

Speleman / Walking Down The Starway (Sonet, 7". 1978
Swedish vocals, English vocals
International relevance: *

The first proper release from Zeta was this 7”, but the last to warrant inclusion here. The decline into a very uninteresting mainstream sound had already begun, even though it's not as bad as it soon would be. ”Speleman” is decidedly the better track of the two, with some light progressive touches, but compared to ”1974” and ”Svart dag”, this is ignorable. Issued in red vinyl in Sonet's "Swedish Tracks" series.

Like I mentioned earlier, a revamped Zeta released one further 45 (in 1979), and there are more previously unreleased tapes available for streaming. But none of these are attention worthy, with very little left of what made them so good in the beginning.

1974 full album playlist 
Svart Dag full album playlist 
Speleman full single playlist 

PURPLE HAZE – Det är så man undrar... (Plebb, 1981)

 

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: **

Purple Haze were the continuation of Plebb who released the excessively rare ”Yes It Isn't It” on their own label in 1979. The hard rock leanings of Plebb were mixed up with an AOR style in Purple Haze. Although ”Yes It Isn't It” wasn't a particularly great album, it was better than ”Det är så man undrar...”. The vocals are still the weakest link – I hear what Purple Haze are trying to do, but they don't get there because of the lacklustre singing.

Originally a mini album of six tracks, ”Det är så man undrar...” was expanded with four songs when reissued on streaming platforms in 2013. There's no info on when those were recorded but they sound similar to the original album so perhaps they were outtakes left off to cut pressing costs. Ironically enough, their best track ”Koppla av” is among them. It's not great, but a tad better than anything on the original release.

Full album playlist with bonus tracks

RUBBET – Skörden är stor (KN, 1982)

 
Swedish vocals, instrumental
International relevance: **

I hoped this would be a great lost Christian hard rock album. I was right in three respects: it's lost, Christian and hard rock but it's not particularly great. More than half of the songs come from a musical Rubbet wrote about a fictional character named Ben Josef who witnessed the crucifixion of Christ and then turn to him just in time for the resurrection. All songs except one have vocals, many of them with rather dark lyrical concerns which is a rather welcome change to the usual rose-coloured jubilation marring so many Christian releases. The lyrical level isn't too impresive though, and pretty much like the album in general: a rather mediocre effort with uninteresting vocals and a mish-mash of then current hard rock clichés. But the clichés are still preferable to the lame attempts at reggae (”Hej BJ”) and funkiness (”Vaktens sång”) plus a couple of dutiful and unimaginative ballads.

”Skörden är stor” looks like a private pressing but was in fact released by the small Skellefteå label KN – initials for label owner Kjell Nästén – which had a couple of progg related items out (including a late 7” by Kurres Kapell) before folding in the mid 80s. The production is rather professional sounding but a little bit to close to the sound aesthetics of the era.

Rubbet had two songs on the "Rockplock" compilation, and a second album in 1984.  

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 10: Rock

  
RESPEKT – Den stora bron / Rebellernas afton (Respekt, 1977)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

It looks like an biker hard rock single but it sounds more like average singer/songwriter rock. ”Den stora bron” is quite OK (although overlong at 6+ minutes), with an acoustic rhythm guitar and a harmonica solo to put it firmly in the Ulf Lundell/Bob Dylan/Neil Young tradition. ”Rebellernas afton” is musically weaker and particularly suffers from singer Bengt O. Johansson's attempts at sounding Ulf-Lundell-as-John-Wayne macho.

 

MOTVIND – Plockepinn / Törst (Nacksving, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

First ever single by Motvind, released between their third and fourth album, and their only 1979 lifesign on vinyl. The style is typically Motvind with two songs approaching boogie rock and hard rock. Typically Motvind also means typically ignorable.

 

DRÖMPOJKARNA

 Sofi / Ny i stadens ljus (Musiklaget Slick, 1979)
Final Single (Svenska Popfabriken, 1980) as F.D.Drömpojkarna
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Featured here for the sake of completion as Drömpojkarna's only LP is already included. Both singles have some of their better songs, and doesn't suffer too much from the contrived 'controversial' tone that was evident on the album. The 1979 single was produced by Pål Spektrum, an underground legend responsible for most of what was released on Svenska Popfabriken, a label that was hot as a waffle iron in the late 70s/early 80s thanks to the strong regional air to their many pop and rock'n'roll styled releases. For the aptly titled ”Final Single” (actually released as F.D. Drömpojkarna – ”f.d.” meaning ”ex-” – signalling the band had split up before its release) they took the full step and became a Svenska Popfabriken act. I personally have a weak spot for Svenska Popfabriken and what they stood for, but neither of these singles are at all recommended to progg fans.

