Hardcore Superstar. One would think that a band with a name like this must be pathetic and clearly over-estimating themselves. But after seeing them live one would know that the name is pretty self-explanatory, because it is what they are. If you long for a good dose of street metal with a taste straight from the 80�fs, Hardcore Superstar is exactly what you need.


The Swedish band visits Finland fairly often and is always warmly welcomed. Same thing happened on the 4th of December night in Hellcity, when the Swedes took over the sold-out Tavastia club and completely nailed it an hour and a half later.

They started the set with a song called ‘Beg For It’ from the latest cognominal album and since that moment we were taken on a truly hardcore sleaze rock ride. The following songs were played in no particular order: ‘She’s Offbeat’, ‘Medicate Me’, ‘Wild Boys’, ‘My Good Reputation’, ‘Bag On Your Head’, ‘Into Debauchery’, ‘Shades of Grey’, as well as a sensitive ballad from their 2005 self-titled album, ‘Standing on a Verge’.

If I could describe Hardcore Superstar’s gig with one word, that word would be ‘hot’. Hellish hot, in fact. The band was blasting, people were dancing their souls away and the temperature was rising. Jocke Berg’s crazy energy and stage charisma could set Tavastia on fire. And if it did for real, Jocke would be still kicking it, while the firemen would carry him out.

At first standing in the crowd was unbearable – people were almost walking over each other and at times it was impossible to see the band on stage through the thick forest of raised hands. Later the crowd’s enthusiasm was still at the highest critical point, but some of the physically weaker fans had to retire to the bar area and watch the gig on the screens there sipping cold beer.
One needs to be in a good physical condition to keep up with the band’s pace –Hardcore Superstar played a set of fast songs with nearly no pause for a break. But either the audience has been trained well for a gig, or they also had the same feeling as I did – you HAVE to jump, scream and ‘beg for it’ when you get such a high voltage energy outburst from the stage.

Not only Jocke’s performance was so smashing, naturally, each member of the band added his significant part to the madness on stage. Guitarist Vic Zino and bassist Martin Sandvik were just as flammable, blazing with their guitars. Adde Andreasson is not your regular drummer. He is probably the only drummer I’ve seen so far who tends to leave his instrument so often instead of just sitting there, being unnoticed. He either hides behind the speakers or comes to the front to interact with the audience. Put the hot Nordic man in the spotlight!

Hardcore Superstar finished their set with ‘We Don’t Celebrate Sundays’, which can be considered without any doubts as the sleaze rock anthem and one of the best party songs. The audience was still driven bananas and could go on and on. The band�fs energy level, enthusiasm, total belief in what they are doing makes Hardcore Superstar one of the best Scandinavian rock bands of the moment, which brought them a Swedish Grammy Awards nomination this year.

The show was one of the most enjoyable live performances of 2009 autumn season – a magnificent essence of rock and roll at its best. It comes as a surprise to me that such a great and promising band is still smaller than they deserve to be. Hopefully their road to success will lead them to the huge arenas worldwide, packed to the fullest only for Hardcore Superstar. They’ve got it all: the music, the energy, the looks. So what’s your problem, world? Open up your arms for those guys!



Report: Tanja C. | Pictures: Jana Blomqvist (taken at Ankkarock 2009)