From left to right: Atari Teenage Riot, Das Ich, bob hund and Saft - some of the live acts at this year's great Arvika Festival.
Photo by: Peter Åstedt (Release)

Arvika Festival is one of the few Swedish major rock festivals with significant artists in the electronic and gothic genres. This year the organizer, Galaxen, had focused more on EBM, synthpop and other electronic music. Last year had more focus on goth, which may be one reason why more electronic acts were invited this year.
This year's edition had several artists worth mentioning. Some of the most known were German. EBM act Project Pitchfork gave the audience an impressive show. Atari Teenage Riot was like a fist in the face. But the most appreciated band of the day was probably Das Ich, who really got the audience with them. Another band worth watching was Funker Vogt.
The line-up also included, for example, Rollins Band, S.P.O.C.K, Saft, bob hund, Paradise Lost, Yvonne, Broder Daniel and Statemachine.
The festival was relatively calm and without any serious incidents. Maybe due to the fact that there wasn't much outrageous drinking this year.
The number of sold tickets was 8349, which is less than last year. No real attraction like The Sisters of Mercy played this year, which probably is the reason why the festival was a slightly greater success, regarding the number of visitors, last year. This year, the weather was much more enjoyable, though.
The worst thing with the festival was the food, which could've tasted better. And it could definitely have been cheaper.
The overall impression of the Arvika Festival was good and it remains one of the absolute top festivals in Sweden. /Johan Astemark