Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Sweden Rock continues to impress

The Nordic region's largest music festival, Sweden Rock, was held this year in Norje, Sölvesborg. Naturally, The Nordic Times culture reporter Mikael Rasmussen was on site to experience the battling stage performances, dramaturgy, and poetic presence that could have been lifted straight from a fairytale world.

Published 24 June 2025
Scorpions-2
Sabaton-1
Sabaton-2
Knogjärn-1
Black-Country-Communion-1
Soen-1
Ronny-Svensson
Bloodstain-1
Cruzified-Barbara
Meshuggah-1
Apocalyptica-1
D-A-D-5
D-A-D-4
D-A-D-3
D-A-D-2
D-A-D-1
Scorpions-1
Meshuggah-3
Meshuggah-2
Publik-besökare
Alice-Cooper-1
King Diamond
Alice-Cooper-3
Okänd
Publik-besökare-2
The-Headlines-1
Wind-Rose
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow
Scorpions-2
Sabaton-1
Sabaton-2
Knogjärn-1
Black-Country-Communion-1
Soen-1
Ronny-Svensson
Bloodstain-1
Cruzified-Barbara
Meshuggah-1
Apocalyptica-1
D-A-D-5
D-A-D-4
D-A-D-3
D-A-D-2
D-A-D-1
Scorpions-1
Meshuggah-3
Meshuggah-2
Publik-besökare
Alice-Cooper-1
King Diamond
Alice-Cooper-3
Okänd
Publik-besökare-2
The-Headlines-1
Wind-Rose
previous arrow
next arrow
 
5 minute read

More of everything sums up this year’s edition of Sweden Rock Festival. Lots of media, tons of photographers, huge crowds, merch, partner companies, Viking and medieval demonstrations of strength in the form of lifting logs in a way that would have been right at home at any Viking market. The audience was treated to high-octane stage art, dramaturgy, and poetic presence drawn from the worlds of film and theater.

Above all, this year’s festival delivered fantastic performances. One of the strongest in terms of musical quality, showmanship, songs, vocals, and overall balance was the band that I saw, heard, and lyrically contemplated at Palladium in Stockholm in 1995. Back then, they were promoting their album Helpyourselfish with its characteristic compositions… Now, 30 years later, better than ever, the Danish band D-A-D, with band members Jesper Binzer on vocals and guitar, his brother Jacob Binzer on guitar and vocals, the ever-charismatic Stig Pedersen on bass and vocals, and Laust Sonne on drums, serve up cool songs such as Sleeping My Day Away, Bad Craziness, Rim Of Hell and more. With a new art CD release in the form of Speed Of Darkness, they are maintaining their brand with good self-esteem and confidence. The rock icons hold it all together with the common thread of recognizability from their successful sound, their unique vocals, beautiful stage clothes, stage presence, charisma, and tight, fat drum and bass lines, to which the audience responded with raised hands and singing along in unison to the famous rock songs.

“Aim to be the best in the world”

Artist Razz also had a chat with guitarist Oskar Lindroos and bassist Jonathan Thyberg from the band Bloodstain, a band that aims to be the biggest in the world. At first, they described their goal as reaching the biggest stage, Festival Stage, at Sweden Rock, but after a while they realized that they had already achieved that goal.

Yeah, we might as well aim to be the best in the world, said Oskar and Jonathan.

They also shared that the band name Bloodstain came about when one of the band members’ fingers started bleeding from playing the strings too hard, and it became so meaningful and symbolic that everyone in the band felt a blood bond.

They describe how the songs are created together in the rehearsal room and how the choice of metal was also made in a truly democratic spirit. All the members of the band have different backgrounds and there is a strong foundation of blues, rock, and metal that contains many of its scales. When asked if harmonica fits into their sound, the answer is obvious.

Hell yes, said Oskar with a twinkle in his eye.

Time flies and the interview with Oskar and Jonathan is over before we know it. Jessica Lindroos, one of the band’s co-managers, enters our interview room and we realize that it’s time to wrap up, hoping to see and hear more from Bloodstains in the future.

