''Among the Vultures'' is the Independent Music Awards-winning third studio album by Swedish punk rock band,

The Knockouts The Knockouts are a Swedish rock band from Stockholm that formed in 1996. The current line-up consists of Johan Frandsen (vocals, guitar), Kennet Stone (double bass, vocals) and Ted Jergelind, (Drums). The band achieved success in 2010 after ...

, released in Sweden 13 November 2009 and worldwide March 2010. It was released by Diamond Prime and distributed worldwide by Sound Pollution/Diamond Prime, Sweden.

Background

The Knockouts were formed by Johan Frandsen in 1996 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden. The current lineup consists of

Johan Frandsen Johan Frandsen (born 9 September 1982 in Stockholm, Sweden), is the frontman guitarist, main songwriter and lead vocalist in the Swedish rock band, The Knockouts. His trademark guitar] is a Gretsch White Falcon. Johan Frandsen is an endorsed art ...

(Vocals, Guitar), Kennet Stone (double bass, vocals) and Ted Jergelind, (drums). The band has risen to fame in 2010 after the release of the album ''Among the Vultures''. The Knockouts have released three studio albums and one EP compilation in Sweden, throughout Europe and Worldwide. ''Among the Vultures'', was recorded and produced in nine days at The Panic Room,

Skara Skara is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecc ...

, Sweden. The song "Heat for the Hunted" was chosen 3rd on Sweden's National Radio Program – Håkan Persson's

Sveriges Radio P3 P3 (''Sveriges Radio P3'' or ''pe tre'') is a mainstream CHR-formatted station operated by Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization Sveriges Radio. The P in P3 originally stood for Program (''Programme'') but today has no ...

as the best top ten songs for 2009. The album ''Among the Vultures'' was nominated for Best Punk Rock Album at the 2011 Independent Music Awards, and two singles from the album were nominated for best punk song ''Heat for the Hunted'' and best alternative country song ''Ever Been Hurt''. The Knockouts added BEST Punk Rock Album to their collection as voted by the industry panel including Joe Perry of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

Benji Madden Benjamin Levi Madden ( né Combs; born March 11, 1979) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the band Good Charlottefor which he has received various awardsas well as pop rock collaboration the Madden Brother ...

Joel Madden Joel Rueben Madden (né Combs; March 11, 1979) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte. He is also part of the pop rock collaboration the Madden Brothers with his identical twin brother Benji ...

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (g ...

, and

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Pre-recording

The Knockouts have gained a reputation as one of Sweden's hardest touring bands and in the midst of a relentless touring schedule between 2006 and 2008, new songs were bubbling to the surface in what would become ''El Fin de la Guerra''. Recorded October 2007 and released 1 Feb 2008 this album saw the band fly into a massive Europe and USA tour including planned dates in Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, and the West Coast of the United States. Endorsement deals from Jam Music and Peerless Guitars sees a trademark white guitar appear on stage at the start of 2009 and

supporting Jam/Peerless at both National and International guitar conventions. The Knockouts continued on the festival circuit in the summer of 2009, including playing

Earth Hour Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The event is held annually, encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ...

in Stockholm, then with

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

and

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

at The Westcoast Riot festival, and the Peace and Love Festival.

Recording and production

''Among the Vultures'', was recorded and produced in nine days at The Panic Room,

, Sweden, By Plec and The Knockouts. Having performed hundreds of jam-packed and sold-out shows over the last years, The Knockouts have gained a reputation of delivering, what is now described as a ''"cocky punk rock"'' sound with an aggressive

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

technique. The Knockouts captured their live sound inside the studio at The Panic Room. Plec is notable for his work with high-profile bands in Scandinavia and The Panic Room has recorded produced mixed and mastered multiple gold record artists

Awards and nominations

* The Knockouts ''Among the Vultures'' was nominated for Best Punk Rock Album at the 2011 Independent Music Awards, and two singles from the album were nominated for best punk song "Heat for the Hunted" and best alternative country song "Ever Been Hurt". 'The Knockouts added BEST Punk Rock Album to their collection as voted by the industry panel including Joe Perry,

and

, and

. * "Heat for the Hunted" from the album ''Among the Vultures'' was chosen 3rd on Sweden's National Radio Program Håkan Persson's

as the best top ten songs for 2009. * The Knockouts were nominated as best upcoming act at the

Bandit Rock Bandit Rock is a Sweden, Swedish radio station which plays rock (music), rock, punk (music), punk and heavy metal (music), heavy metal. The station, now a part of the Nordic Entertainment Group, was founded by American ex-pat Thomas McAlevey and be ...

Awards (Sweden's biggest rock radio station).

