Punk rock and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

have created a

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

since punk music became popular in the 1970s. Punk came to Sweden in the spring of 1977; the event credited as the beginning of the punk movement in Sweden was a one-day festival lined up with Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, and Television.

History

The most famous Swedish punk band was

Ebba Grön Ebba Grön was a Swedish punk band formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1977. Ebba Grön consisted of Joakim Thåström (lead vocals, guitar), Gunnar Ljungstedt (drums) and Lennart Eriksson (bass guitar, backing vocals). Thåström, Ljungstedt and ...

, followed by KSMB; other notable bands were

Asta Kask Asta Kask is a Swedish punk band from Töreboda, Sweden. It was founded as "X-tas" in 1978, but changed to ''Asta Kask'' in 1980. In 1984 the band started working with Rosa Honung Records. After the 1986 release of the "Aldrig en LP" the band spl ...

, Kriminella Gitarrer,

Tant Strul Tant Strul was a Swedish punk rock band that are considered as the leading all female punk rock band in Sweden, although they at times had a male member. The last setting before they split up was: vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Kajsa Grytt, k ...

Pink champagne Pink Champagne (first named Kasern 9) was a Swedish feminist punk band in the 1980s. It consisted of four women, Stina Berge (drums), Ann Carlberger (vocals), Karin Jansson (guitar) and Gunilla Welin (bass). Kajsa Grytt was briefly a member. They ...

, The Pain and

Göteborg Sound Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

. In the 1980s

, kängpunk and raw punk became popular in Sweden. The two most influential bands are

Mob 47 Mob 47 is a hardcore punk band which formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1982, originally under the name of "Censur".Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 143. In 1983 the band members ...

and

Anti Cimex Anti Cimex were a Swedish crust punk band, based in Skövde, Gothenburg, Linköping, and Malmö, at different times, that formed in 1981.Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977–1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 20 ...

, whose music has also inspired many foreign bands. Some other examples of influential bands are

Moderat Likvidation Moderat Likvidation ( sv, Moderate liquidation) is a Swedish hardcore punk band formed in Malmö in 1980 by guitarist Per Berglund and singer Patrik "Fjalle" Wisemark. The band originally existed between 1980 and 1985, but reunited in 2007. In 20 ...

Black Uniforms Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Totalitär Totalitär is a Swedish hardcore punk band formed in 1984-1985 in Hudiksvall. The band plays in the style of D-beat and hardcore punk. The original members were Poffen, Lanchy, Andreas and Lennart. Their drummer, Spennart joined the band in 1985 ...

, Headcleaners, Homy Hogs and Avskum. There is also a Swedish subgenre called ''

trallpunk Trallpunk (Swedish; roughly translates to 'melodious punk' — see the Wiktionary entry) is a subgenre of punk music developed in Sweden. It is known for its two-beat, fast drum tempos, a melodic sound with harmonized vocals, and politically ori ...

'', with its roots in '80s melodic punkbands and raw punk bands like Asta Kask, Total Egon, Strebers, Charta 77, Puke, Rolands Gosskör and Sötlimpa, etc. Many of these early trallpunk bands had a powerful folk music undertone and a style of music with catchy melodies, fast drum speed and narrative texts, often left-wing political lyrics, and unlike the more aggressive hardcore punk, straight to the point lyrics. Notable trallpunk bands include

De lyckliga kompisarna De Lyckliga Kompisarna (Swedish language, Swedish for ’The Happy Friends’), DLK, is a Sweden, Swedish trallpunk, melodious punk band. The band was formed in 1989, split up in 1997, and re-united in 2008. They are probably best known for their ...

, Strebers,

Dia Psalma Dia Psalma was a self-described punk/folk rock/metal fusion band, from Strängnäs, Sweden. It was formed by former members of Strebers that started in 1985 (and played as Sixguns for a while). Dia Psalma was formed shortly after Johnny, drum ...

Charta 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...

Coca Carola Coca Carola was a Sweden, Swedish punk rock, Punk band formed in Åkersberga in 1986. Signed to the record label Beat Butchers, they were well known to the Swedish punk scene together with bands such as Asta Kask and Köttgrottorna. After more tha ...

, Räserbajs, köttgrottorna, Radioaktiva Räker. later trallpunk bands took inspiration from American skatepunk and play a mix between the two. For example, Skumdum. Early punks in Sweden clashed with the youth movement ''Raggarna'', which was working class and centered around cars, drinking, and rockabilly music. These conflicts were described in lyrics, for example by the Rude Kids and P-Nissarna. In the beginning, there were several venues and cultural meeting points associated with the Swedish punk subculture. One of the first of these was the Oasen in Rågsved, followed by Ultrahuset in Haninge, and Vita huset in Täby. Venues where a lot of punk is played today include the

Kafé 44 Kafé 44 is a café, concert venue, and anarchist bookstore 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 c ...

on Södermalm in Stockholm, and Verket in Umeå. Punk in Sweden also connected with the hardcore scene that emerged in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

and other northern cities in the 1990s, with bands such as

Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guit ...

(Umeå) and

Raised Fist The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of mixed meaning, often a symbol of political solidarity. It is also a common symbol of communism, socialism, and other revolutionary social movements. It can also represent a salute ...

