Now in its third year, Malmo Melodic continues to grow in scale and stake a claim to be the world capital of the melodic rock community for one weekend. There were 30 countries represented, once again with the United Kingdom bringing a substantial number of visitors. And although the thriving Scandinavian scene still supplied a majority of the bands, acts from the UK, Canada and Australia almost made it the Commonwealth Games of AOR while two of the headliners, Tyketto and Hardline, are among the most revered acts of the genre now with multi-national line-ups.

It is also one of the most accessible festivals I have ever attended in terms of breaking down the barriers between artists and fans of the genre together. Not only are there signing sessions between the bands, but they mingle freely in the official hotel with after parties that are becoming the stuff of legend.

The international gathering began with a pre show that was, quite literally, a garden party in the grounds of a community centre, Annelundsgarden, just up the road from the Plan B venue. There was an acoustic set from The Catton Brothers, singer Michael and guitarist Chris whose day job is the lead singer for Boys From Heaven, alumni from the first MM.

Their vocal quality did justice to a well chosen set of covers (‘Bringin’ on the Heartbreak’, ‘Miles Away’, Sheriff’s ‘When I’m With You’ complete with that sustained vocal note, ‘Rock the Night’ and ‘Sailing Ships’) and some of Michael’s originals such as ‘Hearts In Danger’, ‘Never Say Goodbye’, ‘Livin’ Lovin’ and ‘Ready For The Takin’. It was probably the best yet of the traditional acoustic warm ups for the festival, even if it was odd to hear these Danish-based artists speak in such an English accent!

DAY 1- Friday 24^th July

Tyketto, Eclipse, Midnite City, Art Nation, Sarayasign, Emotional Fire, Caught in Action

For the first time, Malmo Melodic had a full seven band line up each day and it was opened by one of those Swedish bands we will never get to see on UK shores in Caught in Action. While lacking originality their mainstream AOR was very well executed with a pair of impressive opening songs in ‘Shot In the Dark’ (no not that one) and one of those girl’s name songs that always seem to lend themselves to an earworm melody in ‘Nathalie’.

Singer Henrik Aalborg Brockman had a strong voice and good stage presence: I didn’t realise though that he did not sing on either of their albums to date but has a long career including as the original singer of Royal Hunt.

The set sagged with a couple of ballads and some merely average songs in the middle but ended with a couple of crackers: the title track of first album ‘Devil’s Tango’ had a great swing to it reminding me of Tyketto and ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’ a Journey-esque chorus that Henrik got fans to sway along to.

Emotional Fire were able to atone for having to pull out of the inaugural Malmo Melodic two years ago. I’d seen them a couple of times, including just three months ago at the Wings of AOR Festival in Norrkoping, since when there seemed to have been yet another line-up change with a new guitarist. Most of the set, as then, was taken from their ‘Rising’ debut album, opening with ‘Somebody’ and ‘Like a Phoenix’, but even in the intervening three months they seemed tougher and a little less poppy.

Singer Elin Larsson is the star and her powerful voice carries the songs, even on ‘Neon Glow’ without the services of Robin McAuley who duetted on the album. Her Rainbow Rising t-shirt under her denim cut off did not go unnoticed by many of us and I wonder if it hints she is capable of rocking rather harder?

For me, the gig really came alive mid-set with the classic stabbing keys intro to ‘Breaking Me Up’, a feat repeated on ‘Turn Around and Walk Away’, while ‘Fire In Your Eyes’ was a superb mid tempo song. They played a brand new single ‘Into the Night’ and even came back for an encore of ‘Want You Here With Me’ to end a really encouraging set.

However even a melodic rock festival needed something a bit edgier to provide a contrast to the pink and fluffy. Seventh Crystal fulfilled that role last year and this time it was the turn of Sarayasign: there were respected figures who were looking forward to them more than anyone else, yet it was surprising to learn that despite releasing three albums, this was their first ever live show- a sad sign of the times.

On ‘Worlds Apart (Shadowlands)’ and ‘Shades of Black’ I was instantly struck by the depth and range of Stefan Nyqvist whose powerful, sonorous voice mixed Ronnie James Dio and Geoff Tate. Their sound combined progressive metal with some modern rock touches, and yet was not unmelodic, especially vocally.

