The rock cruise is now a well established business model in the world of classic rock, as fans of rock’s golden age reach their Saga-eligible years and are looking for new experiences and greater comfort than sleeping in tents and trudging through muddy fields.

Oddly, despite being an inveterate gig goer on both sides of the Atlantic, I’d yet to find a compelling reason to splash the substantial sums for the Monsters of Rock or the myriad cruises around the US or Caribbean coasts, but the testimonies of friends made it something I would like to do one day.

At the same time, to fill the void left by the demise of Firefest and Rockingham I had the sniff of European melodic rock festivals in my nostrils, doing the Swedish AOR convention in Malmö and the now sadly ended HEAT festival in Germany in the months before lockdown.

So when my attention was drawn to a cruise organised by Sweden’s premier online rock website Rocknytt (a Nordic getreadytorock, you might say!), very reasonably priced and lasting only a night just in case I found life at sea not to my liking, I could not resist, despite my reluctance to leave the country at the business end of the football season!

The lineup was a very enticing draw, with some established acts from the UK mixed with a selection of Swedish bands from the ever burgeoning melodic scene there. (Sadly though two of the bands I most wanted to see, Perfect Plan in particular and Arctic Rain, were ruled out by illness – and hopefully I can catch them on a further euro jaunt).

The ‘Cinderella’ ship sailed out of Stockholm (this fabulous city being another good reason for the trip) on its voyage to Mariehamn, on the Finnish archipelago of Aland, midway between Sweden and Finland- not that I saw too much of the sea, being preoccupied by the music.

I wasn’t prepared for the scale of the liner nor the sheer volume of people, apparently some 1400 (very few of whom seemed to be under 50) and not far short of capacity. Separated by a series of bars, restaurants and even a duty free, the bands were split between two stages, one floor and the length of the ship apart. Combined with five minute set changeovers, that meant only me and my fellow AOR anoraks obsessively trekked between stages.

But while the main the ‘Etage’ stage was well appointed with a professional stage set, and a decent sized floor with bars and seating at the back, the second ‘Melody’ stage was a lot more rudimentary, a cramped semi circular stage at floor level, rendering all but a few people able to see the bands.

DAY 1- CAPTAIN BLACK BEARD, RUSS BALLARD, HOUSTON, DARE. REMEDY, DEMON, GATHERING OF KINGS

It was at the Melody stage that the action started and appropriately enough Captain Black Beard both had a nautical name and a singer in Martin Holsner sporting a peaked military cap. He had a smooth higher pitched voice that reminded me of the much missed Kimmo Blom from Urban Tale and others, rendering songs like opener ‘Flamenco’ very impressive, though he was not averse to a Halford-like scream, such as the one that ended ‘Midnight Cruiser’.

‘Lights and Shadows’ (no not the Europe song) had a very ‘Armed and Ready’-like riff, yet despite the presence of two lead guitarists, they had a very AOR sound with guest keyboards from Richard Hamilton of Houston prominent in the mix, especially on songs like ‘Wasted Heart’ and ‘Young Hearts’. They ended a real surprise package of an opening set with the heavier ‘All the Pain’, which I understand was the only number from the earlier phase of a career of a decade or more which has recently changed direction since the singer’s arrival.

Opening up the main stage was one of the main draws for me in Russ Ballard whose London shows were among my gigs of last year. I knew what to expect but there was a sense of anticipation in different ways from the Swedish home crowd, for his first show since 1976.

Teasing them for their inebriation (which was to get far worse) he opened with a real gem in ‘Rene Didn’t Do It’ from what he slightly exaggeratedly described as his punk album ‘Barnet Dogs’, and the opening songs were from his solo career. ‘Playing With Fire’ showed off the quality of his band, and on that and ‘In the Night’ in particular he unleashed some fluid, lengthy solos on a Stratocaster with Swiss cheese style holes in it. There were a couple of AOR-tastic moments in ‘Dream On’ and the antiwar ‘The Fire Still Burns’ which had a dramatic atmosphere.

Indeed, compared to those UK shows I saw there seemed relatively less Argent material but ‘Hold. Your Head Up’ was a glorious exception, the crowd taking over and Marc Rapson reproducing Rod Argent’s pomp tastic solos on the original.

