Sounds Fair Festival 2026, Gasklockarna, Gävle, Sweden, 1 and 2 May 2026

Sounds Fair have adopted the idea to let a local, young, and unsigned band open the festival. This year it was Necshot from Gävle. A death metal band of very young guys, one even below legal drinking age so the beer had to be taken out of the dressing room fridge.

It's an excellent way to get young bands stage experience, a chance to reach an audience who came to see another band on the bill. Oskar Brahn, Jacob Strand, Emil Janson, and Tim Albinsson.

Friday was a heavy night. Death metal as an opening act had me wondering at first about attendance, but with the other metal bands on the bill it apparently worked out.

Not being too familiar with all death metal specifics, I heard elements I would have labelled thrash metal (a bit of Megadeth perhaps). Although the major musical element is fast and low-pitched riffing with grunts and growls, there were a surprising number of changes and breaks. I liked the solos that went into higher regions of the aural spectrum as it added more melody, but that's my taste, of course.

The major thing was clear to me that these guys were very well-rehearsed. I didn't expect this level from a band this young. There were hardly any signs between the three musicians to mark upcoming changes, and their playing and timing was excellent, regardless of your subjective opinion on the music. Being this driven, they will get their music out there.

I had seen Sodakill once before (at a gig with Horndal, which was also organised by Sounds Fair), so I knew what to expect. We had a chat with the four women before and after the shows, and it's cool to see the contrast between normal life and stage life. Off-stage it becomes clear how serious they are in the show and about getting their music out. On stage, all that energy comes loose.

Sodakill is perhaps a punk band at the base, but add the show, the musicianship, the energy, the power, and you get an explosive set of punk-metal music with a few tiny touches of blues-rock and unexpected twists and turns.

A casual observer hears the punk-based heavy rock, sees the high-energy show with the four women who at times put all their hearts and souls into the screams that are part of the lyrics.

Looking a bit closer, one can see that beyond the show front there is musicianship. The speed of most of the songs requires tight play for things not to become a mess. Drummer Astrid Carsbring rules in keeping the train on track with bass player Elsa Presto bridging the rhythm and melodic sections. The guitarists jump around a lot and while singer Julia Sjöström is bound to get more attention for being front-woman and lead vocalist, guitarist Beatrice Nordling does not leave everything up to Julia, and likes to move around a lot as well, even during solos.

The music is more than just punk leaning towards metal. The many breaks made it a lot more interesting to these prog-minded ears than just punk music. In some slower or quieter sections a bluesy layer shines through. Nordling even picked up the violin for one song. Although the violin was a bit harder to hear in this live setting with a noisy show and audience, during the sound check I heard how it should have sounded, properly.

Sodakill have played abroad several times now, even in Mexico. They will be noticed more and more around the world, I am sure. Glad to see a small organisation like Sounds Fair to have been a tiny part in that. It was a great show for the audience, and music-wise, it was actually a great fit on this Friday.

Orkan made a big impression on me at the festival in 2024. So I was looking forward to hearing them again. I knew there would be a slightly different sound than last time, since saxophone player Kim Bertilsson would be here now. She had a break from touring last time because she had a baby. Now my taste usually does not find brass sound very appealing, so I kept my expectations limited.

Perhaps that restriction helped give me another surprise, for within one minute into the first song, I got goosebumps. A relatively slow start for a live show, especially after the metal that came before, but the atmosphere was set and the mix of blues-rock feeling with a touch of folk and psychedelic pop/rock in a progressive way just did it for me. The band played in on setting anticipation. As it turned out, the setlist worked very well and felt really thought out.

And it was not just the start that gave me goosebumps. Throughout the show there were many moments like this. The saxophone blends into the full sound as another layer, never takes the leading role in a way my taste has a hard time with (I think my mind was set by 1980s pop hits). Instead, the saxophone sounded soulful and warm, like the lower frequency range on a Hammond organ.

With Odjuret we were treated to a new song. It follows the same lines and as such is not unexpected, but the band show progress in writing.

Guitarist Fredrik Pettersson looked modest, but his playing is an important part of the sound (not to mention he is one of the songwriters). Theresia Dufva is playing sitting down (as she did in 2024). I don't know the reason for this, and it makes her a bit invisible when it comes to the visual side of the show, but her melodic bass runs add a significant layer.