All three of their vaguely concept albums got an airing including the title track from ‘Shadows of the Dying Light’, ‘Everdying Night’ and the title track off their second album ‘Lions Roar’. I was slightly puzzled by the presence of a rather disengaged looking female backing singer, but ‘When Worlds Collide’ was calling to mind early Queensryche and by the time of closer ‘When All Lights Go Out’ even my less heavy tastes were impressed.

Art Nation, a whole decade since I first saw them at Rockingham Festival, have gone through quite an evolution of style over five albums now. I last saw them play an unimpressive and bizarrely short set supporting HEAT in the UK, since when singer Alexander Strandell was a star of last year’s festival with Nitrate.

Since then his hair was now considerably shorter and combined with a luxuriant moustache he had the air of one of the Three Musketeers. However very quickly there was an elephant in the room: not only were keyboards liberally being triggered or piped in (for which they were far from the only culprits all weekend), but on other occasions I swear I could hear backing vocals with no band member near a microphone.

Like fellow Swedes Degreed, they have mixed up their sound, often within the same song, with heavier elements, a style which particularly suits guitarist Kristoffer Borg who produced some neo-classical flourishes.

Opener ‘Brutal and Beautiful’ emphasised the former, though it was back to the first album with the more mainstream ‘Don’t Wait for Salvation’. ‘Echo’ and ‘Thunderbolt’ both mixed modern, almost danceable, pop, and heavy sounds. ‘Julia’ was in more traditional mould as Alexander asked us to get our phone lights on for this ballad, and ‘Kiss Up and Kick Down’ with the crowd joining in on the ‘who-oah-oh’ chant and ‘Paralyzed’ also had a modern sound.

After a couple more from latest album ‘The Ascendance’ in ‘Lightbringer’ and ‘Halo’, they ended, despite some technical hitches, with their strongest song by far, people singing along to Alexander’s soaring vocals on ‘Need You To Understand’. I’m afraid the liberal use of tapes really turned me against them, and had me thinking the set was patchier than it probably was in reality.

After Dare, Romeo’s Daughter, FM and Chez Kane all made the trip from the UK to Southern Sweden for the first two editions, it was only a matter of time before Midnite City were booked for the festival. Their UK shows, at least the London ones, tend to be poorly attended in rather down and dirty venues, so it was nice to see them on a bigger stage before a full house of fans who rarely get to see them, as that is where their arena-ready sound belongs.

That said, openers ‘Live Like You Mean It’ and ‘Lethal Dose Of Love’ were a bit of a write off as the sound was initially awful before thankfully clearing up in time for ‘Heaven In This Hell’, while during ‘Atomic’ I began to start picking up bits and pieces that reminded me of Def Leppard, Warrant, Poison, Blue Tears and a host of others during the course of the gig.

Blonde haired Rob Wylde is a consummate frontman, and fluent guitarist Miles Meakin, hiding behind a pair of shades, his ever-smiling foil (a Nelson reference by Rob that he was his Matthew to his Gunnar would not have been lost on this audience). Though as the singer works the crowd, he often allows the backing vocals, particularly from keyboardist Shawn Charvette to do some of the heavy vocal lifting.

The gig really took off for me with the superb semi-ballad ‘Hardest Heart To Break’ while during ‘Worth Fighting For’ which was a real grower, a Guinness World Record was set for the first recorded incident of crowd surfing at a melodic rock festival! The hooks and choruses on ‘Girls Go Wild’ (who said ‘Livin on a Prayer’?) and ‘When the Summer Ends’ were massive before ending with two of their older favourites in ‘Give Me Love’ and ‘We Belong’. This was every bit as much the rock’n’roll party I expected even if the set was a little on the short side at 50 minutes, the organisers wisely building in longer changeovers between acts than in previous years to keep to time.

There was a change from the originally announced line up when Heavens Edge had to pull out, Alien switched their second slot on the bill to the vacant Saturday place, and in their stead came Eclipse. This was a pleasant surprise as I and many others had assumed they were too big in their own right in their native country to play the festival, let alone in a non headlining slot.

A generous set length allowed them to repeat pretty much the top set I’d seen them play just weeks earlier at the Mayhem festival in Nottingham: the set opening in uncompromising fashion with ‘Roses On Your Grave’ and ‘Falling to My Knees’, then ‘All I Want’ concluding with Erik Matrtensson and Magnus Henriksen swinging their guitars in synchronised fashion.

