Hostilia live review: Sweden’s rising thrash metal force at Liseberg MetAle
Swedish thrash metal has enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years, and few young bands have generated as much buzz as Hostilia. Formed in Gothenburg in 2021 by brothers William and Albert Lindeblad, the band quickly built a reputation on the underground circuit through a string of singles and EPs before releasing their debut album Face the Fire in 2025. Their blend of razor-sharp riffs, relentless speed and old-school aggression has drawn comparisons to the Bay Area thrash pioneers of the 1980s, while extensive touring alongside Bombus has further cemented their reputation as one of Sweden’s most exciting new live acts.
For listeners discovering Hostilia for the first time, the most obvious reference point is early Metallica. After watching a few of the band’s videos in the days leading up to the show, my immediate reaction was that they captured much of the spirit and energy of Metallica’s classic 1980s thrash sound. Fast, aggressive and unapologetically riff-driven, Hostilia wear their influences proudly while still bringing their own youthful intensity to the table.
Alongside founding brothers William Lindeblad on guitar and Albert Lindeblad on drums, Hostilia’s current line-up features vocalist Tim Angelini, guitarist Petter Hernroth and bassist Gabriel Sepúlveda.
Bringing the fire to MetAle
On 23 May, the band took to the stage at Liseberg’s MetAle festival, the annual event that combines heavy music with craft beer from local breweries. This was the second evening of the 2026 edition, following Mikkey Dee with Friends the night before. The same evening also featured Crucified Barbara, whose performance we have covered separately here on CrowdSnapper.
The set exploded into life with the title track “Face the Fire” and rarely took its foot off the accelerator thereafter. Over the course of an hour, Hostilia delivered one high-speed assault after another as songs such as “P.T.D.”, “Bone Collector”, “Shadow People” and “The Domino Effect” landed like successive punches to the jaw.
Tim Angelini commands the stage
Hostilia may only have been around for five years, but they have already gone through three vocalists. Judging by this performance, they seem to have found the right fit in Tim Angelini.
Midway through the set, he acknowledged that it had been a busy day around Gothenburg. “Anyone here run the Göteborgsvarvet today?” he asked the crowd. After spotting a single raised hand, he scoffed: “One? You mad fool!”
To be fair, Angelini hardly lacked exercise himself. Wearing what has become something of a trademark Bombus T-shirt, he spent the evening tearing across the stage like an angry guard dog, barking and roaring through the songs while whipping his impressive mullet around with reckless abandon. One newspaper reviewer has compared him to Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha. In terms of sheer energy, I might throw Cedric Bixler-Zavala of At the Drive-In and even Jack Black into the mix as additional reference points.
On record, Angelini’s vocal style occasionally recalls a young James Hetfield. Live, however, he sounds even more aggressive and leans closer to Bombus frontman Feffe Berglund in terms of delivery. There is a rough, almost growl-like quality to his voice that adds a more contemporary edge to Hostilia’s otherwise classic thrash attack. Considering his apparent admiration for Bombus, it is probably not a comparison he would object to.
Around forty minutes into the performance, Angelini followed what appeared to be a well-established tradition and removed his shirt. Now drenched in sweat, sporting a chest that would make Wolverine proud, he descended into the pit to get up close and personal with the audience. By that point, I had already retreated a little further back into the crowd, which was probably for the best.
An hour of relentless thrash
The band’s energy was impossible to ignore. There was barely a moment to catch your breath as the musicians powered through the set with remarkable intensity. Equally impressive was the technical proficiency on display, particularly from the lead guitarist, whose nimble fretwork frequently drew the eye.
Hostilia never allowed the momentum to fade. Song after song arrived with barely a pause between them, creating the kind of all-out thrash assault that fans of the genre live for. The commitment from every member on stage was evident, and the crowd responded in kind throughout the evening.
Wall of speed, with limited dynamic shifts
As entertaining as the performance was, I did find myself wishing for slightly more variation. Not necessarily power ballads or dramatic stylistic detours, but perhaps a few shifts in tempo to make the heaviest moments stand out even more. The constant barrage of riffs and speed is undeniably impressive, yet after a while it becomes somewhat relentless.
That said, Hostilia remain a very young band. Many of the genre’s biggest names took several albums before broadening their musical palette. What stood out most here was the hunger and enthusiasm of a group determined to give absolutely everything on stage. The crowd remained engaged throughout, even if the overall response was more steady than euphoric.
Ready for Sweden Rock
When the band wrapped up their scheduled set after roughly fifty-five minutes, there was still enough energy in the room for a modest but audible call for more. Rather than a full encore break or dramatic exit, Hostilia simply extended the moment and delivered one final song before finally stepping off stage, bringing the total runtime to just about an hour.
Angelini also reminded the audience that Hostilia would be appearing at Sweden Rock Festival just a couple of weeks later. “See you there?” he asked the crowd.
On 6 June, Sweden’s National Day, the band will indeed take to one of the country’s biggest festival stages.
Based on this performance, they looked more than ready for it.
Setlist
- Face the Fire
- P.T.D.
- Bone Collector
- Shadow People
- Atomic Thunder
- Let Off Some Steam
- Escape From Hell
- The Domino Effect
- Final Breath
- Eternal Death
This show was shot with
Camera bodies
- Sony a7 IIIWide-angle shots
- Sony a7R IIClose-ups and long-range shots
Camera lenses
- Tamron 16-30mm f2.8Wide-angle shots
- Samyang 35-150mm f2–2.8Close-ups and long-range shots
Concert photo gallery