A glorious mix of bands

Many visitors praise the Sweden Rock management for managing to put together a festival with so many incredible bands to enjoy, be charmed by, sometimes be frightened by, and repeatedly be completely enthralled by. One of the many great rock bands was definitely The Mercury Riots with their captivating artistry and song catalog. King Diamond was a fascinating experience with his characteristic wonderful falsetto vocals and dynamic theatrical and dramatic performance. A liberating Swedish act that affected the entire Pistonhead tent was Knogjärn with its stage language, light and color play, lyrics, and music that is impossible to resist, which can inspire any coward to start daring to take control of their situation.

Yes, it is definitely memorable to have had the privilege of experiencing these highly skilled bands, some of whom are in their 70s and 80s, such as the Scorpions, who are celebrating their 60th anniversary. These are memories for life that reach all the senses and touch the heartstrings, gilding and adding a golden edge to the lives of all who appreciate these experiences. It was particularly impressive when the band Meshuggah delivered an unparalleled light show in the middle of the night. Soen treated the audience to a musical fire show with a poetic and tasteful performance. Slipknot conjured up all kinds of creatures and had the audience almost speaking, or rather singing, in tongues based on call and response. The bombastic hard rock storytellers of the Swedish hard rock band Sabaton closed the entire festival session – a piece of theatrical drama with props including a tank, Carolingian costumes, gas masks, flamethrowers, and a crescendo of fireworks that made it feel like the entire Sweden Rockauditorium was celebrating New Year’s Eve.

Many bands at the festival also expressed their gratitude and thoughts to all those who worked at the festival site, including Cruzified Barbara, whose singer Mia Karlsson expressed her sympathy for all the children affected in Gaza.

Impressive organization

In the lead-up to Sweden Rock, many column inches were written, including about SVT’s documentary on Sweden Rock and its general, Ingolf Persson, who has shown skepticism toward many journalists – and even toward the memoir book about Sweden Rock and its journey up to the 30-year anniversary released in 2023. Ingolf views it primarily as a fairytale book and holds a distinctly different view of Sweden Rock’s soul than the one presented there

Many campers arrive in style, declaring that camping is half the fun. Visit Blekinge has also described using Sweden Rock as a tool to attract new residents. The festival has been described by some media as pompous and maximal. One person even said, “actually kind of rock’n’roll”…

It’s safe to say that the festival brings together many different people, target groups, and age ranges — and can best be summed up with joy, love, interest, and above all, gratitude. When all is said and done, we got to see and hear as many as 93 bands across five stages with a mixed repertoire – an impressive feat of organization considering the incredible logistics of artist and band transitions, coordinating and accrediting journalists, photographers, audience hosts, security personnel, guards, stage workers, electricians, and more

As the festival neared its end, most realized they had been bitten by the dangerous animals and bands that had graced Sweden Rock — from the viper Huggorm to Scorpions, whose nerve toxins sometimes manifested as ear-shattering, cheeky, and visibly paralyzing death spasms. We’re already looking forward to getting stung again at Sweden Rock Festival 2026.

 

Mikael Rasmussen alias Artist Razz

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

YouTubers invest in their own businesses – ad revenues are unpredictable

Published yesterday 8:34
– By Editorial Staff
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has the world's largest YouTube channel with 442 million subscribers.
2 minute read

More and more YouTube personalities are reducing their dependence on ad revenue and brand partnerships and instead building their own business empires. The reason is that advertising income is unpredictable and can disappear overnight when the platform changes its policies.

YouTube has evolved into a gigantic platform that has contributed over $55 billion to the US GDP and created more than 490,000 full-time jobs. But despite the platform’s success, many of the most successful content creators have realized that it’s risky to rely solely on ad revenue, writes TechCrunch.

Many of the biggest channels have now transformed into vertically integrated media companies with product lines, physical stores and consumer brands that can survive algorithm changes. In several cases, these side businesses are growing faster than the YouTube channels themselves.

