Truckfighters

Truckfighters
Truckfighters
	;
Background information
Origin	Örebro, Sweden
Genres	Stoner Rock, Fuzz
Years active	2001 - 2018, 2019 - Present
Labels	Fuzzorama Records, MeteorCity Records, Poison Tree Records, Century Media
Associated acts	Greenleaf, Firestone, Witchcraft, Asteroid, Blues Pills, Square, Hong Faux, Blameful Isles, Purgatorium, Atomic, The Submissions
Website	Official Website

Truckfighters are a rock band from Örebro, Sweden.

Forming in 2001 and quickly making a rise in the stoner scene with their first albums in Gravity X and Phi, the band earned a reputation among the top desert rock acts with their energetic live performances and brash persona. Notably all of the members adopt pseudonyms, with Bassist/Vocalist Ozo and Guitarist Dango being the sole original members throughout.

Their music is often considered to be classic desert rock in the vein of Fu Manchu, Kyuss and Dozer. Hints of psychedelic rock, fuzz rock and heavy metal appear in their songs but their core is the desert sound. Through their tenure, Truckfighters managed to release five studio albums and tour all over the world before an indefinite hiatus in 2018, only to reunite less than a year later touring the entirety of Gravity X. The band has also curated their own festival known as Fuzz Festival.

History[]

Revving Up, Gravity X and Phi (2001 - 2008)[]

Truckfighters formed in Örebro, Sweden in 2001. Initially the band started with one member of the Swedish stoner rock band Firestone. Oskar Cedermalm (Bass, Vocals; Now known as Ozo), Winfred Kennerknecht (Guitar; now known as Fredo and Andreas von Ahn (Drums; Now known as Paco) all played in Firestone and along with Niklas Källgren (Guitar, now known as Dango) would found the band. Through the early years the band would compose two demos upon forming and perform their first shows. The band's first performance was in November 2001 at Sombrero in Örebro with two more shows to follow that year.

Through the next couple years the band would play a handful of shows and build themselves up, releasing their third demo EP Heading For God's Warehouse. 2003 would see more live shows performed along with Källgren forming Fuzzorama Records. The band would oversee their first official release in Fuzzsplit of The Century on 1 December 2003, a split with Firestone. This could be seen as a transitional release not unlike the Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age split with Man's Ruin Records as Firestone would disband only a couple years after the publication of Fuzzsplit.

2004 would see the band's first shows outside of Sweden and thus their first tours. Truckfighters and Firestone would tour that April throughout Finland and then a four-date tour of Italy with El-Thule. The band would go into Bombshelterstudios that December and January to record their debut album. With Fuzzorama covering the European side of distribution and MeteorCity Records covering the American side, Truckfighter's debut album Gravity X would be released on 12 April 2005 to widespread critical acclaim among the stoner circles, with the band building a bigger fanbase worldwide. Truckfighters would tour Europe in support of the album through that April and May, along with appearances at Frizon Festival in Sweden, PedRock in Trondheim, Norway and another European tour to close out the year.

With a reputation established as a top-notch stoner rock act to catch, Truckfighters would tour more frequently throughout the year of 2006, closing out in an extensive tour supporting Mannhai. Recording in Sweden and Germany through late 2006 going into 2007, Truckfighters would have a second album in the books, releasing Phi on 5 October 2007 to further praise in the stoner circles. Fuzzorama would handle the European pressings while Poison Tree Records did the US distro. Through 2007 the band hit the road even harder in support, spending most of the year on the road and at least two months supporting Fu Manchu. While 2008 would see further touring through the likes of Europe it would see the first changing points for the band. Fredo would leave the band in 2008 due to largely unknown reasons while drummer Paco would leave due to suffering a wrist injury which affected his ability to play. With an ever-rotating lineup of drummers, Ozo and Dango would choose to keep the band going as a power trio as recording began on their third album.

Mania and Universe (2009 - 2014)[]

Truckfighters would deliver a third album in Mania on 22 May 2009 via Fuzzorama, the release surrounded by mini-tours of various countries throughout. The band's year would culminate in a fall European tour with The Atomic Bitchwax. 2010 and 2011 would see the band doing a host of mini-tours and festival appearances, keeping consistent on the road. However in the case of the latter year the band would reach a new milestone in touring North America for the first time (The band's first appearance in the USA was in Providence, Rhode Island at Firehouse 13 on 13 July 2011.). The band also re-released all of their early demos on 1 April 2011 as Hidden Treasures of Fuzz.

