Time To Rock in Knislinge and day three. Sunday, and it’s a slow start as most people recover from a Saturday night’s excesses. I managed to catch a little more Swedish hard rock in The Mind Palace, and they were very good with more parpy keyboards and an excellent female singer. You can read the Day One report here.
Time To Rock Festival 2025
Knislinge, Sweden – Sunday 6th and Monday 7th July 2025.
Words: Ian Sutherland
Photography: Rich Dillon
The real wake-up came from The Wildhearts.
Opening with Suckerpunch and armed with a big sound and bass that vibrated through your chest, Ginger and co really set a tone and did not let anyone just chill out.
The set eased off in intensity as it went on, but the good-natured repartee and hard-edged rock tones made for a joyous experience in the sun.
Dutch band Cobra Spell, now fronted by Spaniard Kristina Vega, had all the ’80s Metal moves wrapped up in a shiny spandex shell. Seeing this four-fifths female band for the first time, it’s a bit of a shock when you notice one guitarist has a moustache and the other not much more than a leotard.
But it is the music that matters, and they have their style down pat, all soaring vocals and shredding guitars. A few more killer songs in their repertoire, and they will be ready to move on up.
Dare’s smooth AOR has never been something to hold my attention for long, and after a few songs, I opted to have a seat and some food and drink.
A bad decision, as by the time I got out of my seat again, I only just managed to catch the tail end of the Quireboys’ set and Spike leading the crowd in an Impassioned sing-along to I Don’t Love You Anymore.
Festival fatigue and too many distractions are all I can put it down to.
I was in place in plenty of time for Michael Schenker, though. His all UFO set was highly anticipated on site and local hero Erik Grönwall on the vocals added another level to it.
Natural Thing was an obvious opener, and by the time they’ve run through Only You Can Rock Me, Hot ‘N’ Ready and a surprisingly early Doctor Doctor, the festival site belongs to them.
Michael seems to have lost none of his playing skills over the years, and all the soloing is sprightly and effervescent, adding the edge to these great songs.
Grönwall does not try to be Phil Mogg. He is much more of a traditional rock singer in style, but he is content to keep the rock star poses to a minimum, sing the songs well and enjoys being on stage with a legend.
The set has a few deep cuts thrown in, but of course, it’s the big hitters that make the biggest impression on the crowd. Love To Love, Lights Out, and of course, the ever-impressive Rock Bottom wow the audience.
Joe Lynn Turner made a guest appearance on the closing number, Too Hot To Handle, but they did not really need any more star power as they had it covered.
The choice to close day three was Praying Mantis or Joe Lyn Turner. I enjoy plenty of Mantis tunes and the vocals of John Jaycee Kuiper, so I opted for them, and the closing classic Captured City put a late-night spring in my step.
I headed to the 1.15 am bus without feeling the need to stop and listen to JLT covering Highway Star on the way.
Day Four and it’s Monday! Who rocks out on a Monday? Well, it turns out I do, and so do a lot of visitors to TTR. It is not that much quieter than the previous days, and the vibe across the venue is still enthusiastic.
Veteran Swedish rockers Alien get things going with a set of smooth AOR with a light dusting of guitar heroics. They are engaging and have a memorable song or three. It was a really nice way to start the day.
Next up was Mikkey Dee And Friends being old school in a very different way with an all Motörhead set. I think this is the first gig I have ever seen where the first thing that happened was the drummer did some chat. But Mikkey was among friends on stage and off and knew it.
The three-piece lineup looked a bit like Motörhead, sounded a lot like Motörhead and played an hour of Motörhead tunes for everyone to enjoy.
It was not all greatest hits. There was Shine and a pounding Sacrifice, but of course, there was Killed By Death and Overkill too. And if you have not stood in a field and screamed ‘I don’t want to live forever’ along with a band, can you really call yourself a rocker? Great stuff.
Next up, I could choose the classic rock of Jean Beauvoir or an unknown band to me, Canadian punk and rollers, The Anti-Queens. I opted for the latter, and I am so glad I did.
They were one of those great festival surprises you come across. Full of attitude and invention, they are chatty and feisty, immediately likeable and with plenty of good tunes to back up their bravado. They did a Misfits cover, which gives you an idea of where they are musically, but that was for fun. They do not need it, and I cannot wait to catch them again in the UK later in July.
Smash Into Pieces are best known for appearing on a Swedish kids’ TV shows, and you could see that in the audience. Lots of parents with kids in headphones on their shoulders. It was nice to see family rocking in action, but there were way too many backing tracks in use for me to join in the fun. 
Darren Wharton’s Renegade interpretations of Thin Lizzy did not appeal to me, and Majestica’s traditional Power Metal schtick was not hitting the spot, so I found a good spot to watch Battle Beast.
The Norwegians are perfect Euro rock festival fodder. Their electronically enhanced poppy version of Power Metal is just right for standing in a field with a beer, punching your fist in the air and singing along. They also have Noora Louhimo, who not only looked incredible as the sexiest of devils, but she also gave the best vocal performance I saw all weekend. 
The songs are all of a similar hue, but in this environment, that is ok for an hour. It is just time to clap, sing, cheer, and have a good time. A lot of the Smash Into Pieces kids stayed and enjoyed this too, without any beers to fuel them.
I was surprised not to hear Black Ninja, but the fact that their classic older song is not needed to rock a festival crowd any more is probably a very good sign.
I like Myrath and their Tunisian take on progressive Metal, all Middle Eastern hooks and well-crafted melodies. They bring a stage show too.
But I found nagging at the back of my mind that Nashville Pussy were playing the Pirate Rock stage at the same time, and quickly I realised I was really in the mood for some raw rock ‘n’ roll and headed that way.
I love Nashville Pussy as a live band, and they did not disappoint. They are a truly authentic rock ‘n’ roll experience. This is not being faked. This is sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll wrapped up and spat into your face. 
The sound is raw and tight, yet close to coming unhinged somehow. The songs go by and you remember the raw guitar sounds, Blaine Cartwright’s bourbon-soaked growls, Ruyter Says’ Angus Young style shredding and that you just need more drink and more of this.
By the time Go Motherfucker Go is finishing and Ruyter is spraying the audience in JD, everyone around is convinced too. THIS is rock ‘n’ roll!
Swiss old schoolers Krokus had to follow that, and they were a lot of fun. Marc Storace still has plenty of voice left, and the current three-guitar lineup puts plenty of oomph into the old classics like Heatstrokes and Bedside Radio. Long Stick Goes Boom is still great to sing along to as well.
Personally, I do not think they need to cover Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World and a drum solo in a limited time set was a step too far back into the ’80s for me. But overall, they gave a good account of themselves and kept all the old rockers happy.
The final act of the weekend were Sonata Arctica. The Finnish Power Metallers had a tough task to get people energised and interested, starting their set at half past midnight after four days of fun.
They gave it a good shot and I enjoyed the first few songs, but eventually fatigue told and I made my way back to the bus stop.
Attending this festival was a fabulous experience. It is friendly, well organised, and the organisers lay on an interesting selection of bands.
They try hard to keep prices down, too. Food was reasonable, and if beer is your thing, it was £5-6 for 40cl, which is good for the UK, never mind Sweden.
The Swedes say it’s time to rock, and I agree with them.
Download too big? Bloodstock too heavy? Stonedead not long enough?
Try Time To Rock, I think you will enjoy yourself.
