Okay, I will just admit this right up front— world geography is not my strong point.  A world traveler I am not.  But I know how to Google “What countries are part of Scandinavia?”  In fairness to myself, I did know Sweden and Norway, but I had to double check Denmark.  Anyway, I have noticed over the years that there are a good number of pretty great rock bands from this region of the world.  I feel like many of the Scandinavian bands I like were probably heavily influenced by Hanoi Rocks, although they are from Finland, which is not technically Scandinavia as I have now learned.  But it is Nordic.  And it’s right next door.  That’s enough geography, let’s move on.

1.     SUICIDE BOMBERS - Norway

My ancestry is Norwegian, so let’s start there.  The band from Norway that I want to share with you is called Suicide Bombers.  I’ve only recently discovered this band, but they rock… HARD.  This band from Oslo has released five records over the course of twelve years, with the latest having just come out this year.  This latest effort is called All for the Candy.

After discovering this record, I went back and listened to the prior four records, with the first dating back to 2012.  These guys are just hard-charging rock n roll, one track after the other, no filler.  They fall squarely in the sleaze metal category, but they have a punk-rock edge that suits them well.  I could write much more about Suicide Bombers, but I’ll just leave it there.  Other notable Norwegian bands:  Turbonegro, Gluecifer.

I apologize in advance for the incredibly cheesy video, but the music is what counts.  Check them out!

2. BACKYARD BABIES - Sweden 

Scandinavian country number two is Sweden, and my band of choice from the land of beautiful blondes and the home of Abba is the Backyard Babies.  I have been on these guys for a long time, and I just can’t get enough of their brand of straight ahead rock n roll.  Nicke Borg is the front man, and he also has a pretty cool side project called Nicke Borg Homeland.  The Backyard Babies also have another spin-off band called The Hellacopters.  Anyway, the band has released several records, the latest of which is called Silver & Gold from 2019.  My favorite tunes on that release are “44 Undead” and “Shovin’ Rocks.”  They are just great songs. 

Other notable Swedish bands:  The Hives, Sahara Hotnights, Casablanca.

Give them a listen.

3. D-A-D - Denmark        

Let’s cover Denmark with a band that goes waaaayyyyy back but is still active today.  I saved the best for last.  That would be D-A-D.  This band from Copenhagen was originally called Disneyland After Dark.  But as can sometimes be the case, there were copyright issues which were, uh, brought to their attention.  Jesper Binzer is the front man and he has some solo stuff worth a listen as well.  These guys released a record back in 1989 (not their first) called No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims.  With killer songs like “Girl Nation” and “Rim of Hell” they blew me away from the start.  Over three decades later they are still active and still making great music.  I can listen to their entire career output on shuffle and almost never hear a song that I want to fast-forward through.  Other cool Danish bands:  The Sandmen, HorrorPops.

The video below is the title track from their latest record (2019).  They are as good as ever.

JCE, or John to his friends, is 61 years old and lives happily in rural VA about an hour and half outside of D.C.  His wife of 33 years says he’ll never grow up, and she’s exactly right.  He attributes that to his lifelong love affair with all things rock n roll.  Starting with 45 rpm Monkees records at age five to his present massive collection of vinyl, cd’s and a digital library of God knows how many songs, he’s a rock n roll lifer.