(

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

) in the lead. Refused had a strong base in the genre's traditional roots and may in part represent how it sounded then, but experimented and stretched the limits sufficiently to their most famous songs rather have come under the term post-hardcore. In the 1990s, the punk scene also turned more towards crust punk with bands like Driller Killer,

Skitsystem Skitsystem (; "Fucking System" or "Fucking Society", literally "Shit System") is a Swedish crust punk band formed in early 1994. Their sound was heavily influenced by death metal and D-beat. The band members originally came from different death ...

Wolfbrigade Wolfbrigade (formerly Wolfpack) is a Swedish hardcore punk band formed in 1995 by Jocke Rydbjer, Frank Johansen, Erik Norberg, Marcus "M. Psykfall" Johansson and the vocalist Tomas Jonsson (known for being part of the local crust punk band Ant ...

, and

Disfear Disfear is a Swedish crust punk band that formed in the early 1990s and recorded sporadically over the years. After releasing the albums ''Soul Scars'' in 1995 and ''Everyday Slaughter'' in 1997, the group did not release another album until 200 ...

. In the 2000s many of the first and second wave Swedish punk bands such as Asta Kask, Dia Psalma, Mob 47, Moderat Likvidation and De lyckliga kompisarna reunited. They released new albums, with new songs. This decade many hardcore punk bands from Umeå and northern Sweden started to play more pop-influenced punk and the early Swedish punk like Ebba Grön and KSMB, for example

Invasionen INVSN (pronounced "Invasion") is a Swedish post-punk band from Umeå. Originally formed as The Lost Party as a solo project for Dennis Lyxzén, already know for the punk bands Refused and The (International) Noise Conspiracy, the project's ear ...

with

Dennis Lyxzén Sven Olov Dennis Lyxzén (born June 19, 1972) is a Swedish singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for influential Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, as well as the bands INVSN and Fake Names. He is also a former member of bands ...

from Refused and Knugen Faller with Inge Johansson from Totalt jävla mörker.

Notable bands

1970s and 1980s

* Attentat * Avskum *

Disarm "Disarm" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their second album, ''Siamese Dream'' (1993), and became a top-20 hit in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom despite being banned in ...

* D.T.A.L. * Headcleaners * Homy Hogs * Incest Brothers * Kriminella Gitarrer * KSMB *

* Rövsvett * Rude Kids * Sighstens Grannar * Sound Of Disaster * Stockholms Negrer * Strebers *

* Warheads

1990s

Abhinanda Abhinanda is a Swedish hardcore punk band that was active from 1992 until 1999 (with brief reunions in 2004 and from 2009 to 2010), releasing three albums. The band was part of the Umeå hardcore scene and had close ties to influential hardcor ...

Adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...

* Driller Killer *

* Krymplings *

Millencolin Millencolin is a Swedish punk rock band that was formed on 12 October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band. The name Millencolin is derived from t ...

No Fun At All No Fun at All (often abbreviated to just NFAA) is a Swedish punk rock band. History The band formed in the summer of 1991 in Skinnskatteberg. The group initially consisted of Mikael Danielsson (guitar), Jimmie Olsson (vocals, drums) and Henri ...

Outlast ''Outlast'' is a 2013 first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named Mo ...

* Radioaktiva räker *

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

Satanic Surfers Satanic Surfers are a Swedish punk rock band from Lund, Skåne. History Satanic Surfers was formed in autumn, 1989 by vocalist Erik Kronwall and drummer Rodrigo Alfaro. Soon after, Frederik Jakobsen and Magnus Blixtberg joined on guitar, whil ...

* Skumdum *

2000s

* Besserbitch * Disconvenience * Fornicators * Hårda Tider * Honnör SS * Insidious Process *

* Knugen Faller *

Makthaverskan Makthaverskan are a Swedish post-punk band from Gothenburg, formed in 2008. Led by vocalist Maja Milner, the band combines post-punk with elements of dream pop, jangle pop, gothic rock and shoegaze. History Makthaverskan began in 2008 with the re ...

Masshysteri Masshysteri ( en, Mass hysteria) was a Swedish Post-Punk band, formed in Umeå in 2008. The group consisted of Robert Pettersson (rhythm guitar, vocals), Sara Almgren (bass guitar, vocals), Kajsa Bergsten (lead guitar) and Erik Viklund (drums) H ...

* Psykbryt *

Sällskapsresan ''Sällskapsresan eller Finns det svenskt kaffe på grisfesten?'' ( en, The Charter Trip, or: Is there Swedish Coffee at the Pig-Festival?) is a Swedish comedy film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 22 August 1980, and the first in a fr ...

* Shuvit * Skitkids * Snorting Maradonas * Suis La Lune * Undergång * Varnagel

Notable labels

* Birdnest Records - started by Charta 77's Per Granberg * Beat Butchers

Literature

* David Andersson. Råpunk: The Birth of Swedish Hardcore 1981-89. (No Good, 2023).

Videos

''We are the Best!''
(2013) written by Coco Moodysson, directed by Lukas Moodysson

External links

Noise Annoys Podcast showcasing Swedish Punk

References

* Svensk punk 1977-81 - Varför tror du vi låter som vi låter? {{Punk

Swedish music