Trettioåriga Kriget -

Trettioåriga Kriget was a Swedish symphonic/hard-rock band that released the 1974/75 CBS albums Trettioåriga Kriget and Krigssång, followed by the 1978–81 albums Hej På Er, Mot alla Odds, and Kriget.

Members: Stefan Fredin (bass, vocals), Dag Lundquist (drums, Mellotron), Olle Thörnvall (harmonica), Pocke Öhrström (guitar, vocals, 1970-71), Dag Kronlund (piano, 1970-71), Johan Gullberg (drums, 1970-71), Robert Zima (vocals, electric guitar, 1971-79, 2002-present), Christer Åkerberg (guitar, 1972-present), Mats Lindberg (keyboards, 1978-present)

Background

Trettioåriga Kriget (Swedish for Thirty Years War) formed in 1970 by a group of schoolmates, mostly seventeen, in Saltsjöbaden, southeast of Stockholm. The original lineup included bassist Stefan Fredin, guitarist/singer Pocke Öhrström, harpist/guitarist Olle Thörnvall, pianist Dag Kronlund, and drummers Dag Lundquist and Johan Gullberg. They rehearsed in the school’s main hall and recorded 53 minutes of lengthy blues jams in the winter of 1970/71; released in 2004 as Glorious War.

In 1971, Öhrström cleared out for guitarist/singer Robert Zima. Kronlund and Gullberg also left, followed in 1972 by Thörnvall, who opted to focus on lyrics. That summer, Christer Åkerberg became their second guitarist. The newly stabilized four-piece spent the next 18 months rehearsing and developing new material, inspired by UK symphonic and hard-rock groups.

In early 1974, Trettioåriga Kriget signed to CBS-CUPOL AB. Their self-titled debut album appeared that August.

Trettioåriga Kriget

Trettioåriga Kriget released their self-titled debut album in September 1974 on CBS/Epic.

The album centers on Robert Zima’s vocal and electric guitar front line, paired with Christer Åkerberg’s electric and acoustic guitar parts. Stefan Fredin holds the low end with Dag Lundquist, whose drums and percussion accent and pace each track.

“Kaledoniska orogenesen” opens on an abrupt outburst of guitar and noise, keeps cutting into new riff fragments in quick succession, drops an English quotation, and ends in a chaotic collapse. “Röster från minus till plus” shifts to bass-led opening figures under the vocal, brings in spoken lines over a lightly jazz-tilted backdrop, and thickens the midsection with mellotron before the track pushes into a more unstable, disorderly finish. “Fjärilsattityder” begins with a jazzy intro, locks onto a choppy bass pattern, then expands into extended guitar lead work as the arrangement alternates tight riff blocks with longer solo runs.

“Mina löjen” moves at a faster clip and works in frequent stops and restarts, builds quickly into a denser full-band section with mellotron and vocals, then opens late for a long guitar solo followed by a bass solo, closing in a broad mellotron wash. “Ur djupen” keeps a shorter, straighter outline but turns heavily mellotron-saturated after the first minute, with the vocal line riding high above the thickened keyboard layer. “Handlingens skugga” starts on a slow build around the vocal, breaks into raw, chaotic playing partway through, and finishes with a focused guitar lead stretch before an abrupt cut; the lyric base draws from an ancient Greek philosophical text.

A1. “Kaledoniska Orogenesen” [The Caledonian Orogeny] (5:20)
A2. “Röster från minus till plus” [Voices from Minus to Plus] (7:54)
A3. “Fjärilsattityder” [Butterfly Attitudes] (5:26)

B1. “Mina löjen” [My Ridicules/Follies] (8:09)
B2. “Ur djupen” [From the Depths] (3:46)
B3. “Handlingens skugga” [The Shadow of Action] (7:39)

Original album recorded May–July 1974 at Europa Films Studio 1 and 3 with producer Adrian Moar and engineer Björn Almstedt.

Olle Thörnvall wrote the lyrics, with music and arrangements credited to Trettioåriga Kriget. Johan Gullberg handled the cover illustration, with photography by Gabriel Uggla.

Krigssång

Trettioåriga Kriget released their second album, Krigssång, in February 1976 on CBS/Epic.

Krigssång retains the same four-piece lineup: vocalist Robert Zima with guitarist Christer Åkerberg, bassist Stefan Fredin, and drummer Dag Lundquist, with vocals credited across the band. Fredin writes the title track and the side-long “Krigssång II,” while Åkerberg takes the lead on three A-side compositions and shares “Murar” with Lundquist and Fredin.