All was not smooth sailing however, as they were plagued by a number of sound problems notably with Erik’s vocal mike. He also seemed a touch miffed, whether in jest or not, that in his home country he was being asked to speak not in his native tongue but instead flawless English.

‘Things We Love’ had that celtic flavour that characterises many of their songs, then there was one classic after another in ‘Twilight’ with its ‘who-oahs’ and closing with a snatch of the EU anthem, Beethoven’s Ninth (or ‘Difficult to Cure’ as rock fans will always think of it), ‘The Downfall of Eden’ and ‘Blood Enemies’ where Erik’s vocals seemed deliberately heavier and more strained than before.

But then in a change of pace, after paying tribute to his partnership with Magnus since meeting at music college, they played a beautiful solo version of ‘Battlegrounds’. ‘Saturday Night’ may have been a day early but was a rattling anthem before one of their genuinely heavier numbers in ‘Black Rain’, and ‘The Hardest Part Is Losing You’.

The set had been strong enough even before a classic trio to close: I looked round during old Eurovision song ‘Runaways’ to see a series of people singing and punching the air, then Erik played ‘Anthem’ with its rousing ‘Carry On’ chorus mainly solo before the band kicked in, before ending with ‘Viva la Victoria’. They brought on a guest drummer from the Cruel Intentions but when Adde Andreasson returned to the kit, Erik asked people at the final drum break to jump up and down which I needed no invitation to do so.

Interestingly as I circulated during the break I heard mixed reports from friends with some decrying there wasn’t more earlier material, others the quality of the sound or that they felt they had become too bludgeoning. No complaints from me as I thought it was their usually reliably excellent set.

Tyketto were another band who I was sure would headline Malmo Melodic sooner rather than later and 2026 has been a busy year with the release of an excellent first album in a decade ‘Closer to the Sun’ and extensive touring- indeed this show was pretty much a reprise of the one I saw in London in April.

From the moment he came bounding onto the stage like a caged panther, it was clear that Danny Vaughn is in remarkable shape for a 65-year-old, and his powerful yet crystal clear voice lifted even a relatively average opener in ‘Rescue Me’. So my cup of joy ran over when it was followed by two of the holy trinity that opened up classic debut ‘Don’t Come Easy’ in ‘Wings’, Harry Scott Elliott showing how he plays the old solos with aplomb, and, preceded by a keyboard intro from Ged Rylands, ‘Burning Down Inside’, both with big hooks and passionate delivery.

However this was a night to celebrate the new as well as the old, beginning with ‘Higher Than High’, with a bluesy feel not unlike the overlooked Flesh and Blood project, with Ged’s organ and bursts of harmonica from Danny. After ‘Strength in Numbers’ was a celebration of the band’s loyal fanbase, ‘Reach’ was quintessential Tyketto with its mix of electric and acoustic guitars.

The title track of the new album started gently before kicking into a soaring chorus, aided by Ged’s harmony vocals, and every song felt different, be it the story song of his beloved Sturgis-riding, veteran uncle in ‘The Run’, a modern day fist puncher in ‘We Rise’ or the resilient message of ‘Circle the Wagons’ with the crowds swaying to its ‘who-oahs’.

Just as Eclipse have become louder and more direct over the years, Tyketto seem to have progressively got more a little more polished and have broadened their musical palette: with respect to the original quartet, this might be the most accomplished band of musicians Danny has worked with.

After he surprised people with a few lines of Tears For Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ it segued into another ‘Don’t Come Easy’ mainstay in ‘Seasons’. There was just one misstep for me and many others, their cover of Roxette’s ‘Harleys and Indians (Riders in the Sky)’, with a further closing burst of harmonica, not going down particularly well, even to a Swedish audience.

However, it was back to Tyketto at their best with the contrasting debut album classics, the emotional tale of despair and defiance that is ‘Standing Alone’, to the loose grooves of a jammed out ‘Lay Your Body Down’ with Chris Childs on bass strutting his stuff. The celebration of the heroism of key workers during the pandemic in ‘Brave’ was another example of Danny’s brilliant songwriting, brought to its end by some exquisite harmonies.

As for encores, well Highlander-style there could be only one in a note-perfect and energetic ‘Forever Young’, an anthem that has given its name to countless melodic rock Facebook groups and club nights, so engrained it is within the genre. I may be biased (and even more so after being blessed by a chance encounter with Danny at the following morning’s hotel breakfast) but this was a set of sheer class and one of my very favourites of the weekend.