MrBeast leads the development

Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast with 442 million subscribers, is the platform’s most aggressive entrepreneur. His chocolate brand Feastables generated around $250 million in revenue in 2024 with over $20 million in profit – significantly more profitable than his YouTube content which lost approximately $80 million the same year. The first product sold over one million units and generated more than $10 million within 72 hours.

Donaldson also runs the food brand Lunchly, the toy series MrBeast Lab, the burger concept MrBeast Burger and the analytics platform Viewstats. Now he plans to establish his own mobile network.

Coffee and energy drinks as goldmine

Emma Chamberlain, with over 12 million subscribers, launched her coffee brand Chamberlain Coffee in 2019. In 2023, the brand reached approximately $20 million in revenue and in January opened its first physical store. Revenue is expected to grow by over 50 percent in 2025 and reach more than $33 million.

Logan Paul created the energy drink Prime together with KSI, which surpassed $1.2 billion in sales in 2023. However, sales have declined sharply, particularly in the United Kingdom where revenue fell by approximately 70 percent between 2023 and 2024.

Children’s audience and beauty products

Ryan’s World, hosted by 13-year-old Ryan Kaji, has expanded its brand through toys and clothing that reportedly generated over $250 million in revenue in 2020.

Within the beauty industry, Michelle Phan has founded the subscription service Ipsy and the makeup brand EM Cosmetics, while Huda Kattan built Huda Beauty which generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Other well-known makeup brands from YouTube influencers include Jeffree Star Cosmetics and Tati Beauty, showing that the beauty industry continues to be an attractive area for content creators who want to build their own business empires.

Six kilos of medieval silver treasure found in Stockholm

Published 19 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The silver coins have been dated to the 12th century and were likely minted when Knut Eriksson was king of Sweden.
2 minute read

A private individual has discovered a significant silver treasure from medieval times. The treasure, which could likely be one of the largest ever found, contains among other things up to 20,000 coins from the 12th century.

The silver treasure was discovered by a person digging for worms just outside Stockholm, Sweden, who contacted the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen). It was found in a copper cauldron and contained approximately six kilos of silver coins, pendants, pearls and silver rings.

This is probably one of the largest silver treasures from the early medieval period that has been found in Sweden. We don’t yet know exactly how many coins there are, but I believe it could be up to 20,000. Most of the objects are well preserved, but unfortunately the copper cauldron they were stored in is not as well preserved, says Sofia Andersson, who is an antiquarian at the Stockholm County Administrative Board, in a press release.

The silver coins have been dated to the 12th century and some of the coins bear the text “KANUTUS”, which means Knut in Latin – indicating they are from the time of Knut Eriksson’s reign as king of Sweden.

Three types of coins found in the treasure: KANUTUS coins, Gotland coins and bishop coins. Photo: Stockholm County Administrative Board

The treasure also contains some rare bishop coins, which were coins manufactured in Europe by bishops. These coins feature a bishop holding a crosier in his right hand. Lin Annerbäck, head of the Medieval Museum in Stockholm, describes the treasure as unique and believes it can tell us much about Sweden’s history.

It is completely unique, we have no other medieval treasures from Stockholm. And then it also appears to be extremely large. So it’s very exciting. she tells the Swedish newspaper DN.

The location where the treasure was found is currently being kept secret due to the risk of illegal treasure hunters. Archaeologists will further examine the site and the treasure as well as evaluate it.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel suspended after Kirk monologue

Published 18 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Jimmy Kimmel together with Kamala Harris (D) in June 2024.
3 minute read

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been suspended from US television network ABC after controversial statements about the murder of Charlie Kirk. The decision has sparked strong reactions in both American politics and the entertainment industry.

ABC has decided to pause the talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely. The background is a monologue where Kimmel questioned the White House’s official version of the motive behind the murder of right-wing profile Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel suggested that the perpetrator could be linked to the Trump movement, rather than the radical left, and accused the president’s allies of “scoring political points” from the murder.

The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.

