Trumbiten (a father and son duo) hail from the City of Luleå in Northern Sweden). Established in 2018 and collaborating with both local and international musicians, the pair began to produce instrumental metal covers but quickly moved on to release their debut single (Fear Me) in 2020. Three EPs have followed in the subsequent three years and now they unveil their latest single – Heist, which is based on a remarkable true crime story.
In April 1971, one of the most audacious and infamous robberies in Sweden’s history took place at the Vietas Hydro Power Plant. With a vault full of wages (SEK 540,000 – approximately SEK 3.2 million (£240,000) in today’s money) for the workers ahead of Easter, thieves managed to crawl under the building and break through the floor of the room containing the vault. Using a blowtorch, they opened a hole in the base of the safe, emptied the contents and disappeared. With the theft not being discovered for several hours, the thieves had time to make their getaway and the case remains unsolved to this day.
Father Tommy Arngren states, “we have always had an interest and curiosity related to the event and the hardships of living and working in the remote small village of Vietas, by the Luleå river, during the 60s and 70s. Probably, due to the fact that we have a historical connection to the place. A family member, worked in Vietas as a miner in the late 60s, with tunnels, that would feed the Vietas hydroelectric plant with water from two separate water reservoirs.”
Coupled with their interest in true crime, Trumbiten draw influence from classic, heavy rock and traditional heavy metal. Opening (and ending) with the sound of hammering, the first moments of the song are coupled with similarly timed pounding drums, taking us straight to the beginning of the heist. Father Tommy handles production, drums and bass on this release (son Adam, although having played on the band’s previous releases, acts in an advisory role here) and his driving industriousness throughout the track is unrelenting and it certainly maintains and reflects the urgency of those conducting the heist. Rhythm and lead guitarist Tanya Venom delivers the moments of melody together with some compelling, pulsating riffs.
Telling the story from the perspective of those conducting the heist, allows Trumbiten to explore the needs and desires that were their driving force behind a crime largely unknown outside of Sweden at the time. Tommy continues, “This was big news in Sweden in the 70s, but has reached a new audience during the last five years via e-books, audio books, podcasts etc. However, I don’t know of any other artist or band that has released music about this event. Maybe we are first with the genre True Crime Metal?"
Vocalist Leonel Silva (who sonically and in delivery style bares more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Dickinson) convincingly handles the song with ease, drawing the listener in despite the less than adventurous lyrics: Hey guys, let’s take a chance / High stakes in this godforsaken place / Okay guys, let’s get the dough / Take the chance and give it a go or We all take our chance / Working hard n’ never sleep / Dig a hole and dig it deep.
Together with the lack of lyrical ambition, the band are not really exploring any new musical territory here; however, many highly successful metal bands have been as much about their attitude as they have their lyrics. Sometimes music just needs to be fun. On that score, Trumbiten succeed admirably. If you like your metal well produced, fast paced, with absorbing hooks and firmly grounded in the values and atmospheres of some of the classic metal bands, Heist delivers on all counts.
Heist is out on 22nd November 2023.
Written: 18th November 2023
Visit Trumbiten's YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFBjXZc9N1tbq9zxKmwUxWA