Day 2- Saturday 25^th July

Hardline, Alien, Boulevard, Fighter V, Saffire, Mother Mersy, Constancia

The second day opened with a bonus performance for VIP ticket holders, which was Constancia, who had been forced to pull out of last year’s festival through illness. Since then British singer Pete Godfrey has departed the fold and they had a new singer in Jonas Erixon.

He looked the part and had that warm, bluesy and yet still melodic feel to his voice that so many Scandinavian singers do, though looked a little uncomfortable, reading off his lyric sheets. Once again, surprisingly so for a band with four albums going way back to 2009, this was a first ever live performance.

The songs were firmly within the AOR and melodic mainstream yet very enjoyable from openers ‘My Redemption’ and ‘Blame It On Love’, and the bouncy hooks of ‘Stronger’. The quality of the lead guitar work was excellent, mainly from Janne Stark, a Swedish music industry veteran and part of the MM team, with a classic tone on his Flying V, and Patrik Svard, who with bassist Stefan Ronqvist looked like a pair of Vikings. ‘Built This House’ was a slower change of pace, and ‘Fallen Hero’ my favourite of a very decent set which closed with ‘Brave New World’.

There is usually a surprise at Malmo Melodic out of the mainstream and this year’s JD Miller or Pittman Cole was Mother Mersy. It was a fully justified move as they are a local Malmo band, and still very much within the classic rock idiom, but very much one of the large generation of younger bands more influenced by the grooves and the moves of the early seventies than AOR’s heyday.

The quartet each had a contrasting image but the eye was drawn to singer Emil Starbrant who radiated charisma in his shaven head, earring, lithe stage moves and a succession of outfits over his bare chest. In 40 minutes he got through two fur coats and a red jacket, by which time, combined with his gimlet-eyed grin I couldn’t get a lookalike comparison with UK comedian Tom Allen out of my head!

Songs like ‘Kiss Me’, ‘Armageddon’, ‘See Right Through You’ and ‘Desired’ lacked the traditional AOR hooks but were very enjoyable nevertheless. Closing with ‘Can’t Move’ they were a welcome diversion from the norm that I thought worked better than the wildcards from previous years- I felt for them as others seem to have voted with their feet with the floor notably emptier than for other bands.

Both acts so far had been new to me and a hat-trick was completed by Saffire, whose four albums to date had somehow escaped me. Led by the leonine figure of powerfully voiced Tobias Jansson, they were also somewhat retro in their approach to melodic rock: after opener ‘Broken Crown’ both ‘Triumph of the Will’ and ‘Roses (Electrify)’ began with a classic Hammond organ intro from Dino Zuzic worthy of Jon Lord or Ken Hensley, while his synth work graced others including ‘Casters of the First Stone’.

‘Magnolia’ was more accessible with its ‘hey hey heys’, but ‘Read Between the Lies’ significantly heavier with more of that Hammond organ, before they closed a very respectable set in which Tobias did a great job working the crowd with ‘Taming the Hurricane’. They do though need a logo that is more legible than the one on the event flyer and t-shirts!

One band I was looking forward to was Fighter V (pronounced ‘five’) who despite being from Switzerland had disrupted the usual Swedish dominance in end of year album polls in recent years. However, given the prominence of keys in the songs, to have the stage curtain be pulled back and not see a keyboard in sight was not a good omen. Things got worse before they got better as sound problems rendered their first number so unlistenable they really should have stopped the set there and then.

The problem partly resolved, they plugged on with ‘Made for a Heartache’ and ‘Victory’: singer Emmo Acar looked the part in waist length hair, moustache and a Survivor t-shirt that never fails, but I wasn’t convinced he had the voice to match and a supposed ballad ‘Miracle Eyes’ wasn’t really anything of the sort. In fact he seemed more comfortable on the rapid and almost metallic ‘Speed Demon’ (a dead ringer for Rainbow’s ‘Death Alley Driver’) and ‘There’s No Limit (Speed Limit)’ which reminded me more of fellow countrymen Gotthard and China.

The band have had many line-up changes and indeed guitarist Richie Lopez was a new recruit but had a very dynamic stage act, if anything coming over as being too enthusiastic. However I could not get past the prominence of the taped keyboards which reached its nadir with a cover of Journey’s ‘Separate Ways’, which may have gone down well among a section of the crowd but was the worst possible way of drawing attention to this.