Then came the traditional ‘I wrote this for’ medley of his hits, from ‘So You Win Again’ to Frida’s ‘There’s Something Going On’ (appropriately enough), ‘You Can Do Magic’ with second guitarist Roly Jones sharing the vocals, before taking over himself on ‘I Surrender’, and concluding with ‘New York Groove’ which seemed to get the best reception of all.

‘Since You Been Gone’ got the full throated Bonnet-esque treatment, while wisely, this set was tailored towards an AOR friendly audience, notably with a pair from his 1984 self titled album in ‘Voices’ with its parping keyboards and the commercial nous of ‘Two Silhouettes’, perhaps my favourite moment of the set.

I thought ‘God Gave Rock n Roll to You’ would end the set in its typically anthemic style, the crowd singing the chorus long before it actually came in, but he and the band were tempted back for ‘I Can’t Hear You No More’ culminating in some twin lead guitar.

By that time I was edging out, ready for a mad dash back to the melody stage for Houston who were once regulars in the UK but have been seen too infrequently in recent years. I needn’t have rushed as sound problems meant they started late, so I was going to face an agonising choice. The rarity value dictated staying the whole set and having to run late for Dare, who after all I was scheduled to see at least twice more in 2023.

On the openers ‘She Is The Night’ and ‘You’re Still The Woman’ the vocals of sole remaining founder member Hank Erix were as smooth as ever, rendering the music blissfully melodic, though the solos of face-pulling Carl Hammar on a battered Stratocaster were a heavier counterpoint. We got an anthemic ‘I’m Coming Home’ and a preview from ‘Relaunch 3’ in ‘Slipping Away’, before a trip back to the first album (now 13 years old!) for ‘Hold On’ which had people singing, as did their cover of Dakota’s ‘Runaway’ with former member Ricky Delin duetting with Hank.

It was definitely worth the decision to stay but as they dropped in an encore in ‘1000 Songs’ I hot footed it mid-song to the main stage for Dare, just as they ended opener ‘Born In The Storm’.

This was not like the reserved, sparsely attended crowd last time I saw them at Islington Academy. Instead I literally had to push my way through to the dance floor where Swedes, a large number in Thin Lizzy or related t-shirts, were having a raucous party with even mellower songs like ‘Cradle To The Grave’, ‘Home’ and ‘Until’ (with Marc Roberts keyboards imitating traditional Celtic whistles) sparking a raucous atmosphere. Charismatic frontman Darren Wharton had an even bigger grin than usual as he worked the crowd and even joked ‘Road To Eden’ should be renamed ‘Road To Sweden’.

Over the past few years with each successive sighting I have felt Dare have regained a rock edge, and this was no exception, not least because drummer Greg Morgan had made a return to the fold after 30 plus years, and on ‘Fire Never Fades’ Vinny Burns, who seems to smile more these days, unleashed one of his searing solos.

So it was no surprise that they dipped back into heavy album ‘Blood From Stone’ with ‘Wings Of Fire’ and ‘We Don’t Need A Reason’, those ‘Emerald’-like riffs and solos delighting the Lizzy fans (if not Darren who cursed the band into tricking him into playing the song that strains his voice the most) before those AOR classics ‘Abandon’ and ‘Into The Fire’, one after the other as on the ‘Out Of The Silence’ debut.

This was following the traditional pattern of a Dare show, until they briefly returned to the new album with ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, which did stall the momentum a tad before more arm waving and singing along to first album favourites ‘The Raindance’ and ‘Return The Heart’, in between ‘King Of Spades’, featuring a wonderful solo from Vinny and including a snatch of ‘Black Rose’. Though the sound was a bit muddy, the atmosphere made for one of my most memorable Dare shows.

Only a small minority made it all the way back to the Melody stage to see the latest Swedish discovery Remedy, whose ‘Something That Your Eyes Won’t See’ album received rave reviews when it came out at the tail end of last year. Opening with the vintage AOR of ‘Living On the Edge’ then the classic stabbing keys intro to ‘Marilyn’, a song that made Air Supply sound heavy in comparison, slightly built singer Robert Van der Zwan had a high but rather thin voice, and I felt it wasn’t suited to some heavier numbers such as ‘Stranger’ and ‘Sinners and Saints’.

