LOK
Encyclopedia
LOK was a Swedish
hardcore
band formed in 1995 and disbanded in 2002.
in 1995, as a fusion of the two rock band
s "PsychoBetaBuckDown" (with Martin as vocalist) and "Hyperbug" (with Johan as bassist). The two bands shared the same rehearsal space and had played together a few times. The bands had also finished second and first respectively in a communal
rock band competition in 1994. Martin and Johan decided to play together in the 1995 competition and Johan also changed from bass to his original instrument, drums. They needed a guitarist and a bassist and found Daniel (from the band "In a Pig's Eye") and Thomas (from the Judas Priest
cover band
"Just as Priest").
Their first rehearsal was held in August 1995, with Martin singing in English
for about ten minutes before fooling around and starting to sing in Swedish
. It sounded strange, and they decided to continue with Swedish lyrics. The name of the band, which is an abbreviation of locomotive
in Swedish, was chosen as a reference to their music style; "heavy, relentless and totally over-running"!
They won two large music competitions in the next nine months, being awarded with studio time and the production of two singles
. Their first album
was released in November 1996 and contained six songs. The band signed their first contract with the record label
company Stockholm Records
in the summer of 1997, and recorded their new album during 1998. They also performed at the Hultsfred Festival
for the first time the same year. In 2000 they performed at Roskilde Festival
on the green stage in front of 17.500 people.
LOK made their last appearance ever in Malmö
, in the autumn of 2002. They played in Göteborg
for the last time just a few days before that; the gig
was recorded and became a live album, their last release. After problems between the members, the band was declared dead. They said that they had showed Sweden
that hardcore
music could be in Swedish
, and after five albums, their purpose had been reached, and thus there was no reason to continue.
Two of the former members, Martin Westerstrand and Daniel Cordero along with two new members, started the band Rallypack in 2004 and recorded the album 'Sod Off, God! We Believe In Our Rockband' being their first and last English record and the only record under the name Rallypack.
Rallypack became Lillasyster
in 2006, and released their debut album Hjärndöd musik för en hjärndöd generation (Braindead Music For A Braindead Generation) in May 2007.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band formed in 1995 and disbanded in 2002.
Members
- Martin WesterstrandMartin WesterstrandMartin Skans Westerstrand is a Swedish musician from Gothenburg. In 1995 he founded hard rock band LOK. He was the lead singer there until the band called it quits in 2002. After that, he and LOK - bassist Daniel Cordero started the band Rallypack together with guitarist Max Flövik and drummer...
(Vocals) - Johan Reivén (DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s) - Daniel Cordero (BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Thomas Brandt (GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
)
History
The band was created in Partille, a suburb to GöteborgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
in 1995, as a fusion of the two rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
s "PsychoBetaBuckDown" (with Martin as vocalist) and "Hyperbug" (with Johan as bassist). The two bands shared the same rehearsal space and had played together a few times. The bands had also finished second and first respectively in a communal
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
rock band competition in 1994. Martin and Johan decided to play together in the 1995 competition and Johan also changed from bass to his original instrument, drums. They needed a guitarist and a bassist and found Daniel (from the band "In a Pig's Eye") and Thomas (from the Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
"Just as Priest").
Their first rehearsal was held in August 1995, with Martin singing in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
for about ten minutes before fooling around and starting to sing in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. It sounded strange, and they decided to continue with Swedish lyrics. The name of the band, which is an abbreviation of locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
in Swedish, was chosen as a reference to their music style; "heavy, relentless and totally over-running"!
They won two large music competitions in the next nine months, being awarded with studio time and the production of two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was released in November 1996 and contained six songs. The band signed their first contract with the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
company Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group.The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company by its Swedish founders Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard in partnership with the original distributor and investor Polygram in London.Håkansson and...
in the summer of 1997, and recorded their new album during 1998. They also performed at the Hultsfred Festival
Hultsfred Festival
The Hultsfred Festival is an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It takes place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance has increased from 7,500 visitors to approximately 32,000 people in...
for the first time the same year. In 2000 they performed at Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
on the green stage in front of 17.500 people.
LOK made their last appearance ever in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, in the autumn of 2002. They played in Göteborg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
for the last time just a few days before that; the gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
was recorded and became a live album, their last release. After problems between the members, the band was declared dead. They said that they had showed Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
that hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
music could be in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, and after five albums, their purpose had been reached, and thus there was no reason to continue.
Two of the former members, Martin Westerstrand and Daniel Cordero along with two new members, started the band Rallypack in 2004 and recorded the album 'Sod Off, God! We Believe In Our Rockband' being their first and last English record and the only record under the name Rallypack.
Rallypack became Lillasyster
Lillasyster
Lillasyster is a Swedish band formed in Gothenburg in 2006. They released their debut album Hjärndöd musik för en hjärndöd generation in May 2007.-History:...
in 2006, and released their debut album Hjärndöd musik för en hjärndöd generation (Braindead Music For A Braindead Generation) in May 2007.
Albums
- Ord och inga visorOrd och inga visorOrd och inga visor is an EP with Guthenburg band LOK. It was released 1996.-Track listing:# "Experiment" - 3.26# "Som en hund" - 4.31# "Rosa" - 3.35...
(1996) (Words and No Songs) - Naken, blästrad och skitsurNaken, blästrad och skitsurNaken, blästrad och skitsur is the first album by the Swedish hardcore band LOK.-Track listing:# "Lokpest" – 2:13# "Skrubbsår" – 2:45# "Låt 3ton" - 4:21...
(1999) (Naked, Blasted and Pissed Off) - Sunk 500Sunk 500Sunk 500 is the second album by hardcore band LOK, released in 2000.-Track listing:# "Hur många grisar är vi nu?" - 3:07# "Leksakslandets kungar" - 3:34# "Gud ditt svin" - 4:57...
(2000) - Ut ur discot och in i verklighetenUt ur discot och in i verklighetenUt ur discot och in i verkligheten is the third album by hardcore band LOK, released in 2002.-Track listing:# "Scudmissil " - 2.50# "Oj oj oj " - 4.47# "Ta stryk" - 2.22# "Pyromandåd i ponnyslakteriet" - 3.17...
(2002) (Out of the Disco and into Reality) - Blästrad levandeBlästrad levandeBlästrad levande is a live album by hardcore band LOK, released in 2003.-Track listing:# "Intro"# "Kompanjoner"# "Hur många grisar är vi nu?"# "Scudmissil "# "Skrubbsår"# "Oj oj oj "# "Passa dig"# "Stänkskärmar och sprit"...
(2003) - live album (Blasted Alive)
Singles
- Lokpest (Lok-plague)
- LOK står när de andra faller (LOK stands when the others fall)
- Skrubbsår (Grazes)
- Ensam gud (Lone god)
- Stänkskärmar och sprit (Mudguards and booze)
- Bedragaren i Murmansk (The deceiver in Murmansk)
- Sug min (Suck my/mine)
- Staden Göteborg (The city Gothenburg) - together with the other SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
band Hardcore SuperstarHardcore SuperstarHardcore Superstar is a hard rock band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1997 and continue on today. Hardcore Superstar have had several #1 hit singles, and Grammy wins in Sweden.-Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada:...
.