I also thought ‘Déjà Vu’ was poor though ‘Eye to Eye’ and a more melodic ‘Dangerous’ atoned somewhat. They were unlucky with circumstances but it has to be said they were a considerable disappointment.

One of the coups of the festival was to fly Boulevard over from Canada (and, in the case of singer David Forbes, just over the American border), especially as they rarely play, and on previous trips to the UK for Firefest and Rockingham they had been universally acclaimed as one of the surprise hits of the festival.

There was no repeat of the gospel choir from the latter occasion, but a super set of melodic songs on the mellower end of AOR topped off by David’s smooth voice, opening with ‘Life Is a Beautiful Thing’ then back to the past with a debut album favourite in ‘Dream On’. This was an example of where they scored over others with the soothing sax solos of Mark Holden, meaning they were unique in having three instruments to supply melody when you add in the keys of Andrew Johns (not to mention his falsetto harmonies on ‘Can’t Tell You Why’) and guitarist Dave Corman.

After old favourites like ‘Crazy Life’ and ‘Far From Over’, things were brought up to date with a new single from a new ‘Be Where You Are’ EP that was disappearing like hot cakes over the weekend, in ‘Ready For the Fall’, including a piano coda. ’Ready To Let Go’ and ‘Where is the Love’ continued the mellow mood, before ‘talk To Me’ (from their album I am most familiar with in ‘Into the Street’) rocked things up with a fine guitar solo. ‘Never Give Up’ showed the R’n’B, almost jazzy nature that was never far from the surface and finished a set of pure class that had flown by.

If Boulevard had been a left field choice, then it was inevitable Alien would play, being one of the original generation of Swedish bands, perhaps behind only Europe and Treat, who paved the way for the nation’s dominance of melodic rock. All those of us who saw their performances many years ago at Firefest fell for the golden voice of Jim Jidhed, but on more recent albums such as last year’s ‘When Yesterday Comes Around’ I thought he had been starting to sound rather strained, so the jury was out how this one would go.

After an unexpected and relatively obscure opener in ‘Easy Living’ with the keyboards prominent, the first test was one of the classic pair that opened up their self titled debut in ‘Go Easy’. Jim did well but was pacing himself wisely and allowing a pair of backing singers to help out, one of whom, Kajsa Borg, then stepped forward to join him on the intro to the back-to-the-old-school ‘If Love Is War’.

However a slight disappointment was the other classic opener ‘Tears Don’t Put Out the Fire’ being delivered at what sounded like a slightly slower tempo pace and feeling flat in comparison to the original’s bounciness. As well as his guitar style being inspired by Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Borg is starting to resemble the maestro physically, but he was responsible for one of the talking points of the festival, when he paid tribute to his late dog, not only with an instrumental but with a picture of the beloved pooch projected on the screen behind. Opinion varied whether this was a touching or toe-curling moment.

The heavier approach of ‘In the End We Fall’, from the last album surprisingly worked, but even better were the straight AOR of ‘In Love We Trust’ and another debut album favourite in ‘Brave New Love’ which certainly had more than a few people singing along.

Jim was now firmly into his stride and ready for his tour de force as a lengthy solo vocal slot led into his passionate delivery of his cover of ‘Only One Woman’ which caused jaws to drop. There was still more to come however in ‘I Belong To the Rain’ and a lively ‘Dying by the Golden Rule’ with some typical soloing from Tony.

The set ended unexpectedly early but there was time for two more from that classic debut in a bass heavy ‘Feel My Love’ and ‘I’ve Been Waiting’. Exiting to the strains of another vocal legend in Tom Jones, those of us who had been rather pessimistic were wrong- these songs were perfectly arranged and this was an excellent set.

In contrasting fashion, to book Hardline as headliners was something of a coup. For one thing, their 1992 debut ‘Double Eclipse’ is a classic and much like Tyketto’s ‘Don’t Come Easy’ album its best songs swiftly became mainstays of melodic rock club nights, in the days when such things existed. Moreover, we were lucky to see them- UK fans were deprived the opportunity last winter when a tour was pulled and some dates later this year are being postponed as singer and now sole remaining founder member Johnny Gioeli is having surgery.

Things started right up to date however with a direct and hard hitting, if rather similar pair from critically acclaimed new album ‘Shout’ in the title track and ‘Rise Up’. The front of the stage was packed and going crazy to the first of those ‘Double Eclipse’ classics in ‘Doctor Love’ and the far more rarely played ‘Bad Taste’.