The comment sparked immediate backlash. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), threatened ABC with action and argued that Kimmel’s words undermine public trust.

Shortly thereafter, the network announced that the program would be suspended until further notice. Several major stations, including Nexstar Media, followed suit and stopped broadcasts nationally.

Jokes about Trump’s grief

Jimmy Kimmel also made ironic comments about Trump’s alleged grief after the murder. Kimmel began by showing a video clip from the weekend where a reporter first asks the president how he feels after the murder.

But between all the pointing, they’re also grieving… On a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.

After Trump responded to the reporter that he feels “very good”, he quickly shifts the conversation to talk about the construction start of the new ballroom at the White House and how beautiful it will be.

This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, said Jimmy Kimmel.

Donald Trump: “Kimmel talentless”

Donald Trump expressed his approval of the decision on social media and called Kimmel “talentless” while commenting on the program’s “low ratings”. The White House then backed up Trump’s tone, claiming that television audiences benefited from the decision to stop Kimmel.

The announcement has simultaneously created a storm of criticism, not least from Democratic leaders.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argues that threats against media broadcasting licenses due to satire and opinion statements constitute a serious threat to freedom of speech. Schumer compared the action to methods reminiscent of authoritarian states.

That’s what Xi does. That’s what Putin does, said Schumer.

The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel has quickly become a symbol for many of the increased political polarization in America’s media landscape.

The question of what responsibility and freedom comedians and satirists have in polarized times continues to be debated, and critics warn that the suspension risks creating a barrier between those in power and free media.

Robert Redford is dead

Published 17 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Robert Redford turned 89 years old.
3 minute read

Robert Redford, one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, directors and founder of the Sundance Festival, has died at the age of 89. He passed away peacefully on September 16 at his home in Sundance, Utah — surrounded by loved ones — leaving behind an artistic legacy, an institution and a heritage in independent film that changed the film world forever.

Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936 in Santa Monica, California. His first steps into an acting career came through TV roles and theater, and he achieved widespread breakthrough with roles in films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting (1973) and All the President’s Men (1976).

He was not just a leading film actor during the 60s and 70s. Redford also transitioned into directing and producing and won an Oscar in 1980 for Best Director for the drama Ordinary People.

But perhaps his greatest lasting legacy is the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, which he founded to promote independent filmmakers and artistic voices outside the major studio budgets. The festival became a central platform for creative filmmakers worldwide over the decades.

Reactions and tributes

Redford’s passing was confirmed by his spokesman Cindi Berger. He died peacefully in his sleep at his home surrounded by those he loved. The reactions from the film world and his close collaborators and friends are unsurprisingly extensive.

Shaped the film industry

Robert Redford’s significance is evident not only in his classic performances, but also in how he shaped the film industry. He often chose projects with moral weight, integrity and social analysis.

At the same time, he sometimes participated in productions with a clearer entertainment character, for example Spy Game (2001) and Three Days of the Condor (1975), although these films contained depth and substance.

Outside the world of film, he engaged in environmental issues, art and politics, thereby becoming a symbol of both artistic responsibility and humanity.

With Robert Redford’s passing, the film world loses an iconic voice, and the world loses a heart that loved both adventure and the quiet – the grand drama and the small, the visual and the human.

His films will continue to entertain, provoke and inspire, and his festivals and ideas will provide space for new voices long after his name has fallen silent from the silver screen.

Fact box Robert Redford

  • Born: August 18, 1936, Santa Monica, California, USA.
  • Died: September 16, 2025, Sundance, Utah, USA.
  • Age: 89 years.
  • Professions: Actor, director, producer, festival founder.

Filmography (selection)

  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).
  • The Sting (1973).
  • The Great Gatsby (1974).
  • All the President's Men (1976).
  • Three Days of the Condor (1975).
  • The Natural (1984).
  • Out of Africa (1985).

Direction / production (selection)

  • Ordinary People (1980) — directorial debut and Oscar for best director.
  • A River Runs Through It (1992).
  • The Horse Whisperer (1998).

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.