“Krigssång” opens on strummed guitar under reserved vocals, swells to a fuller band sound about a minute in, then drops back again as mellotron takes the foreground; the closing stretch leaves guitar and mellotron as the clearest shapes in the mix. “Metamorfoser” starts relaxed with restrained vocal lines, then pivots around 2:30 as the drums step forward and the tempo firms up, holding that quicker pulse through the finish.

“Jag och jag och ‘jag’” strips the texture down to acoustic guitar and laid-back singing, keeping the arrangement narrow and quiet. “Mitt mirakel” brings the album’s sharpest lift in energy, opening on drums and prominent guitar, settling when the vocal enters, then snapping back into louder passages, with the ending built around focused guitar figures. “Murar” stays instrumental and puts the rhythm section at the center, with a tight, syncopated drive that lets bass, guitar, and drums trade emphasis before a clear shift in the later minutes.

“Krigssång II” stretches into a long, sectional closer built on repeated rises and pullbacks: it starts in a gradual build, drops into a calm pocket around 2:30 where the vocal turns near-spoken, then pushes forward again about a minute later as mellotron re-enters and the arrangement thickens. After 6:30 the instrumental span turns bass-forward, then the vocal returns and the track settles again before another lift, with mellotron supporting the renewed motion as earlier themes cycle back into place.

A1. “Krigssång” [War Song] (4:33) – Fredin
A2. “Metamorfoser” [Metamorphoses] (4:34) – Åkerberg
A3. “Jag och jag och “jag”” [Me and Me and “Me”] (3:20) – Åkerberg
A4. “Mitt mirakel” [My Miracle] (3:30) – Lundquist
A5. “Murar” [Walls] (4:19) – Åkerberg, Lundquist, Fredin

B1. “Krigssång II” [War Song II] (17:32) – Fredin

Recorded July–August 1975 at Polyvox Studio, Stockholm, with Peter Olsson engineering. The band produced the album and handled the arrangements.

Olle Thörnvall wrote the lyrics. Johan Gullberg drew the cover art, with photography by Tomas Johansson, and Shorewood Packaging handled manufacturing.

Hej På Er

Trettioåriga Kriget released their third album, Hej På Er, in October 1978 on Mistlur.

Hej På Er expands the lineup to a six-piece with keyboardist/saxophonist Mats Lindberg and cellist Alf Westelius alongside Robert Zima, Christer Åkerberg, Stefan Fredin, and Dag Lundquist. Fredin adds bass pedals and rhythm guitar to the low-end frame while drummer Lundquist multi-tasks on percussion and violin.

“Hej på er!” opens on a perky shuffle feel, and the arrangement leans on tight dual-guitar harmonies that stay in lockstep with the vocal. “Natten som alltid” keeps the pulse upbeat but shifts the weight to bass and acoustic guitar in the verse, adds brief falsetto lifts, and threads in background slide-guitar lines. “Stan tur och retur” pushes a driving tempo with a period synth tone in the frame, then clears space at the end for a focused guitar solo. “Moln på marken” runs as a short instrumental built on up-front bass against mid-tempo drums, with the guitars taking long lead lines after the sax enters.

“Dagspress” returns to a harder, forward drive with sharp electric solos, small synth accents, and busy drum fills that keep the surface in motion. “En kväll hos X” rides a slightly syncopated beat, alternates between clipped riff blocks and looser sections, then breaks for a sax interlude before the guitars close the track in a louder lead statement. “Ser du mej?” introduces violin and cello as a softening layer, while “En dag om natten” turns darker through more dramatic vocal phrasing. “Andra sidan” ends the album on clean guitar and a subdued chord cycle, with keyboards adding a steady, elevated tone that carries the instrumental to its final cadence.

A1. “Hej på er” [Hi There/Hello Everyone] (4:30) – Fredin
A2. “Natten som alltid” [The Night As Always] (4:00) – Fredin
A3. “Stan tur och retur” [Town Round Trip] (4:00) – Fredin
A4. “Moln på marken” [Clouds on the Ground] (3:20) – Fredin
A5. “Dagspress” [Daily Press/Newspaper] (4:15) – Fredin

B1. “En kväll hos X” [An Evening at X’s] (5:35) – Fredin
B2. “Ser du mig” [Do You See Me] (4:38) – Åkerberg, Fredin
B3. “En dag om natten” [A Day About the Night] (3:14) – Lundquist
B4. “Andra sidan” [The Other Side] (5:30) – Åkerberg, Fredin

Recorded and mixed June–July 1978 in Saltsjöbaden using Mobila Ljudstudion’s recording bus, with Hans Persson as recording technician and Stefan Glaumann engineering.