Whatever it is that requires surgery, Johnny was a never ending bundle of energy, face bulging as he delivered those powerful vocals, but he overdid the inter-band banter which seemed to go on endlessly, and some of his fratboy wisecracks were in questionable taste I thought.

There was nothing wrong with the music however, once we got it – their cover of the Scorpions ‘When You Came into My Life’ was transformed by a heavier approach and the intensity of his vocals, while ‘Everything’ was just one example of how brilliantly guitarist Luca Princiotta played- the standard being set high for Hardline guitarists over the years by the fact the solos on the first album belonged to Neal Schon.

The albums in between first and latest were in danger of being overlooked, so it was nice to get a pair of classic riffs in the title track of the ‘Danger Zone’ album and going back again to the debut for ‘Life’s A Bitch’.

After telling an anecdote about his father giving him advice, Johnny then fully stretched his tonsils around the powerful ballad ‘In the Hands Of Time’, extended by lengthy guitar and keyboard solos. The set was being stretched somewhat so it was a relief to hear two straight ahead bangers from the debut to close the main set as we all rocked out to ‘Hot Cherie’ and ‘Rhythm From a Red Car’, but even then they had taken over an hour and a quarter to play just 11 songs.

Equally intense was the first encore of ‘Taking Me Down’, which Johnny said was his favourite song, before Alesandro Delvecchio’s keyboard intro to ‘Fever Dreams’, with its more melodic hook and probably the statement song of the later, more Italian-based Hardline line ups. Those last four songs were quite superb- it’s a shame the rest of the set had been padded out with too much chatter.

Day 3- Sunday 26th July

Brother Firetribe, Wig Wam, White Widdow, Michael Bormann’s Jaded Hard, Alicate, Proud, Creye

The final day began with Creye, who we should probably not call youngsters any more having just released their fourth album since bursting onto the scene in 2018. They merited a higher spot on the bill, but something significant needed to be offered as an incentive to VIP ticket holders.

A number of changes of singer have held back their career progress and I had heard reports that the latest, Simon Boos, had looked a little uncomfortable on stage at the Frontiers Festival. However you could see him slowly gaining in confidence, and more importantly he had a smooth voice that suited the music perfectly, as evidenced by opener ‘Something Missing’.

‘Face to Face’ was an old classic, warmly received with an excellent solo from Andreas Gullstrand, then after ‘Carry on’ a surprise set choice was ‘Christina’ (those girl’s names again!) whose massive, hook-filled chorus I remember being addicted to when their first album came out.

As Simon warmed to his task, there were newer songs in ‘Bad Romance’ (no, not the Lady Gaga hit) and ‘War of Love’, while Broken Highway was a good example of how they can mix traditional AOR melodies with a more modern, almost country pop, feel. Either side of ‘Rust’ and ‘Left in Silence’, Simon donned an acoustic for the brilliant ‘Miracle’, more than one person telling me it was their song of the weekend. It was great to be reacquainted having not seen them live since the Swedish AOR Convention in this city pre-pandemic and hopefully more will be heard from a stable line up.

From a promising band to one of more mature years in Proud. Never mind that the likes of Sarayasign and Constancia were making their live bow, they were doing so after nearly 40 years! It was a relief to see real keyboards, while Anders Magnell was that rarity in the melodic rock world, both lead singer and lead guitarist with a pleasant voice in a higher tenor register (not unlike Jim Jidhed’s) and some very melodic and tidy soloing.

They may not have been the most exciting visually, but their set was very solid- it majored on their 2021 comeback album with the likes of ‘Sail Away’, ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ and ‘Dangerous’, as well as set closer ‘Born For Your Love’, which seemed to get the best reception. These sat alongside more recently released singles ‘Don’t Look Back’ and ‘Got to Get Back’.

In a solid set of mainstream melodic rock, my only gripe was that no one song really stood head and shoulders above another, other than ‘Fighting For Love’, and that because of how much it reminded me of Bon Jovi in general and ‘I’d Die For You’ in particular.

Alicate had actually been the first band to play Malmo Melodic, opening up the 2024 show and when they returned, suddenly I put two and two together and realised that Jonas Erixon, seen fronting Constancia, was their lead singer and guitarist: he seemed more comfortable with an instrument strapped around his neck and in his own band had no need of lyric sheets.