Josefine Green (guitar, harmonica, flute, vocals) and Moa-Linn Rosenlöf (drums, vocals) are the most prolific songwriters in the band, sometimes together, sometimes separately. At times, it looks like these have a communication going on without looking at each other.

The arrangements are one of the strong aspects of the band's sound. The three voices and the instrumentation make for a grounded feel with groovy multilayered melodies, resulting in a progressive sound that is less heavy than what's popular these days for psychedelic/progressive rock. A touch of Tull, perhaps.

Before the festival I was wondering what Orkan would be doing on the Friday, with death metal at the start and finish, and a punk-metal act just before them. But it turned out as a perfectly timed breather in terms of heaviness, while keeping the intensity of the evening.

Friday's main act Horndal were at the 2023 edition of the festival. They are a big name in Sweden's metal scene already and not just because their name is also the name of their home town. Even people not in the metal scene know Horndal is a Swedish metal band. They are only doing a few shows this year while working on their new album so it's a bit special to see them now.

Sounds Fair had a special show with Horndal in 2024 (with Sodakill opening) around the release of their Head Hammer Man album, the story behind it. Although my taste usually does not have room for this type of metal with screaming vocals throughout, the background story and hearing the singer do his talks did make me warm up to the band and what they stand for. Henric Levahn (vocals, guitar), Pontus Levahn (drums), Daniel Ekeroth (bass), and Johan Törnkvist (guitar).

Music-wise it's very metal, of course. As with a lot of modern metal, people like to include nice breaks, things to keep the listener on their toes. Things like this trigger the prog-minded brain as well. And many guitar solos bring in a lot of melody. I like the mix of Swedish and English lyrics, but when you cannot hear the lyrics due to the style of singing, it's a bit hard to fully enjoy that part. I did see a lot of people in the audience shouting along so that limitation was mine only.

Most songs were from their latest album, Head Hammer Man. Impressive playing, of course, from this experienced band I was expecting nothing less and was not disappointed. It's great to see a band so in touch with the audience. They're keeping up a metal attitude for the show, but it's clear how they love their show themselves as well.

The audience loved it, too. The show was great and the sound was great. What is not to like?

The Saturday traditionally starts with the record fair on the day. It's the original name of the festival: Gefle Skivmässa. The spelling used to be Gefle until a spelling change early 20th century, but the old spelling is used quite often.

This time, the entry to the record fair was free, the effect of which was noticeable in attendance numbers, even with the beautiful weather. Last year the record fair was on the first beautiful day of spring and meant people wanted to be outside. This time, I saw many people going in and out several times.

Opening the second day of the festival is another young and relatively local band (from Avesta, one hour from Gävle). Their first album Jötunn was released in 2020, then re-recorded with a new drummer, and the new version was released in 2022. In 2023 they released Ostiarius Inferni. (Note that the two albums are on two different Bandcamp profiles.)

Hästspark (which translates to Horse Kick) play on the heavy side of stoner-rock, leaning towards doom metal. It's the sound of doom mixed with the energy of metal, resulting in a faster-paced doom with some melodic solos. If the documentation is correct, the line-up was Jonathan Ekvall (drums), Leo Lyckoholm (guitar, vocals) och Ben Karlsson (bass).

What is it this weekend that has the drumming stand out? The drummers were all great, several were excellent and played a pivotal role in the bands' sound. Hästspark were another example. Tight would be wrong for this type of music but inventive and groovy and all over the place.

The singing was a bit same-ish to my taste but fitting the genre. My taste just prefers more melody. The singer does have a very powerful voice, and nothing sounded like his voice was getting tired or something.

Together they were a well-rehearsed unit. Like Necshot the previous day, they impressed with their level of musicianship and playing.

Feedback from some attendees told me they really liked their set and wished it was longer, including people who heard the band for the first time. The overall reaction from the crowd told me the same. It shows it's a good thing to give young bands the opportunity to show what they're about.

The only band to do the festival two years in a row now is Nephila. I learnt about them from their debut album and finally got to see them live at last year's edition of Sounds Fair Festival. Needless to say, I was looking forward to this.

The band went through their set like a storm and made every minute count of their 40 minutes. (It will not surprise you I would have loved to see a longer set!) Heavy 1970s-inspired blues-based progressive rock filled with the right breaks and twists and turns and dual-layered melodic vocals. Right in the middle of my taste spectrum.