2012 would see the band hit the road on an even further global scale, touring the United States a second time along with invading South America for the first time. The band also made major appearances at the inaugural editions of DesertFest London and DesertFest Berlin. 2013 would not only see the band in Australia for the first time along with a return to North America but a new release and a key reissue. In June 2013 the band reissued Gravity X and Phi as a 3LP box set with four bonus tracks. On 5 October the band released a new two-song EP entitled The Chairman, with a special edition (Featuring bonus tracks) released exclusively on Halloween. Between these releases the band also appeared at Desertfest London, Stoned From The Underground, Hellfest, Kristonfest, Keep It Low and Scorched Tundra among other worldwide festivals.

2014 would prove to be one of the most productive years in the band's history. In regards to touring, Truckfighters would largely hit up North America and Europe, with festival appearances at SXSW, Rock on The Range, Freak Valley Festival, Heavy Montreal and Desertfest Belgium among others. In regards to releases is where things become a frenzy. The band would start with the first volume of an intended Return of The Fuzzsplit series with Witchrider, followed by a best of compilation in The Complete History. More importantly saw the release of a brand new album in Universe (A concept record with seven movements) and an official release of Truckfighters Fuzzomentary, a documentary on the band up to that point.

V and Breakup (2015 - 2018)[]

With a new album after a five year gap, Truckfighters would hit the road even harder with the expected tours of Europe and North America, the America tour being shorter and built around an appearance at Psycho California. The tours of Europe would begin with a two month jaunt on the road with Blues Pills and Jex Thoth while by the summer the band would make major appearances at Hellfest, Wrongfest and even Wacken Open Air. Work would also begin on the band's fifth studio album.

Australia, South America and eventually Europe (Including appearances at DesertFest Berlin, Red Smoke Festival and Desertfest Athens) would get teases of new material leading into the release of V on 30 September 2016 via Fuzzorama and Century Media to positive reviews. With the new album officially in tow the band would bounce between North America and various parts of Europe all throughout 2017, with three tours of the USA in all.

However on 26 February 2018, Truckfighters would announce that they would be going on a "long, long hiatus" and for the time being disbanding.^[1] The band's last live performance at that point was on 11 November 2017 at The Vogue Theatre in in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.^[2] Roughly one year later it would be announced that Truckfighters would be reuniting for Psycho Las Vegas this August.^[3] More dates would be confirmed in March along with the shows being a celebration of Gravity X and therefore performing it in full.^[4]

Truckfighters would also curate their own festival in 2019 known as Fuzz Festival. A follow-up edition would happen in November 2021, followed by announcing a 2022 tour with Greenleaf and Asteroid.^[5] Ultimately the tour would be canceled due to paternity reasons but Truckfighters would remain active for several shows in 2022, including Fuzz Festival.

Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

Gravity X (2005, Fuzzorama)
Phi (2007, Fuzzorama)
Mania (2009, Fuzzorama)
Universe (2014, Fuzzorama)
V (2016, Century Media)

Live Albums[]

Fuzzomentary (DVD) (2014, Fuzzorama)
Live in London (Live Album) (2016, Fuzzorama)

Extended Plays[]

Revolution Fighters (2001, Self-Released)
Desert Cruiser (2001, Fuzzorama)
Heading for God's Warehouse (2002, Fuzzorama)
The Chairman EP (2013, Fuzzorama)
The Chairman Special Edition (2013, Last Hurrah / Fuzzorama)

Splits[]

Fuzzsplit of the Century (2003, Fuzzorama)
with Firestone
Truckfighters Do Square / Square Do Truckfighters (2004, Fuzzorama)
with Square
The Return Of The Fuzzsplit Volume One (2014, Fuzzorama)
with Witchrider

Compilations[]

Hidden Treasures of Fuzz (2011, Fuzzorama)
includes the Desert Cruiser and Heading for God's Warehouse EP's
The Complete History (2014, Fuzzorama)
Includes tracks from the band's first four studio albums and some bonus tracks

Personnel[]

Current Lineup[]

Ozo (Oskar Cedermalm) - Bass, Vocals (2001 - 2018; 2019 - Present)
Dango (Niklas Källgren) - Guitar (2001 - 2018; 2019 - Present)
El Danno (Daniel Israelsson) - Drums (2019 - Present)

Past Members[]