They Opened with ’Dangerous’ and the title track of brand new album ‘Too Bad To Be Good’. But I was particularly taken by ‘Heaven Tonight’ and ‘Save Our Love’, a mid tempo song with very (old-school) Coverdale like vocals from Jonas.

After faster paced songs ‘Are You Ready?’ and ‘Done For the Weekend’ were slightly less impressive, I loved the ballad ‘Butterfly’, ‘Don’t Turn Around’ was superb and ‘Let It Out’ featured great keys- from a real player! Ending with ‘I Can Run’, they were way more impressive than I remembered first time round, to make it three Swedish successes in a row.

The rest of the line up had an international flavour and in the middle of the bill was Michael Bormann fronting Jaded Hard, his vehicle to relive the classic sounds of his time in Jaded Heart. In fact this set focused almost exclusively on beloved numbers from the latter, rather than new ones, beginning with ‘No Hesitation’ and ‘Dangerous’. Stefan Ronqvist, seen on bass the day before with Constancia, was drafted in at the last minute as an emergency guitarist and did a fantastic job.

Two of my favourite JH songs in the atmospheric ‘Dream Is Over’ and ‘Heaven Is Falling’ came back to back, though I realise it is a trademark song, but wasn’t so keen on the cover of ‘Help’. A heavier ‘Take My Soul’ seemed to have ended the set prematurely- fortunately there was time for two of Jaded Heart’s classics in ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘Inside Out’, European melodic hard rock at its finest.

Coming all the way from Australia, White Widdow released a series of albums in the 2010’s and were even UK travelling regulars but this unexpected appearance marked a return from a long hiatus, their last album coming out in 2018.

Few do the classic mid-eighties AOR sound as well, as proven by songs like ‘Cry Wolf’, ‘Below the Belt’, the soothingly familiar chorus of ‘Strangers in the Night’, debut album favourite ‘Tokyo Rain’ and ‘Do You Remember’. Guitarist Enzo Almanzi applied the grit to complement the fluffiness with some great shredding and arpeggios.

The glammy-looking Jules Millis is one of the genre’s great characters though, being harsh, his voice is not the best compared to some of the greats we saw over the weekend. For example he failed to do justice to ‘Stranded’ after it opened with a classic keyboard intro, while the big backing vocals from brother Xavier on keys and Ben Webster on bass actually sounded superior at times. I am sure the fact that he was a convivial figure mixing with fans and bands at the hotel bar all weekend did not help.

After ‘Angel’, ‘Reckless Nights’ was quintessential AOR musically and lyrically, then he endeared himself by introducing a song for the AOR anoraks (guilty as charged, m’lud). In the past this has been an Aviator or Icon song, but this time it was Diving for Pearls and not even ‘Gimme Your Good Lovin’ but the less well known ‘Never On Monday’ – and this time Jules sounded really good. Their own anthem ‘Broken Hearts Won’t Last Forever’, with some great harmonies, ended a good time set (indeed interesting comparisons were made between them and Midnite City by fellow fans over the weekend) and another that flew by.

Coming over the border from Norway, Wig Wam were one of the bands who kickstarted the melodic rock revival in the mid-2000s, notably by being Norway’s Eurovision entry. Incredibly it was 20 years since I last saw them at Firefest- in those days I thought they were too much of a parody band, even before Steel Panther were on the scene, with costumes and nicknames like a heavy metal Village People. However I found myself impressed with a couple of pandemic era albums when they reformed so was ready to give them a fresh chance.

They have dressed down a bit since those days, with the exception of singer Age Sten Nilsen, aka Glam, still living up to his name with a bird’s nest of tousled hair and a colourful dress sense. He was struggling with a cold and his voice was raspy at times, but not to detract from the enjoyment. It did not stop him from talking compulsively, though in a more engaging manner than Johnny Gioeli the day before!

They opened with a series of oldies from ‘Wigwamania’, with big choruses and yet musically a little tougher and less polished than the majority of the bands on the bill, in ‘Rock My Ride’, ‘Dare Devil Heat’ with Glam conducting a waving of arms in the crowd, and ‘Kill My Rock’n’Roll’. ‘Bygone Zone’ briefly dropped the pace before ‘Gonna Get You Someday’, with its ‘blow me away’ chorus.