FRONTALROCK – Nattens barn / Angår oss inte (Gadd, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Sometimes classified as punk or hard rock, this has very little of either. It was taped in 1979 but not released until 1980 at the band's own expense in a 500 copies edition. ”Nattens barn” shows very faint traces of the then popular neo-ska of the British 2 Tone label, but is basically a mid tempo rock song which is quite good with a discreet but ornate piano and a rather fiery lead guitar. The title of the B side means ”Doesn't concern us”, and that's how I feel about the song too. It sounds more like a Kylans Rockorkester throwaway, a silly rock'n'roll pastiche that is has none of the decent songwriting qualities of ”Nattens barn”. 

Bassist Christer Höglund was also in Musikgruppen ACP and Istid. 

 

DJUSH BAND – Just nu / Lilla Lisa (no label, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Categorized as hard rock on Discogs, but that's wrong. It's a private release with a somewhat quirky track on the A side and the more straightforward proggish ”Lilla Lisa” on the flip. ”Lilla Lisa” sounds a bit like a later Nationalteatern song and deals with at-risk youth and related social issues. The phrase ”livet är en fest” even appears in the lyrics (alluding to one of Nationalteatern's best known tracks, meaning ”life's a party” which is purely ironic). Several clues lead to Gothenburg as the band's origin, which would further explain the Nationalteatern influence.

RENDEZ-VOUS – Plugget är slut / Åh dessa dagar (GMP, 1980)

Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

An outlier on the GMP (Great Music Production) label that was more into Swedish dance bands than the budget kind of commercial sounding symphonic rock of Rendez-Vous. Singer and keyboardist Thomas Nanor had an MNW single of classical interpretations out in 1971, a semi-rare space electronics album in 1982, plus another 7” in 1986. Needless to say, both ”Plugget är slut” and ”Åh dessa dagar” are heavy on keyboards. The latter is in fact a half-decent ”dramatic ballad” in itself, but I find Nanor's high pitched vocals with a threating vibrato quite irritating. Perhaps the symphonic vibe is too light to appeal to seasoned symph fans, but then again, I'm not sure who else would be very interest in this. Judging by the low market value and the fact it's fairly easy to come by, the answer is: no-one.

 

PER P – Ackumulerad skuld / Sabine / Novalucol / Hon var våt (Eko, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Per Paulsson had previously released the album ”Tro, hopp och kaffe” in 1974 while his backing band Ruff is featured on the various artists comp ”Ruff & Fukt & Suck”. This four track EP was released with two B sides according to the sleeve and labels and was pressed in red vinyl. It's pretty pedestrian rock progg although some of the lyrics are a bit peculiar. I've never heard of ”drunken guitar picks” before I heard the punk inspired ”Ackumulerad skuld”... Probably the best track here, and as that's not very good you can take this as an encouragement to pass on this.

 

ICTUS – Jag vill ut / Yesterday Song (Plebb, 1980)

Swedish vocals, English vocals

International relevance: *

Released through the label run by Plebb/Purple Haze in an edition of reputedly only 285 copies, this might seem more interesting than it is. ”Jag vill ut” is a mediocre power pop track, so it's ”Yesterday Song” that has to offer up some progginess to justify its place here. It has a slightly off-kilter rhythm suggesting funk and reggae without being any of it plus some knotty guitar playing. The melody is oddly elusive. Elusive apparently also to the singer who seems to struggle with it. Rare yes, but that's really the only thing it has going for it. Avoid.

GRÖNA HISSEN – Statt! (Ori, 1980)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Although titled ”Statt!”, the two songs on this small label release are named ”Ute” (several meanings, here ”out of fashion”, ”unpopular”) and ”Samhällets fiende No. 1” (=”Public enemy no. 1”). Often considered a hard rock band, Gröna Hissen were a more a plain rock band with a punk/progg edge. ”Ute” borrows shamelessly from ”Jumpin' Jack Flash” while the bass line on ”Samhällets fiende No. 1” is reminiscent of neo-ska band Specials. Which is not to say that Gröna Hissen were mere copycats. Although they weren't the most original band around, ”Statt!” nevertheless has a certain appeal thanks to its strong underground aura. They're not the best players, and not always tight, but these two songs have an urgency to them which I like. Prices vary, but not being an established sought-after rarity, it should still be fairly easy to come by relatively cheap for those interested (as of early 2026).

