Joakim Brodén


Joakim "Jocke" Brodén is a Swedish-Czech singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and occasional third guitarist of the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton. He and bassist Pär Sundström formed the band in 1999.

Early life

Brodén's father, Ulf Olof Brodén, is from Sweden and his mother, Anna, is from former Czechoslovakia. He holds dual citizenship in Sweden and the Czech Republic. He has said that he became a metalhead when he was three or four years old because of the music video for Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It". He was a competitive swimmer in his youth.

Career

Brodén's first band was called Stormwind, in which he played keyboards. Brodén founded Sabaton in 1999 with bassist Pär Sundström; he is the lead vocalist and keyboardist and an occasional third guitarist. He is also the one who came up with the name "Sabaton" for the band.
Brodén is known for wearing an unusual vest with metal plates when performing with Sabaton; it has been described as resembling a bulletproof vest. He is also known for his distinctive mohawk hairstyle and "squared" facial hair. He is a baritone.
In 2015, Brodén made a bet with his bandmates that committed him to traveling to Sabaton's next gig on foot; he had not realized their next engagement was in Trondheim, Norway, some 350 miles away. Brodén stayed in the homes of several fans along the way.
On 26 November 2016, Brodén entered the Český slavík singing competition in the Czech Republic and was voted into fifth place with 9,286 points. The next year he entered again, but was removed from the competition due to a new rule that competitors had to primarily perform in the Czech Republic.

Pinball

In 2016 and 2017, Brodén took part in the Swedish national pinball championships, placing 167th the first time and 255th the second time.

Discography

;Sabaton
;Guest appearances