Four bands, one mission: proving that Swedish sleaze metal never went out of style, it just got temporarily misplaced behind a pile of flannel shirts.
Smokin Snakes slithered on first, warming up the crowd with their particular brand of Sunset Strip worship. Toxic Rose followed, proving that sometimes the best poison comes from Stockholm.
The Cruel Intentions cranked up the theatrical sleaze, living up to their name with riffs sharper than a stiletto through a Marshall stack, before Crazy Lixx closed the night like proper headliners should – with enough hair spray in the air to damage the ozone and enough attitude to make Axl Rose seem humble.
229 The Venue proved once again that sometimes the best gigs happen in rooms small enough that you can smell the leather pants. This wasn’t nostalgia – this was four bands reminding London that some things are too good to stay buried in the ’80s.
Verdict: Swedish sleaze metal is alive, well, and still knows how to party like it’s 1987.
Toxic Rose
The Cruel Intentions
Crazy Lixx
