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Truckfighters, Restless Spirit, and Auralayer at The Radio Room Greenville

Fuzzrock, doom metal, and antic acrobatics…all in a night’s work for Truckfighters, Restless Spirit, and Auralayer at The Radio Room Greenville. 

“They’re crazy ass Swedes who are totally rocking!” I blurted via text message to a friend of mine who couldn’t make the Truckfighters with Restless Spirit and Auralayer show at The Radio Room Greenville. Crazy was right. Truckfighters and their fans are crazy about fuzzrock, a subgenre of hard rock/metal that I’d listened to many times, but never really knew had its own unique title. Doesn’t everything have a unique subgenre label these days? Doom pop, chap hop, Kawaii metal, vaporwave, folktronica, witch house, Nintendocore, circus metal, troll metal, blackgaze (that actually sounds kinda cool), and unblack metal are just a few of the fractured, yet enthusiastically championed, subgenres that have proliferated thanks to the internet. “Fuzzrock” doesn’t seem that crazy a subgenre compared to metal that mixes in Nintendo game sounds. In fact, back in the pre-internet-fractured days of the 1990s, “fuzzrock” might have just been called good ole’ grunge, or sludge, or doom metal…well, maybe we had some fracturing going on back then, too. Regardless of how you categorize it, the music that Truckfighters play is loud (really loud), heavy (really heavy), and intricate. What makes them unique amongst their contemporaries, though, is their live show.

Truckfighters, composed at the core of bassist and singer Oscar “Ozo” Cedermalm and guitarist and singer Niklas “Dango” Kallgren, are not only great musicians, but also performers. Upon listening to a Truckfighters track, one gets the idea that they are long-haired stoners who might instead just sway or bob while playing live, as the inevitable cloud of weed that permeates most rock concerts (and definitely permeates stoner rock concerts…duh) floats wistfully about their heads. That image couldn’t be further from the truth. While Ozo is a little more restrained, there is little in the fuzzrock world that compares to the stage presence of Dango. 

Coming out onto the stage wearing boxer (as in professional in-the-ring-type-athletic wear boxer) shorts with the Truckfighters logo on them, high athletic socks, also adorned with the Truckfighter logo, red sports shoes, and a t-shirt that quickly came off and was flung into the crowd, Dango’s look inspires one to wonder, especially if this is first time one has seen the band live, “what the hell have I gotten myself into.” Then the music starts, and for the rest of the performanc,e Dango jumps, kicks, poses, twirls, kicks again, bops, and runs around the stage all the while playing each and every song perfectly note for note. He even pulls a Jimi Hendrix-inspired move and plays the guitar with it straddling the back of his head, again not missing a single note. Midway through the show, Dango leans out into the crowd, allowing an audience member to bang on the strings of his guitar, then jumps off the stage and runs around the outside of the crowd while still playing the song the band is knee deep in perfectly without missing a note. Flea would be proud…and jealous. Suddenly, Dango’s choice of attire becomes obvious. It’s one born of necessity. 

The energy that Truckfighters, and especially Dango, threw off during the show was a mix of head banging zest mixed with joyful, animating vibrancy. Before long, something happened that rarely happens at most concerts anymore, a small mosh pit/slam dance joyfully broke out. The crowd was enthusiastically enjoying themselves, safely, while crashing playfully into each other during the set. Rarely does one see such actual fun break out spontaneously at a rock show anymore. 

Truckfighter’s performance was unconventional and surprising, to say the least, especially since I had mistakenly pigeonholed the band’s anticipated performance, based upon their sound, into being sludgy, lethargic, and creeping. This image formed in my mind while their tunes swirled through my head, projected ponderously from my headphones as I listened to their albums in preparation for the show (I had purposely avoided seeking out the band’s videos or live recordings). Turns out a Truckfighters’ show is anything but conventional or predictable, and the experience of it is all the better for it. 

A more conventional performance dominated the sets of opening acts Auralayer and Restless Spirit. Auralayer, native to The Radio Room’s hometown of Greenville, SC, opened the evening with an energetic yet conventional slate of metal tunes that showcased their technical metal prowess and hinted at great things to come as they progress up through the live music ranks. Restless Spirit, a more well-traveled band out of Long Island, New York, followed and really displayed the poise and songwriting strength of a doom metal band that is ready to break out of the shadow of their forebears. Both put on a strong and also quite loud opening show. 

Truckfighters are definitely “crazy ass Swedes,” but they are also crazily talented and entertaining Swedes as well, and their live show is something that is more than worth the price of admission and a little tinnitus. 

Truckfighters are on major streaming platforms and are currently signed to Fuzzorama Records. 

Truckfighters Setlist Radio Room Greenville, Greenville, SC, USA 2025

Carolina's based writer/journalist Andy Frisk love music, and writing, and when he gets to intermingle the two he feels most alive. Covering concerts and albums by both local and national acts, Andy strives to make the world a better place and prove Gen X really can still save the world.

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