Lanky Trond Holter, aka Teeny, ranked among the most outstanding lead guitarists of the weekend with a phenomenal technique which he got to show off on instrumental ‘The Riddle’, while the innuendo filled ‘Do You Wanna Taste It’ was fun and concluded with what I am sure was a snatch of the Sweet’s ‘Teenage Rampage’. They then brought things up to date as Glam introduced a recent song ‘Human Fire’, their latest Eurovision submission about celebrating misfits and ‘Out of the Dark’, showing the heavier side the reformed band came back with.

After ‘Nonstop Rock and Roll’ and ‘Bless the Night’, ‘Forevermore’, introduced as a Viking song, had a stirring feel similar to many of Eclipse’s songs which got people punching the air. Despite despising the Spice Girls and everything they stood for, I even ended up enjoying their rocked up version of Mel C’s ‘I Turn To You’.

I was hoping they would not overrun, but fortunately there was time for a classic trio to close a 90 minute set- those songs that brought them to the fore in ‘Its Hard To Be a Rock’nRoller’ and that Eurovision song that kicked over the traces, ‘In My Dreams’, complete with singalong, either side of the comeback song that inspired me to give them another go in ‘Never Say Die’. All three had people bouncing at the front and I am sure further back: despite Glam’s illness, this was a big fun set, and 20 years on I was now a firm convert.

As a relatively young festival, Malmö Melodic has no need of repeats, yet such was the reaction to Brother Firetribe’s set last year, the walls literally shaking, that they were brought back by popular demand, but this time promoted to headline the Sunday and close out the festival.

Since last year’s set there has been a revamp and this was an extended version of their hit-heavy spring appearance at the Wings of AOR festival, in the process marking 20 years since their debut ‘Break Out’/’False Metal’, when, just like fellow festivallers Eclipse and Wig Wam, they revitalised the scene. Gulp- there is nothing like that milestone to make you feel old!

After running to time nearly all weekend, there was a delay which only fuelled the anticipation before the Finns took the stage, going straight for the jugular with one instantly catchy song after another in ‘Breakout’, ‘I Am Rock’, ‘Number One’ and ‘One Single Breath’ and the cheesy ‘Chariot of Fire’, making a bid for the record number of movie or song titles in one song.

Finely chiselled singer Pekka Ansiu Heino has the perfect voice for the songs and radiates an easy charisma, gently teasing the crowd. He rivalled Mother Mersy’s Emil Starbrant as the sharpest dresser of the weekend, coming on in a lilac blazer of the type Michael Portillo might wear on his televised railway journeys.

‘Strangled’ was a more obscure choice, among more familiar favourites like ‘Ariane’ and ‘Midnight Queen’, while from time to time their tried and tested formula was mixed up by some sonic variations, such as ‘Shock to the System’ which emulated the eighties gothic sounds of the likes of Sisters of Mercy.

Their sound finely balances the keyboards of Tomppa Nikulainen with Roope Riihijärvi on guitar, though the latter got to play a longer solo on ‘Just Another Night’. As an anniversary treat, ‘Lover Tonight’ from the debut got its first live airing in that 20 years, then a classic Journey-esque keyboard intro led into one favourite in ‘Wildest Dreams’, followed by another in ‘Valerie’.

After a final diversion of style with the synth pop inspired ‘Night Drive’, just as Wig Wam had, Brother Firetribe closed their set with one beloved anthem after another, in ‘I’m On Fire’, ‘For Better or For Worse’, ‘Bring On the Rain’, and finally ‘Heart Full of Fire’. The front was a sea of bodies from across the globe punching the air and bouncing to the choruses.

Inevitably in a festival energy levels can drop late in the final day, but in this case a value for money hour and 40 minute set of pure class held most people’s attention to the end. It was a fitting end to a memorable weekend, but the best news had come immediately before Brother Firetribe’s set when DJ Steve Price confirmed there would be a 2027 version of Malmo Melodic. I can’t wait to be part again of a festival that seems to get better with each passing year.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 3 August 2026

DOWNES BRAIDE ASSOCIATION – Wonderland (Cherry Red)
KING FALCON Hourglass (indie)
SHAKRA Wasteland Warriors (Frontiers)
JAMES KENNEDY & THE UNDERDOGS – Revolution (Konic Records)
BLACKLIST UNION Madame Butterfly (BLU Records)
DIAMOND RAIN I Need Love (Pride & Joy Music)

Featured Albums w/c 3 August 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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