Fredo (Winfred Kennerknecht) - Guitar (2002 - 2008) (left the band in 2008)
Paco (Andreas von Ahn) - Drums (2004 - 2008) (left the band in 2008 due to wrist injury)
Pezo (Oscar Johansson) - Drums (2001-2004, 2008, 2011 - 2012)
Franco (Fredrik Nilsson) - Guitar (2006 European Tour)
Pedro (Pär Hjulström) - Drums (2009 – 2010)
Frongo (Fredrik Larsson) - Drums (2010 – 2011)
Mckenzo (Danne Mckenzie) Drums (September - December 2012)
Poncho (Andre Kvarnström) Drums (2013 - 2014)
Enzo (Axel Larsson) - Drums (2014 - 2015)
Maco (Marcus Johansson) - Drums (Fall 2016; Session and Live)
Taco (Robert Wiiand) - Drums (Summer/Fall 2016 - Spring 2017; Session and Live)
Lobo (Michael Aaron Boyer) - Drums (January - March 2017; Session and Live)

Tours[]

Finland Mini-Tour (With Firestone) (2004)
Italian Mini-Tour (With El-Thule) (2004)^[6]
Gravity X Tour (2005)
Germany/Austria Mini-Tour (2005)
Finland April Mini-Tour (With Plain Dust) (2006)
UK Mini-Tour (2006)
Germany/Dutch Mini-Tour (2006)
Fall 2006 European Tour (With Mannhai) (2006)
March 2007 Mini-Tour (2007)
We Must Obey (With Fu Manchu) (2007)^[7]
Phi Central European Tour (2007)
November/December European Tour (With Fu Manchu) (2007)
Spring 2008 European Tour (2008)
Summer 2008 European Tour (2008)^[8]
March 2009 Italy Tour (With Stake-Off The Witch) (2009)
Mania Germany/Austria Tour (2009)
Mania Finland/Germany Tour (With Mangoo on Finland dates) (2009)
Mania Finland Mini-tour (With Sparzanza) (2009)
Back To The Desert (With The Atomic Bitchwax) (2009)^[9]
Finland Tour 2010 (2010)
May 2010 European Tour (2010)
Mania 2010 UK Tour (With Stake Off The Witch) (2010)
Fall 2010 Mini-Tours (2010)^[10]
Germany 2011 Mini-Tour (2011)
Mania North American Tour (2011)
Fall 2011 Mini-Tours (2011)^[11]
2012 North American Tour (Select dates with The Midnight Ghost Train, Karma To Burn) (2012)
Truckfighters Fall Tour South America (With Monster Coyote) (2012)
Fall 2012 European Tour (2012)
X-Mas Ride (With Been Obscene, Stonebride) (2012)
March/April 2013 European Tour (Select dates with Kvelertak, El Doom & The Born Electric) (2013)
2013 Australian Tour (2013)
July 2013 Mini-Tour (2013)
2013 North American Tour (2013)
Fall 2013 European Tour (2013)
Winter/Spring 2014 European Tour (Select dates with Valley of the Sun, White Miles)(2014)
SXSW/ Universe North American Tour (2014)
Summer 2014 European Shows (2014)
Universe European Tour (2014)
Universe Australian Tour (2015)
Rock Revelation (With Blues Pills, Jex Thoth) (2015)
Universe 2015 Spring European Tour (2015)
2015 West Coast North American Tour (2015)
2015 Summer and Fall Shows (2015)
V Australian Tour (2016)
V South America Tour (2016)
V European Tour (2016)
V North American Tour (First Leg) (2017)
V Sweden Mini-Tour (2017)
V North American Tour (Second Leg) (2017)
V May Austria/Russia Shows (2017)
V Summer/Fall European/UK Tour (2017)
V North American Tour (Third Leg) (2017)
Gravity X From Finish To Start World Tour (2019)
Gravity X From Finish To Start Australian Tour (2020)^[12]
Gravity X From Finish To Start North American Tour (With Valley of the Sun) (2020)^[13]
2022 UK/Ireland Tour (2022)^[14]
The Nordic Fuzzcrusaders (With Greenleaf, Asteroid; Canceled) (2022)^[15]

External links[]

References[]

[1] The Obelisk

[2] Setlist.fm

[3] The Obelisk

[4] The Obelisk

[5] The Obelisk

[6] Truckfighters via Wayback Machine

[7] Truckfighters via Wayback Machine

[8] Truckfighters

[9] Last.fm

[10] Last.fm

[11] Last.fm

[12] The Rock Pit

[13] The Obelisk

[14] The Obelisk

[15] The Obelisk

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]