Sweden

When someone mentions Sweden, what usually springs to mind? Ikea? Sven-Goran Eriksson? The chef from the muppets? Or maybe the wave upon wave of bands and solo musicians who have emerged from everyone’s favourite Scandinavian country. The likes of The Hives and The (International) Noise Conspiracy breathed life into the flourishing garage-punk scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, while it is in the fields of black and death metal that the Swedes can be seen to have left the greatest mark. Exciting new bands like Cult of Luna have begun to make their name in the last five years after the unquestionable talent of Opeth and In Flames set up a platform for this all-too-often unappreciated genre to develop.

ABBA

The success of Waterloo after the 1974 Eurovision song contest would prove to be the starting point of an unjustifiably long and fruitful recording career for the Stockholm quartet ABBA. The hits followed – one can only assume that this was due to the momentum following their Eurovision triumph – in the form of Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and the blight on 1970s music that was Fernando. Nevertheless, as loathed as they are by some, one must appreciate the achievements of this archetypal boy-girl pop group.

OPETH

Influences ranging from jazz to prog rock to death-metal, and a consistent ability to churn out ten-minute-plus songs which frequently approach perfection. Guitarist Peter Lindgren is one of the best in the business, while vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt has expertly written innumerable poetic lyrics in English – not his first language – and utilised his Nick Cave-esque voice interchangeably with the demonic screamed vocals which epitomise the genre.

Millencolin

A fruitful fifteen-year career has seen the band move from scratchy self-produced offerings to a record deal with Brett Gurewitz’s Epitaph, the same record label which helped The Offspring along the path to stardom by producing their album Smash. The band’s unique sense of humour has combined well with influences ranging from The Clash to Gurewitz’s band Bad Religion, and their forthcoming eighth album is being eagerly anticipated.

Razorlight

Guitarist Bjorn Agren and bassist Carl Dalemo remain integral to the albums Up All Night and Razorlight, and no amount of self-promotion by Borrell will change that. The pop sensibility and low profile of the two Swedes have worked in favour of the enigmatic front man, helping him and his band to gain notoriety in their relatively short career.

Tom Victor