Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Channel Zero, Metelkova, Ljubljana
Gig date: 12.02.2009
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: 6/8 €
This time, Friday the 13th at Channel Zero was all about metal (big surprise!). The organizers decided to invite nothing but young bands, and it paid off big time, because Channel Zero was sold out for the first time in ages. That rarely happens even with big names, let alone Slovenian ones, but this time they pulled it off with nothing but young and fairly unestablished bands. So was the crowd’s faith justified?
First up on stage were the lads and lady of Raven Death. Raven Death were quite the discovery of the night for me. Going in, I expected the most from Morana, but I think I actually liked Raven Death best. It’s really good melodic music, a mix of black and death metal. The only misstep was maybe the intermezzo where the band wished a friend of theirs a happy birthday. At a standalone gig it wouldn’t have been an issue at all, but here the whole thing came off as slightly distracting. Still, I have to admit they impressed me with heavy guitars, excellent keyboards, and a vocal that switched between different styles without breaking a sweat. I also liked the occasional use of “clean” vocals.
Amber Lilies were definitely the least enjoyable moment of the night for me. Nu metal just isn’t my scene. The guys are good at what they do, but they don’t stand out from the mold in any way. Maybe the growl vocals save the situation a bit from being too stereotypical. I also found the U2 cover kind of silly. U2 simply don’t belong in metal, in any form, no matter how some people hammer them into stardom. The guys play well, they’re tight and they have stage presence, but it’s just not my style, and that’s not Amber Lilies’ fault.
Eternity are a band from the Primorska region who mostly play gothic metal in the vein of the likes of Nightwish. They don’t stray from the formula in any way, being pretty typical representatives of the genre. I won’t say they’re not good performers. Technically they were without a doubt the best band of the night, especially the lead guitarist, who is seriously fast. The singer also has a pleasant voice, the keyboards are right up front, and the rhythm guitar and rhythm section are more than solid. But a great performance can’t make up for a lack of character of their own.
Morana were one of the highlights of the night for me (along with Raven Death). Sure, they use plenty of fairly typical tricks, from both black metal and death metal, but what they do, they do well. They’re missing a bit of charisma, though. The singer has a good vocal tone, but he doesn’t have that real stage presence. The performance itself was good. I especially liked the atmospheric keyboards, which add quite a lot to this dark music. The guitars were your classic darkness, and the vocals were surprisingly expressive and standout, especially considering that between songs the singer came across as rather timid and inexperienced when addressing the crowd.
And finally, Atrum Inferum. The guys can play, but their music didn’t win me over much. Never mind the singer’s look and pants, which I shouldn’t nitpick since they have nothing to do with the music, their set just didn’t grab me. It felt kind of cheap, and the covers seemed like a cheap trick to win the crowd over. I definitely didn’t think they were the right pick to close the night. That spot should have gone to Morana, who I think also have the bigger name. But the crowd obviously disagreed with me, since the wildest partying happened right during their set. Solid performance, but once again the style just didn’t click with me.
If any of the bands I rated a bit negatively end up reading this, I hope they won’t hold it against me, because the criticism is by no means aimed at their performances, only at the style of music itself. Not everyone likes everything. I just have my preferences. But I have to admit that all the young bands showed a high level of tightness and musical maturity.
Even though three of the bands didn’t exactly convince me, it was great to see so many people (especially young ones) at Channel Zero. It’s rare for Channel Zero to sell out, and this time the organizers managed it with nothing but young talent. People partied, people had a blast, and that’s how it should be. A great night for metal, maybe less in the musical sense than in the sense of a metal party.
Photos: Miha Maly
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