Some events have not helped the band's public profile. When talks about booking them for the 2024 edition were ongoing, they had to bow out because of two important lineup changes, making public appearances go slow for a while. Then, shortly before last year's performance, while being far into the process of finishing their second album, the record company Almost Religious went bankrupt. This delayed their second album, making the gap between their first and second quite long, which is also not good for a band. They did get to play the important Sweden Rock festival, though!

If anything, it seems like the band got out of this stronger than before. They kept on writing new music and rearranging older material. Overall, the set was impressive, a powerful show of what this band can do.

This night, the band had to do with only one guitarist, Jacob Hellenrud, since Anton Athley was unavailable. Although this would no doubt affect the overall sound, it did give me, from where I was standing, a mix slightly more in favour of keyboard player Johan Larsson, who, again from where I was standing then, was not as audible during last year's show. (Mixing seven musicians might have added some pressure on the sound technician.) The blues-rock feel on which the progressive songs are built became more up-front, and I loved it.

Singers Josephine Asker and Linn Edlund were even better than last year. Their arrangements bring an important layer to the band's total sound. Variation in singing in harmony and alternatively gives quite a number of unexpected turns. Their voices sometimes sound not too different, and then in harmony you hear two melodies. It is one of the things that make their sound very special.

It was another set where I found the drummer stand out. James Westlin, stand-in for drummer Johan Lööf who was also unavailable today, orchestrated the drive and overdrive for the show — impressive, after what cannot have been a long period of rehearsals. The energy was boosting off the stage. With their masks, communication among them was probably limited. This is one tight unit of a band.

The show comprised five tracks from their debut album and three new ones. The first song was released as a single in early 2025, as a preview to the second album. Huldra and Living Grave sound like a logical step from the first album, with the added impression that the sound might have become a bit heavier, which I also got from the sometimes new arrangements of the older songs. Of course, this can be because of the live setting, which means the band have a good understanding of the difference between a studio album and a live audience.

Last year, Alla Galaxers Centrum, was a bit shorter, and now it was longer again. The instrumental section was spacier, weirder, heavier, and I love the contrast between the heavy and slower sections. The Swedish lyrics here give it an eerie touch if Swedish is not your first language.

The band announced that they have found a record label and that the second album might finally be in the store before summer! A thrilled listener here...

Spiders seem to be a big name in the live scene here in Sweden. The description of "high-energy rock-and-roll" says it all, really. If you want an energetic live show that is a little too heavy for your average party, then this is the band to book.

The band seem to be run or led by singer Ann-Sofie Hoyles and guitarist John Hoyles. Ann-Sofie is a small person for the amount of energy a human being can hold. The amount of jumping involved made me feel tired! The act fits very well in the energetic music and show. It took a while before the tempo changed for a slower song.

Many songs are based on a solid blues-rock foundation, with several nice solos. It touches classic hard-rock quite often. Ann-Sofie is meant to be the centre of attention on stage, but nothing is static in this band, everyone is in on that flow of energy. The band played a tight set, with mostly shorter songs than a prog listener would meet when attending a show, but what power.

Although not triggering my prog or psychedelic-minded aural receptors, it was a fun watch, seeing the band and audience go wild.

I was looking forward to this! I only knew them from the studio albums and I like the sound, the dark, 70s-influenced melodic hard rock. I had not paid attention to the line-up before, and only because of this show I was aware that within a few months several musicians had gone and replaced. For a while, Rosalie Cunningham was part of the band, which excited me even more. But for this show, but it was German guitarist Coralie Baier on guitar. On bass is Claudia Gonzalez Diaz from Spain, who actually plays bass in Rosalie Cunningham's band. On drums is Kevin Kuhn and on guitar Max Eriksson.

It was fun to see a band having a coffin on the rider! It was even more fun someone in the organisation even managed to find one, resulting in some fitting pictures. It's all for show of course, talking to the band before and after the show and seeing them on stage are two very different experiences.

That show is quite the event. It was the last show of a long tour, but singer Johanna Platow kept her voice and played her part perfectly. The audience loved it.

The rest of the band were not showing any wear or tear either. With Gonzalez Diaz, who was moving around a lot, and Kuhn providing the rolling thunderstorm of rhythm, the others filled the air with riffs and melodies. Baier impressed me with her solos. It's a matter of taste, of course, but her playing hit the right spots on my audio receptors.

Touches of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and even Kiss, all with Platow's powerful and melodic vocals on top. Excellent show!