Recent activity

In 2011 The Knockouts supported rock and roll icon and

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...

front man

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

, on the ''Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot tour 2011'' They started the European summer with a performance with Brian Sezter on the premiere night of his tour at the 10-year celebration of the Azkena Rock FestivalÓscar Cubillo, El Corre

"Los cabezas de cartel roquero Brian Setzer", 28 June 2011 on 25 June,

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, Spain to crowds of over 50,000 people, then onto sold out dates throughout Germany in Berlin,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. The tour continued to be sold out through Scandinavia with dates in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark,

, Sweden and

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland ending at the

Helsinki Ice Hall Helsinki Ice Hall ( fi, Helsingin jäähalli, sv, Helsingfors ishall) is an indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. The arena has a seating capacity of 8,200. History Helsinki Ice Hall has been the home arena of HIFK of Liiga since its cons ...

(Venue Capacity of 8200) in

, Finland. Highlight of the tour was the encore performance at the

on the last night of the tour when Johan Frandsen joined Brian Setzer and

Slim Jim Phantom James McDonnell (born March 21, 1961), known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s. Phantom currently ...

on stage with a special rendition of the rockabilly classic, "

Seven Nights to Rock "Seven Nights to Rock" is a classic rockabilly song written by Buck Trail, Henry Glover, and Louis Innis. It was originally recorded by Moon Mullican on January 26, 1956, and has been covered by a number of diverse artists. History It was original ...

". Setzer called Frandsen to the stage and handed his white Brian Setzer Hot Rod signature

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

Guitar to Johan to conclude the tour in Scandinavia. The Knockouts' tours have included dates throughout Europe including countries such as, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic and Spain. They have played at festivals such as the West Coast Riot and The Peace and Love Festival, alongside

and

. They supported The Living End in 2009 on their first Scandinavian tour date for the ''Raise the Alarm World Tour'' – in Stockholm. Frontman

has also played with members of the

Guana Batz The Guana Batz are an English psychobilly band who formed in 1982 in Feltham, West London, England. The band are most well known for their frequent appearances at the Klub Foot, an early psychobilly club. History The original group members we ...

Mad Sin Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ri ...

and gave the Swedish rockabilly band The GoGetters an extra injection of energy in over 300 gigs. 2012 saw The Knockouts working on new material for the upcoming album, during this time, illness within the band meant that touring schedules were kept to a minimum and work was directed to the songs for the new release (Due early 2013). A special event was held in September 2012 at Debaser Slussen Stockholm, Sweden.

from the world-famous

and Jonny Bowler from the

flew from Los Angeles to join The Knockouts on stage in a once only special event to a soldout show, celebrating Johan Frandsen's 30th birthday. In 2013 and 2014, ''The Knockouts'' have worked to rehearse, record and release the newest studio album ‘’'5000 Miles from Louisville'’, having signed with Swedish Booking Agency MTA Production AB.

Members

Current

– Guitar, vocals (1996–present) * Kennet Stone – Double bass, backing vocals (2009–present) * Ted Jergelind – Drums, backing vocals (2003–present)

Former

* Mike Brunkvist Electric bass (1997–2008) * Ville Drums (1996–2003)

Track listing

Personnel

– Vocals, Guitar * Kennet Stone – Double bass, Backing Vocals * Ted Jergelind – Drums, Backing Vocals * Anders Borg – Horns * Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by:

& Plec * Produced by: The Knockouts & Plec producer * Cover Design: Danne Kion, Svenja May and

* Logotype artwork by: Bluebird Tattoo * Photos by: Diamond Prime and F Goingberg * Band Manager: Coco Rosenfeld, Diamond Prime Music.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2000: ''Skyline Supernova'' * 2004: ''The Knockouts EP'' Diamond Prime Music * 2007: ''El Fin de la Guerra'' * 2009: ''Among the Vultures'' Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB * 2013: ''5000 Miles From Louisville'' Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB

Singles

* 1998: "The Knockouts – Can I Look But Not Touch 7" Vinyl * 2009: "Under the Light" Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB * 2010: "Ever Been Hurt" Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB * 2011: "A lie like in Natalie" Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB * 2011: "I Want you to want me" Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB * 2013: ''Days Long Gone'' Diamond Prime Music / Sound Pollution AB

Compilations

* 1998: ''Fistful of Rock 'N' Roll vol. 9.'' The Knockouts (Stripshow A Go-Go / Devil Doll Records) * 2011: ''Dancing on Your Graves – A Rockabilly Tribute to The Hellacopters'', The Knockouts, ''Freeway To Hell'' (Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution)

References

External links

The Knockouts official website

The Knockouts support Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot
{{Authority control The Knockouts albums 2009 albums