Just as I was preparing to file them under slightly disappointing ‘Sundays at Nine’ a piano led ballad that broke into a grand, epic arrangement almost single handedly changed my opinion and the closer ‘My Devil Within’ was also very impressive.

Back at the main stage was a third successive British act, in Demon, a cult act who I must admit have barely been on my radar for many years. The current line up in which singer Dave Hill (no not that one) is the only original member nevertheless consists of some of the UK scene’s most respected musicians who I’ve seen in other bands.

On this occasion the organisers had persuaded them to play 1983’s ‘The Plague’ album in full. I sensed that Dave, who had the look of a Victorian undertaker in his dark hat and cloak and shares Biff Byford’s bluff wit, was not fully convinced himself as he kept apologising for the not very accessible nature of what was a concept album. However it went down very well with, dare I say it, an older school audience who would have remembered it.

Some songs were more accessible such as ‘Nowhere To Run’ and ‘BlackHeath’, boasting keyboards and not a million miles from Saracen or vintage Magnum , either side of longer numbers such as the slow ‘Fever In The City’ and ‘The Only Sane Man’. ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ had Purple-esque keyboards and ‘A Step Too Far’ closed the Plague segment in proggy fashion.

Having taken the opportunity to rest my feet and sit with a beer (cheap by Scandinavian standards, which may have accounted for the rather drunken nature of many of the passengers) I moved forward for the closing part of the set to join mass singalongs to some of the numbers I was familiar with ‘Sign Of A Madman’ and ‘Don’t Break The Circle’, while on closer ‘Night Of The Demon’ Dave put on a grotesque mask and handed it out around the crowd. From a starting point of not being particularly interested, I found myself a convert.

By now it was gone midnight and despite enjoying the company of some friendly Swedes, I was struggling to stay awake so forced myself to stand for the final act of the night, Gathering of Kings.

I knew the name in melodic rock circles, but was not familiar with the concept, so it was a surprise when after opening with ‘Forever and a Day’, a different singer, Rick Altzi, came on for ‘Love Will Stay Alive’, with the deep booming tones of old school Coverdale or Jorn.

In fact within the first few numbers no less than four lead vocalists had come on and they alternated all night. Each could not be faulted musically, but Alexander Frisborg, long-haired, wearing a military jacket and jumping into the front row of the crowd, was easily the most charismatic.

The music was more European hard rock than much of what had gone but extremely melodic with added colour provided by some very pompy keyboards to reinforce two lead guitarists. However it had been a long day which suddenly became longer when the clock on a phone in front of me leapt from 2 o’clock to 3 o’clock and I eventually twigged that on our voyage we had crossed into a different time zone.

Their songs – ‘Firefly’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Halfway To Paradise’, ‘Saviour’, ‘Vagabond Rise’ and ‘Riders of The Light’ among others- were individually very good, but quite samey in style and tempo which was not what I needed at that time. After a fun and presumably last song where singers Nanne Gronwall (the voyage’s on-stage compere) and Maria Radsten from the Swedish pop group One More Time duetted with one of the singers Johnny Lindquist on ‘Feed You My Love’ it was back to my cabin to try and grab four hours sleep.

DAY 2- EMOTIONAL FIRE, WEAPON, WILDNESS, GRAND SLAM

I then had the unusual experience of beginning Saturday morning with a gig that ended by lunchtime with the remaining four bands. However there appeared to have been casualties from the previous night’s rowdiness, or else people simply couldn’t be bothered to leave the cabins or restaurants.

I felt sorry for a new all female Swedish band Emotional Fire, opening proceedings at a thinly populated main stage. They could be forgiven for opening rather tentatively but warmed to their task and things took a distinct turn for the better when during a Russ Ballard cover (with the same staccato grooves as ‘There’s Something Going On’) ‘Your Time Is Gonna Come’ the man himself, together with Roly Jones, came on stage to join in on vocals on a moment the young band will never forget.

