Total Metal exhibition: a celebration of Swedish metal
Roppongi Rocks’ Stefan Nilsson visited Stockholm to experience a much-hyped exhibition about Swedish heavy metal. Did it live up to the high expectations?
A mainstream exhibition celebrating the Swedish extreme metal scene? I, obviously, had to go and experience it when I suddenly found myself in Stockholm. The Total Metal exhibition is great for casual fans who want to learn. But it is even greater for us nerdy metalheads who care about all the details. The exhibition has been brilliantly curated by journalist Ika Johannesson, perhaps best known as the co-author of the terrific book “Blood, Fire, Death: The Swedish Metal Story”.
Walking through the exhibition on the fifth floor of Stockholm’s Kulturhuset was a nostalgic trip that made me smile and brought back many memories. I recognised many of the demo tapes, flyers, fanzines and band tees on display. Best of all is the full-size replica of the classic Stockholm record store House of Kicks. Oh, the memories! Total Metal also has a fantastic recreation of a typical bedroom of a teenage metalhead in the 1980s. It is like being back in my childhood bedroom!
Total Metal features stage props, clothes, backdrops, photos and much more from acts such as Watain, Nifelheim, Dark Funeral, Dissection, Opeth, Marduk, Dismember, Entombed and many more.
Filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund has made an excellent short film about Swedish metal, which is being screened as visitors first enter the exhibition. Åkerlund, as true metalheads would know, was the drummer in Bathory before he started making films and music videos. The first music video he directed was “Bewitched” by Candlemass, which coincidentally featured future Mayhem vocalist Pelle “Dead” Ohlin as an extra.
The exhibition features a fully functional studio just like the many recording studios and rehearsal rooms that popped up throughout the country in the 80s and 90s. These were places where dreams were born. Visitors are invited to have a go at playing. Total Metal is billed as “40 years of Swedish extreme metal”. 40 years? That takes us back to 1985. I am not sure if 1985 was the start of anything in the Swedish metal scene. Swedish metal was born in the 70s. Perhaps we could say it started with the formation of Heavy Load in 1976. When it comes to extreme metal, Bathory was formed in 1983. But 1985? Not sure where that came from, but I guess it doesn’t matter too much, as this is a terrific exhibition. The bulk of the exhibition is about extreme metal, but some of the best exhibits are from more mainstream metal acts such as Sabaton, Ghost, HammerFall and Heavy Load. The full-size tank from Sabaton’s live shows, complete with drum set, is impressive. Amon Amarth’s Viking ship is as well.
The Total Metal exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden, will remain open until 21st September. It is well worth a visit.
https://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/utstallningar/total-metal