SPINNROCK – Nighttime Is The Righttime / I Remember You (Hit-Records, 1981)

English vocals

International relevance: *

Although there's nothing particularly wrong with this – ”Nighttime Is The Righttime” [sic!] even has some mildly interesting harmonic turns – it's pretty mundane. The lead guitar has some hard rock glitz to them, and the harmony vocals are OK for a release like this, but both tracks leave me cold and a little bored, especially the ballad ”I Remember You”.

Respekt 
Rebellernas afton 
Motvind
Plockepinn / Törst 
Djush Band
Lilla Lisa
Rendez-Vous
Plugget är slut 
Gröna Hissen
Ute
Drömpojkarna
Sofi full single playlist 
Final Single full single playlist 

Frontalrock full single 
Ictus full single playlist 
Spinnrock full single playlist 

Per P no links found 

OXID – Eklatant (Hit-Records Of Sweden, 1981)

  
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

Svalöv is situated in the midwest part of Sweden's southernmost region Skåne, not too far from Landskrona on the coast. With a population less than 13,000 in the 70s, Svalöv was hardly a metropolis then and hasn't been since, but the region nevertheless produced some music, much thanks to Hans Greebach's studio and label Hit-Records Of Sweden. The shortlived label is already known to blog readers thanks to Grassroots. Greebach produced Oxid's ”Eklatant” and also contributed a guitar solo to the album. 

Oxid were four buddies barely in their moustache age thanking one Angelika for buns and coffee on the back cover. Their attempt to look heavy metal on the front falls flat as padded jackets have a very low Judas Priest factor. (Only the guy second from right had parents that agreed to pay for his leather.) In short, they don't come much dorkier than this. And if you think the outer appearence reflects what's inside, you're perfectly right.

”Eklatant” is not a good album. But the simplistic songwriting, simpleminded execution and the lyrics' painfully adolescent observations scores high on the charm scale if you can accept it for what it is. Oxid were sincere and what can four poor boys do in Svalöv except play in a rock'n'roll band? Their hard rock ambitions are endearing but without the necessary skills, ”Eklatant” ends up closer to a smalltown punk album that wouldn't take them anywhere but back to mum and dad's disappointment over low school grades. The album is a snapshot of a Sweden long before Instagram influencers and twisted TikTok challenges. The innocence of ”Eklatant” dressed up in vanilla buns rebellion is heartwarming. The strong DIY vibe, a clear heritance from progg filtered through the punk ethos, is hopeful. From that persepctive it doesn't really matter that the music is bad.

No links found

A SEVEN INCH SPECIAL, VOL. 8: Various singles

 

BLUESET – Midnight Rambler / The Band (Efel, 1970)

English vocals

International relevance: ***

Second single from Södertälje's Blueset. ”Midnight Rambler” is a pointless cover of The Rolling Stones monolith while the 'B' side is an autobiographical revamp of Willie Cobbs' ”You Don't Love Me” (which in turn was a modification of Bo Diddley's ”She's Fine, She's Mine”). Not any of Blueset's best moments.
 

RÖDA KAPELLET & UNGA GARDET – EP (Arbetarkultur, 1974)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Recorded in 1973 and released as a four-track EP the following year, this was Röda Kapellet's first release. Two of the songs are performed with vocal group Unga Gardet in a typical political leftwing style à la a less militant Freedom Singers/Knutna Nävar. Not good. The two remaining tracks are by the electric (and better) incarnation of Röda Kapellet. Not that neither ”Västeråsvisan” nor ”Rätt till ett meningsfullt jobb” is particularly good, but both have some drive to them that make them at least a little bit catchy. 

 

OKAY TEMIZ - Denizaltı Rüzgarları / Dokuz Sekiz (Yonca, 1975)

Instrumental

International relevance: ***

Something as unusual as a single from the magnificent Okay Temiz, released only in Turkey in the same year as the ”Turkish Folk Jazz” album but very different. It's actually rather different to most of Temiz did, especially in the 70s (although I do recognize the riff from somewhere). ”Denizaltı Rüzgarları” has a persistent, driving groove and is one of the funkiest tracks in his ouvre, and I could imagine someone remixing it for the dance floor unless it has already happened. ”Dokuz Sekiz” in turn is a freaky percussion workout with downright psychedelic shadings. An excellent non-album two-sider from both ends of the spectrum, thankfully reissued in 2017 by UK based label Arsivplak specialized on Turkish rarities – originals are rare and costly.

