Smash Into Pieces already formed in 2008, but it wasn't until 2023 that the band seriously broke into the mainstream, competing in the Swedish pre-Eurovision show Melodifestivalen with the song Six Feet Under. The band further cemented their mainstream recognition by competing the year after with the hit single Heroes Are Calling. This gave the band a diverse audience of all ages, far beyond the usual rock listeners.
The band has found a lot of clever ways to embrace its broad audience, especially the youngsters. In 2024, the band not only released their new album Ghost Code, but also a kids' book about the band's mysterious drummer and mascot, Apoc, a.k.a. The Apocalypse DJ, and his battles with self-doubt and eventual rise to fame.
Luke, I am your father!
The band's drummer and mascot The Apocalypse DJ (or APOC, for short), left the drum stool for a brief moment.
Kid-Friendly Show
It's evident the band wants to include its younger fans as much as they can, and often have shows set up for all ages. This show in my small hometown Borås was no exception, where kids were not only allowed entry but had a significant ticket discount as well.
The doors already opened at five in the afternoon and before the show kicked off 90 minutes later, the audience got the chance to experience one of the band's music videos in VR and try virtual drumming, adding some additional fun and interactivity to the live experience, presumably with kids in mind.
The whole concept is packaged under the name The Dreambound Experience and is an extensive tour throughout Sweden, where the band drops by at pretty much every little town you can think of.
Alternate Line-up (still no slappa-da-bass)
Smash Into Pieces usually consists of vocalist Chris Adam Hedman Sörbye, guitarists Benjamin Jennebo and Per Bergquist, as well as the anonymous drummer Apoc.
However, another guitarist filled in for Jennebo for this show.
The band's singer didn't address the elephant in the room, except that the guy looked good despite his moustache.
Regardless of the minor change in lineup, the band seems to stick to their formula of two guitars and zero basses, so anyone hoping for some groovy slap bass will still have to look elsewhere.
Sidenote: The Smashing Pumpkins are even less slap-happy with their current 3-guitar lineup and zero bass. Can't help feeling sorry for all the bassists out there...must feel like a total slap on da-bass!
Varied Repertoire
The band played an hour-long set, which of course included their own "Mello" hits, as well as other's, as they also covered Eurovision winner Måns Zelmerlöw's 2015 hit song Heroes.
It wasn't all a night of teenyboppery, though. The band has a discography significantly longer than most people probably realise. The band is recognised for its advanced guitar gymnastics on stage more so than its advanced guitar leads, but some older cuts actually have guitar solos on them, one of which they played here.
Chris also gave the Borås audience a proper growl on one of their older, heavier songs, which isn't something you'd hear often on their current material.
In the aftermath of the horrendous school shooting in the band's home town Örebro a week and a half earlier, I was curious to find out if they still had the cajones to pull off a song like Trigger, but they did (if my memory serves me). I was also happy to hear Venom, off the latest LP, which is a personal fave.
Photographing the Event
Thanks to Smash Into Piece's friendly and forthcoming management team, I managed to get a photo pass to the event. Massive hats off to Emanuel, Tanja and Magnus for accommodating this!
However, I didn't see any personnel in the stage area to ask for pit access, so I didn't push my luck jumping the fence. Instead, I settled for some good ol' crowd shooting, with a baby carriage in front of me and a full-grown woman behind me, asking me to carry her and her company on my shoulders (like my two heavy-ass cameras weren't enough). When I kindly declined to break my back just so that a random stranger could see better (and block everyone else's view in the process), she got pissed and kept bothering me and only got increasingly agitated throughout the set.
Naturally, the aforementioned baby carriage in front of me had to roll out in the middle of the show, as well. Needless to say, this was clearly not your typical rock audience of beer-drinking middle-aged dudes.
I didn't have much room for movement either, but I did the best I could, shooting from my somewhat limited vantage point. Feel free to check out the rest of the photos in the gallery below. Cheers!
Camera Gear Used
Wider Shots
- Camera: Sony a7 III
- Lens: Tamron 28-75/f2.8
Close-Ups
- Camera: Sony a7R II
- Lens: Tamron 70-180/f2.8
Concert Photo Gallery