Olle Thörnvall wrote the lyrics. Johan Gullberg handled the cover, with photography by Janne Reinerstam, and the original release includes a printed inner sleeve.

Mot alla Odds

Trettioåriga Kriget released their fourth album, Mot alla Odds, in 1979 on Mistlur.

Mot alla Odds retains the expanded lineup from the prior album with Mats Lindberg on keyboards and saxophone alongside Robert Zima, Christer Åkerberg, Stefan Fredin, and Dag Lundqvist, while Olle Thörnvall continues as lyricist. Fredin writes eight of the ten compositions, with single music credits to Lundqvist, Åkerberg, and Lindberg, and the band again handles production and arrangements.

A1. “Mot alla odds” [Against All Odds] (3:54) – Fredin
A2. “Dåliga nerver” [Bad Nerves] (2:58) – Fredin
A3. “Hur står det till” [How Are Things?/How’s It Going?] (4:27) – Lundqvist
A4. “Dags att fly” [Time to Fly/Escape] (2:35) – Åkerberg
A5. “Alla de där” [All Those/All of Them] (2:41) – Fredin

B1. “När vi ändå är här” [Since We’re Already Here] (2:58) – Fredin
B2. “Rapport” [Report] (4:48) – Fredin
B3. “Ät, drick och var glad” [Eat, Drink and Be Merry] (3:30) – Lindberg
B4. “En rak sak” [A Straight Thing/A Straightforward Matter] (4:07) – Fredin
B5. “Rockgift” [Rock Poison] (3:06) – Fredin

Stefan Glaumann recorded and mixed the album as part of a late-1970s/early-1980s run of Mistlur projects, including Thomas Almqvist (Nyanser), Mörbyligan (Mörbyligan, Järtecken), Ebba Grön (We’re Only in It for the Drugs!), Cantalucha (Sånger till Kuba), Lena Ekman (Det beror på ögonen som ser), and the Travolta Kids (Travolta Kids).

Stefan Fredin and Bosse Hällerstam handle the cover, with photography credited to Hällerstam and Thomas Johansson. The original release includes a printed inner sleeve with lyrics and lists distribution by SAM-Distribution Musik AB, with printing by Waxholms Tryckeri AB.

Kriget

Trettioåriga Kriget released their fifth album, Kriget, in 1981 on Mellotronen.

Kriget keeps the same five-piece lineup, with Robert Zima, Christer Åkerberg, Stefan Fredin, Dag Lundquist, and Mats Lindberg carrying over into a set that stretches to eleven tracks across both sides. The album credits Fredin on vocals and bass, Lundquist on drums and vocals, and Lindberg on keyboards and saxophone. Fredin composed everything with lyricist Olle Thörnvall.

Kriget keeps the songs compact and centers bass-led rhythm, with keyboards and sax extending the texture and occasional synth-leaning color. “Moderna tider” runs short and forceful, while “Europa” slows the tempo and holds a sustained rock pulse under a darker vocal line. “En liten man” places the vocal at the front with a restrained backing track. “På jakt efter rock” makes more expansive use of the modernized sound, and “Som förut” drives on a steady beat with sax lines that stay prominent across the arrangement.

A1. “Regn” [Rain] (3:45)
A2. “Tåget” [The Train] (4:50)
A3. “Moderna tider” [Modern Times] (1:40)
A4. “Europa” [Europe] (6:05)
A5. “En liten man” [A Little Man] (3:15)

B1. “Den rätta vägen” [The Right Way/Path] (1:35)
B2. “Blues” [Blues] (3:15)
B3. “På jakt efter rock” [Hunting for Rock/In Search of Rock] (3:40)
B4. “3 strofer” [3 Stanzas/Verses] (2:50)
B5. “Som förut” [As Before] (5:00)
B6. “Tack och adjö” [Thanks and Goodbye] (2:00)

Stefan Glaumann engineered the album as part of a 1981–82 run of Mistlur work that includes Torkel Rasmusson (En svart hatt), Anders Karlén (Way Out), Raketerna (Raketerna), Ebba Grön (Kärlek & uppror, Ebba Grön), Radio Balkan (Radio Balkan), Diestinct (Se men inte röra), Calcutta Transfer (Calcutta Transfer 2), and Dagens Ungdom (Pick-Nick på bilparkering), alongside non-Mistlur credits for KSMB (Live – De’ e’ för mycke’) and Tredje Mannen (Cul-De-Sac).