Joakim "Jocke" Brodén (born 5 October 1980) is a Swedish musician who is the lead vocalist, keyboardist and occasional third guitarist of the

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

band

Sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

. He and bassist Pär Sundström formed the band in 1999.

Early life

Brodén's father, Ulf Olof Brodén, is from Sweden, and his mother, Anna, is from former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He holds dual citizenship in Sweden and the Czech Republic. He has said that he became a metalhead when he was three or four years old because of the music video for

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

's " We're Not Gonna Take It". He was a competitive swimmer in his youth.

Career

Brodén once joined Stormwind for a tour as a keyboard player. He founded

in 1999 with bassist Pär Sundström. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist and an occasional third guitarist. Brodén is also the one who came up with the name "Sabaton" for the band. A

sabaton A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

is a part of armour placed on the foot. Brodén is known for wearing an unusual

vest A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit) or vest ( US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. It ...

with metal plates when performing with Sabaton; it has been described as resembling a bulletproof vest. He is also known for his distinctive

mohawk hairstyle The mohawk (also referred to as a mohican in British English) is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. Mohawk hairstyles have existed for ...

and "squared" facial hair. He is a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. In 2015, Brodén lost a bet with his bandmates that committed him to travelling to Sabaton's next gig on foot; he had not realized their next engagement was in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway, some 350 miles (560 km) away. Brodén stayed in the homes of several fans along the way. On 26 November 2016, Brodén entered the

Český slavík Český slavík () is an award meant to recognize outstanding achievement and annual popularity in the Czech music industry. It was established in 1996 as the successor to the Zlatý slavík awards, which were established in 1962 in Czechoslova ...

singing competition in the Czech Republic and was voted into fifth place with 9,286 points. The next year he entered again, but was removed from the competition due to a new rule that competitors had to primarily perform in the Czech Republic.

Personal life

In 2016 and 2017, Brodén took part in the Swedish national

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

championships, placing 167th the first time and 255th the second time.

Discography

With Sabaton

Guest appearances

References

External links

Joakim Broden
at International Flipper Pinball Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodén, Joakim 1980 births Living people Swedish people of Czech descent English-language singers from Sweden Swedish heavy metal singers Swedish male singer-songwriters Swedish singer-songwriters Swedish heavy metal keyboardists 21st-century Swedish male singers Sabaton members People from Falun