Slamming It Down Under With ERIK OHLSSON From MILLENCOLIN

When you talk about skate punk royalty, few bands hold a candle to Sweden’s finest musical exports, Millencolin. For over three decades, these absolute legends have been providing the ultimate high-octane soundtrack to our lives, blending lightning-fast riffs, infectious melodies, and a relentless sonic energy that simply refuses to age. Now, the boys are gearing up to cross the hemisphere once again to blow the roof off Australia, landing a highly coveted spot on the massive Good Things Festival 2026 lineup, alongside a string of highly anticipated headline sideshows.
Aussie punks have always shared a deep, almost symbiotic love affair with Millencolin. From the golden early days of Same Old Tunes and Pennybridge Pioneers to their explosive modern anthems, their tracks have been permanently etched into the very DNA of the local alternative music scene. Every single time they step foot on our shores, it’s not just another standard rock concert; it’s a chaotic, beautiful reunion of the extended punk rock family, complete with sweat-soaked mosh pits and deafening crowd singalongs.
HEAVY caught up with Millencolin’s iconic guitarist Erik Ohlsson to dissect the upcoming festive madness, their enduring bond with the passionate Australian crowd, and what it feels like to return to one of the premier heavy music festival formats in the southern hemisphere.
With a killer festival lineup stacked completely to the brim with international heavy hitters and alternative rock icons, Millencolin are primed to show the younger generation exactly how true punk rock is done, playing Pennybridge Pioneers in full at all shows. But it’s not just the festival main stages they are targeting; their Melkbourne and Brisbane exclusisive club sideshows promise to deliver that intimate, sweaty, no-barriers intensity that hardcore fans crave. In this unfiltered chat, Erik opens up about the secrets behind the band's incredible longevity, the complex art of curating a flawless festival setlist, and why Australian hospitality keeps drawing them back. We also take a classic HEAVY trip down memory lane, finding out exactly where he was the first time they ever heard their own music blast through the radio speakers.


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