The phenomena of what happens with the mix of alcohol with some great kind of music… on the sea (1/3)
There is the caribbean cruise 70000 tons of metal… Wacken organized a cruise to sail from Hamburg, Germany to the UK. What do swedes have? Well the Swedes have IKEA, VOLVO and several annual 24 hour cruises packed with rock and metal, which means a lot of drunken hours for the cruise guests.
As you go in to the depressive season of late autumn in Sweden, the summer of festivals are over, the suns uplightning hours getting fewer and fewer. There´s still a few things to enjoy in the metalworld of Sweden… there´s several choices of metal and rock cruises. Everything from heavier ones with a mix of all kinds of metal from death- to classic metal… The once that only focusing on the classic rock … and one this autumn was themed with swedish punk.
Rocklassiker – cruise (Organized by a swedish radiostation) is the one thats closest to this day. Departing this weekend with two bands playing on-board, WASP are headlining with the support of swedish band Thundermother. And the week after it is time for the original rock- cruise “Rock at sea” that has been having there annual boat since 1999, with bands like Accept, Slade and Crucified Barbara on board.
To understand the whats going on, on these cruises you have to know about the swedish culture about going on a regular cruise. Stockholm have several departures to Finland everyday, along with other boats heading towards Latvia and Estonia. What the “regular” swedes always been doing while going on this boats are not anything special.. Go on-board, drink as much and fast as you can, get drunk as fuck, then try to find your cabin in the about 20 different hallways that looks totally the same. After finding your cabin, its time to find your keycard. Look everywhere in pantspockets, jacket… perhaps in your shoe´s .. what do i know?
Then realize you dropped your keycard or anyway you cant find it anywhere on you. Think about what you shall do as your next option. Try sit down outside hoping that your friends not at home ? … well the result is easy, falling asleep and be the drunk fuck sleeping in the middle of the hallway?
Go and have a look after your friends? Well.. now we are thinking properly. Walking around at 3.00 in the morning in the hallways that totally look the same looking for your one or two freinds on a boat for 2000 people. … drunk as …well ..yes .. fuck! ..
You wandering the hallways.. finding a stairway.. .falling asleep … and get awaken by the security a hour or so. They ask if you need help finding your cabin but as proud as you are you say “No”. Then they ask you for your cabin key, you look in your first choice of pocket… and well there you have it.. unfortunately you were just to drunk to find it earlier. So you got your keycard, And have a look at your cabin number , noticing you have been on the wrong side of the boat and not even at the right cabin earlier. …well people… this story about this drunken swede retying to find his cabin on a cruise could take forever, you get the picture though. It´s a totally drunken fest.
…the common swedish cruise traveller, Robin Eriksson from Stockholm
So what´s going on now in the metal and rock world of Sweden is several companys are combinding this drunk-fest with metal. I could compare it to a three-day festivals amount and efficiancy of drinking to these 24 hours… well plus the “Mandatory” pre- and after- drinking course..
Over the years these organized cruises has been packed with famous (And of course less famous) bands. Among those who have played on this boats thrue the years, Amon Amarth, Blind Guardian, Black Label Society, Korpiklaani, Saxon and a lot more of everything is included. So people… if you ever get the opportunity to try out a traditional swedish “Finland-ferry cruise” combined with rock or metal, dont hesitate… DO IT!
Written by Rickard Olkerud
(croatian version)
Pojava koja se događa kada izmiješate alkohol i najbolju glazbu na svijetu
Na svijetu postoji karibsko krstarenje pod nazivom 70000 tons of metal, Waken je organizirao krstarenje od Hamburga, Njemačka do Velike Britanije. Što nudi Švedska? Pa Švedska ima Ikeu, Volvo i nekoliko godišnjih 24 satnih krstarenja sa rock i metal glazbom za svoje posjetitelje.
U kasnu jesen u Švedskoj dolazi depresivno razdoblje, ljetni festivali su gotovi, sve je manje sunca i dani su kraći. Ipak postoji stvari u metal svijetu koje vam mogu pružiti puno užitka, a to je poveći broj metal i rock krstarenja. Sve je zastupljeno, od death do klasičnog metala do krstarenja baziranih na klasičnom rocku, ove godine je čak bilo krstarenje posvećeno punk-u. Rocklassiker cruise, koje organizira švedska radio stanica, je na redu ovaj vikend. WASP je headliner, a suport im je švedski bend Thundermother. Tjedan nakon toga imamo originalno rock krstarenje naziva Rock at Sea, koje je započelo 1999. godine i tu će nastupiti bendovi Accept, Slade i Crucified Barbara.
Da bi lakše razumjeli događanja na ovim krstarenjima morate poznavati švedsku kulturu odlazaka na krstarenja. U Stockholmu postoji nekoliko odlazaka za Finsku koja se organiziraju svakodnevno, kao i nekoliko organiziranih odlazaka u Latviju i 
Estoniju. Ono što “obični” Šveđani uvijek rade na ovim krstarenjima nije ništa posebno. Ukrcaju se, piju što više i što brže mogu, napiju se na mrtvo ime i onda pokušavaju naći svoju kabinu u dvadesetak hodnika koji izgledaju identično. Kada konačno pronađu soju kabinu tada je potrebno pronaći i ključ od iste što nije uvijek lako. Ključ tražite svugdje, po džepovima od jakne, hlača, cipela…gdje god se sjetite.
Onda shvatite da ste ili izgubili ključ ili ga jednostavno niste u stanju naći. Kao slijedeća opcija dolazi ideja da sjednete i da se nadate da vaši prijatelji nisu već u kabini i da će vas pokupiti. Naravno to obično završava tako da zaspete nasred hodnika mrtvi pijani. U međuvremenu se možda i sjetite potražiti prijatelje, ali ta misija u sitne jutarnje sate, po hodnicima koji izgledaju totalno isto, a na brodu je 2000 ljudi…pa možete zamisliti kako to izgleda.
Nakon nekog vremena osiguranje vas probudi i pita da li vam treba pomoć da nađete svoju sobu, ali ponosni kakvi jeste naravno da tu pomoć odbijete. Tada vas zamole da im date svoj ključ i gle čuda, on se sada nalazi u vašem džepu. Naravno bio je tu i prije samo ste bili prepijani da ga nađete. Sada kada znate broj svoje sobe shvatite da se nalazite na skroz suprotnom kraju broda…pa ova priča o pijanom Šveđaninu kako traži svoju kabinu bi mogla trajati vječno, ali shvatili ste bit, ova krstarenja su pravi festivali pijanstva.
Danas imamo situaciju u Švedskoj da nekoliko kompanija kombinira ovakva krstarenja sa metal glazbom. Mogao bi usporediti trodnevni metal festival u kojem se za ta tri dana popije koliko u 24 sata na ovakvim krstarenjima, plus uobičajeno zagrijavanje i after party.
Tokom godina organizirana krstarenja su ugostila mnoge poznate, a i one manje poznate bendove. Neka od imena što su tokom godina svirala na ovim veselicama su Amon Amarth, Blind Guardian, Black Label Society, Korpiklaani, Saxon i još mnogo njih. Stoga ljudi, ako ikada budete u prilici da odete na tradicionalno švedsko “Finland-ferry cruise” u kombinaciji sa rock ili metal glazbom, ne oklijevajte…otiđite!
Piše: Rickard Olkerud