JAJJA BAND – Tårarna / Linda (MNW, 1979)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A supergroup of sorts with members from November, Träd Gräs & Stenar, Eldkvarn, and Sigge Krantz from everyone from Bröderna Lönn to Archimedes Badkar. Not that it says much about how Jajja Band sounds – they were more of a standard period rock band with light strokes of punk and new wave. Interesting as a footnote to the abovementioned bands but nothing that stands up on its own merits.

 

MUSIC TEAM – Funny Way Of Livin' / Sweet Lorraine (no label, 1979)

English vocals

International relevance: -

The 'A' side is stupid horn rock boogie, the 'B' side is better but only just. And what's better about it is effectively ruined by Boel Peterson's intrusive back-up vocals anyway. Said to be a private release but the labels are suspiciously similar to the labels of Janne Goldmann's R & P Records so maybe there's a connection.

 

ACHILLEUS – Allt vi begär / Öbergs präster (Pang, 1982)
Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

One of many, many bands lured to the rogue label Pang Records by the dodgy Lars E. Carlsson who ran it between 1978 and 1984. The single was pressed, as often with Pang, in 500 copies and the band was gravely dissatisfied with the results. They were a hard rock band with some symphonic moves, and the inferior four track studio was not what they were promised and couldn't capture the sound they aimed for. They remixed the single in 2024 for streaming platforms, and while still an insufficient recording, it does sound better now. It's musically not very good though. Those who nevertheless want to hear more early Achilleus material can check out their streaming compilation ”The Sins Of Youth 1982-1984”.

 

TIEBREAK – Mina grannar (gillar inte rock'n'roll) / Balladen om Lotta Bengtsson (Pang, 1982)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

The singer's dialect suggests Tiebreak might have been from the Swedish West Coast. They sound very much like a Gothenburg version of Sydkraft, meaning irrelevant stupid rock'n'roll. Both songs are bad.

 

VICTIM – Framtid med hopp / Det var då han vann (Pang, 1982)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

Clumsy hard rock verging on heavy metal from Vimmerby in the county of Småland. Poorly rehearsed and with a horrible, insipid singer. The cover art is bad even for a Pang release. Very expensive these days, but that has definitely more to do with rarity grade than musical value.
 

 

HELIUM HEAD – In The Sky / Take Me Home (Pang, 1982)

English vocals

International relevance: **

One more Pang 45, and one of the better. The band was from the small town of Yxbo in the Hälsingland county in the middle of Sweden and might have taken their name from the Sir Lord Baltimore song. The guitars are a bit metallic but Helium Head is generally closer to good old fashioned hard rock. ”In The Sky” is really catchy, and while the 'B' side ”Take Me Home” is also very melodic, it's not as good as the other track – it's a little bit too poppy for the style. Still a pity they never released anything else, they had more talent than many other bands screwed over by Pang.

Released without a picture sleeve.
 

 

DREAD NOT – Reggae Inna Umeå (no label, 1982)

English vocals

International relevance: *

Reggae band of little significance. They came from Umeå as revealed by the single's title, and despite a prime time television appearance, nothing came of the band except this one self-released and self-produced 7”. The only member I recognize is drummer Jan Gavelin who was in Harald Hedning in the mid 70s. Closer to brit reggae acts like Aswad and Steel Pulse and not very close to Jamaica, the 'A' side ”This World” is OK albeit formulaic, while 'B' side ”Welcome Brother” is entirely forgettable.

Blueset no links found
Helium Head no links found
Okay Temiz full single playlist (Bandcamp)
Tiebreak full single
Victim full single
Röda Kapellet & Unga Gardet:
Västeråsvisan / Världsungdomssången (with Unga Gardet) / Unga gardet (with Unga Gardet) / Rätt till ett meningsfull artbete
Jajja Band:
Tårarna / Linda (Soundcloud)
Music Team:
Funny Way Of Livin'
Achilleus:
Allt vi begär / Öbergs präster
Full remixed single playlist
Dread Not:
This World / Welcome Brother