Author: Primož Novak
Video: Primož Novak
Location: MC Pekarna / Maribor / Slovenia
Concert date: 12.08.2014
Ticket price: 22€
You barely get a breather from the festivals before the road to Maribor is calling, where Dihurčka brought in the renowned Converge and Misery Index. Expectations for the show were definitely high. Misery Index are old friends around here by now, and their gigs are known for authentic, uncompromising brutality. Converge picked up a pretty sizable following here after playing Metalcamp in 2007. A good number of Slovenian fans also made it to the band’s show in Zagreb in 2012, when they were promoting All We Love We Leave Behind.
This time, too, there was no skipping the openers. First on stage were Norway’s Okkultokrati, who served up a rather unfortunate mix of black metal, sludge and hardcore punk. You could say they drew inspiration from the likes of Darkthrone, and you could even put them next to Kvelertak, but sadly they came across as pretty soulless. Already during Okkultokrati, though, it was clear that the crowd was in for some brutal heat between sets.
Sweden’s Martyrdöd showed a bit of potential, mixing elements of crust, hardcore and black metal bands. Here and there a more stoner-ish riff slipped through. The music itself was digestible, but the rhythm section was dull and the vocals were even worse, flat-out unbearable. In this case, it would’ve been better to listen to the band with no vocals at all.
After the misfire that was Martyrdöd, the stage was reserved for old acquaintances Misery Index, who have played for Slovenian audiences several times already and have always left a good impression. This year the band released a new album after four years, titled Killing Gods, and they promoted it at this very show. In their short set, Misery Index focused only on material from their last three albums. Sadly, some of the older fans were left a bit shortchanged. Over the course of a pretty brief set, the band proved that they haven’t lost their form. Drummer Adam Jarvis stood out above all, pounding his kit mercilessly. The speed Jarvis hit was borderline supernatural, and what’s surprising is that he stayed tight without any noticeable mistakes. Besides catchy death metal riffs with a grind metal streak, Misery Index are also marked by their dual vocals, coming from guitarist Mark Kloeppel and bassist Jason Netherton. Mark has taken over most of the vocals in recent years, while Jason is increasingly leaving himself to just playing bass. Jason, in fact, looked tired, and his performance no longer showed the energy he had at earlier shows. Still, Misery Index delivered again. Plenty of people probably missed their favorite song, but you can’t expect miracles from a festival setlist. Judging by the chaos in the front rows, the return of Misery Index was more than welcome.
After the brutality came a change of genre with Converge, who drew in plenty of fans of today’s hardcore. The hall at Maribor’s Pekarna was packed to the last corner. At the very first notes, the front rows exploded. The band definitely showed themselves in a good light. At first it seemed the music wouldn’t be all that complex and that simpler hardcore approaches would dominate, but very quickly Converge showed that they’re not messing around. The chaos was indescribable, and the rhythms broke apart much like they do with The Dillinger Escape Plan. Vocalist Jacob Bannon naturally grabbed a lot of the attention, going completely insane. But Converge wouldn’t stand out so much without a great drummer. On a set half the size of Adam Jarvis’s, Ben Koller showed off countless wild rhythms and a real sense for controlling the chaos. Despite all the chaos, it would’ve been better if Converge’s set had lasted only about half an hour. The vocals simply get annoying, with Bannon seemingly falling back on the same lines the whole time, and even guitarist Kurt Ballou, who’s renowned as an outstanding producer, somehow doesn’t come into his own with his atonal riffs. Then again, maybe the heat was to blame…
Plenty of people reckon Misery Index stole the night, but anyone who swears by hardcore in the broad sense definitely got their fix from Converge. And the locals proved that a gig like this hasn’t happened at Pekarna in a good while.
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