Band of the week 16/2025
Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden
Genre: all of them
Hier geht’s zur deutschen Version.
The band about itself:
Give us the opportunity and we promise to kick some ass. Put us on a stage and we will make the crowd dance, and stagedive, and headbang like they’ve never done before.
Editorial commentary:
For this week’s Band of the Week, we return once more to Sweden: Freak Kitchen.
Mattias „IA“ Eklundh is likely a name familiar only to guitarists and those with a penchant for odd time signatures. During the days of the Frankfurt Music Fair, he was a regular at Laney Amps and, for me, the most entertaining presenter at the event. Unfortunately, Freak Kitchen often narrowly misses Germany on their tours: Sweden → Denmark → France and back again. At least I managed to catch them in 2013 alongside Panzerballett at Das Bett in Frankfurt.
A Brief Overview
Freak Kitchen was founded in 1992 in Gothenburg and has released nine studio albums to date. Their tours have taken them to smaller clubs and larger festivals worldwide. Notably, they have ventured off the mainstream paths, especially in countries like India and Nepal. These international performances have helped the band build a passionate and steadily growing fan base.
Mattias „IA“ Eklundh is not only a guitar virtuoso, but he also complements drummer Björn Fryklund excellently. Fryklund was voted the best drummer of 2014 by the readers of Prog Sphere Magazine. Together with bassist Christer Hysén, they form a trio that creates a unique blend of heavy metal, progressive avant-garde, and Indian carnatic influences. This unusual combination is supported not only by catchy songwriting, but also by baffling rhythm structures and adventurous tonalities that consistently defy clear genre categorization.
Freak Kitchen is particularly known for their „crazy time signatures,“ which fascinate both fans and musicians alike. Those who wish to delve deeper into these complex rhythms should check out the YouTube videos from Freak Audio Lab. Konnakol, the „secret spice“ of keeping time, is impressively explained by Mattias in these videos.
Overall, Freak Kitchen offers a musical experience that is technically demanding yet remains immensely entertaining. Their ability to blend complex musical structures with humorous and socially critical lyrics makes them a unique band in the genre. Those fortunate enough to experience them live are rewarded with an unforgettable concert—one that showcases both the technical prowess of the musicians and their charismatic stage presence in an impressive manner.
Music suggestion
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Band of the week is our weekly posting about a band we recommend and is posted every Tuesday at 8pm (CET). These are bands that are just at the beginning of their career and that we think should receive more attention.
You can also find all the bands we’ve featured this year in our playlist on Spotify!
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