‘Fire In Your Eyes’ and ‘Will You Be There’ saw them hit their stride with a style reminiscent of the likes of Vixen and Robin Beck. I noticed from the setlist their eponymous song was an encore, and suspected it might be the Cher classic of the same name, a song written by the holy trinity of late eighties melodic rock hit songwriters – Diane Warren, Desmond Child and Michael Bolton. Sure enough it was, and while impossible to beat the original they made a pretty good stab at it. They look the part and as they grow in confidence are a band to watch.

Back on the ‘Melody’ stage, once again there were sound problems, delaying Weapon’s set, at which point singer and sole original member Danny Hynes (who now lives in Sweden) drew on all his experience entertaining pub crowds with Paddy Goes to Holyhead by conducting a rendition of ‘Thank You For the Music’.

When they finally got going with a truncated set the likes of ‘Remote Control’ and ‘Electric Power’ were tight and uncompromising NWOBHM. They were a little out of kilter with the musical theme of the voyage and indeed my own tastes, but as one of the late stand ins, they could hardly be criticised for that.

Unfortunately with the set overrunning I departed half way through to return to the main stage and Wildness, one of the current never ending production line of melodic rock talent from Sweden, and another last-minute addition to replace Perfect Plan.

When I saw them at the last Rockingham in 2018 my abiding memory is of singer Gabriel Lindmark overdoing the party the night before and running out of breath. This time there was a new singer in Erik Forsberg, considerably more laid back in his approach, but more reliable. At a festival where some of the bands were content to speak between songs in their native tongue, his near flawless English also endeared him to me, even with the phrase ‘I digress’.

Opening with ‘Die Young’, there had been a late change in their camp with the second guitarist absent ill, so lead guitarist Pontus Skild had to shoulder more of the burden, albeit helped by the piped keyboards (a personal bugbear) which enlivened second song ‘Nightmare’.

They were a little harder than I remembered and indeed ‘Release Your Beast’, penned by drummer Erik Modin, was too close to Saxon’s ‘Unleash the Beast’ for comfort. For a while I was slightly underwhelmed but it all came together with a very impressive closing trio of a pair from their first album, ‘Collide’ and ‘Turning the Pages’, then ‘Cold Words’, which eclipsed what had gone before.

After a break on the deck to socialise and enjoy a crisp spring day as the boat headed back towards Stockholm, came one final band, and fittingly one with another Lizzy family tree connection, in Grand Slam, originally Philip Lynott’s ill fated post-Lizzy band. The baseball capped wearing Laurence Archer is the one remaining link to those days, and fittingly his killer riffery was at the heart of opener ‘Nineteen’, later retooled by Phil as his final solo single.

Frontman Mike Dyer – a master at working the crowd with very entertaining gestures - teased that a new album was on the way, but for the meantime this was a similar set to the one I’ve seen regularly since they reformed in 2019 with several songs from ‘Hit The Ground’, including ‘Gone Are The Days’ (sounding like a cross between ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ and ‘Got To Give It Up’), ‘Crazy’ which rattled along in rapid fire fashion with a solo that reminded me of that on ‘Are You Ready’ and the title track, one of many where Mike was dying to make political statements, particularly against Vladimir Putin.

The slow, bluesy groove of ‘Crime Rate’ showed off the seasoned talents of the rhythm section of Rocky Newton and Benji Reid, and each time I’ve seen the band they seem to have developed a greater power and intensity. This helped them make their own some of the old Grand Slam originals repurposed by others, notably ‘Dedication’ – with a shout out to usual keyboard player Jem Davis, absent battling illness – and ‘Military Man’ with Mike marching on the spot and Laurence playing the epic solo – though consensus was Gary Moore’s interpretation is almost impossible to top. As usual the set ended with another favourite of old in the lengthy epic ‘Sisters of Mercy’- the second song of the festival to take Emerald as its template.

Despite a few gremlins – particularly at the Melody stage where the set up was not really adequate for the quality of the bands – and a few annoying drunks, and not enough of a gap for a decent night’s kip, I had enjoyed every minute of my first rock cruise and with a quality of line up such as this, would be very tempted to come back if it proved an annual event.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)