Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Jerneja Jerak
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: April 23, 2015
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: €4.00
If you’re starving for live shows by the likes of Nightwish, Epica, Delain, Edenbridge, Sirenia, Leave’s Eyes (and the list goes on and on), this year’s Ortofest program was a real balm for the wounds. It squeezed a double bill of two female-fronted metal bands into Thursday’s Kadilnica of Death. First up were Ljubljana folk metallers Brezno, followed by symphonic power metallers ShadowIcon from Postojna and the surrounding area. Both bands dropped new studio releases at the end of last December. Brezno, after a complete lineup overhaul in 2010 and 2011, finally put out their debut studio album »Kri«, while ShadowIcon, who’ve had their debut »Empire in Ruins« in the bag since 2011, released a new EP, »Smoke And Mirrors«.
Both bands were greeted by a solid crowd of around 150 fired-up heads, mostly friends and acquaintances of the bands, plus some keen fans who came to give their necks a workout to the pompous detonations of beloved metal marches. ShadowIcon hit the stage first, with Ana Prijatelj Pelhan (vocals), Peter Smrdel (keyboards), Bojan Kostanjšek (guitar), Tomaž Lovšin (guitar), Matej Ravšelj (bass) and Žiga Ravšelj (drums). The small stage upstairs at Orto bar turned into a real squeeze for six people, but there’s no point losing sleep over that. The band got down to business without hesitation, playing songs from the latest EP »Smoke And Mirros« and the full-length debut »Empire in Ruins« (2011). What makes ShadowIcon so interesting is that the crew is known for strong composers and arrangers who know how to build songs that combine the right amount of punch, pomp, seductive melody and a gradual shifting of moods as the tracks develop. The latest single, If I Was The One from the new EP, backs that up, though sadly I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it in full before this gig. The band presented their material solidly. For a good sound you had to stand by the bar. The only minus was that the female vocals were too low in the mix. They came across as expressionless and without any real dynamics throughout the set. A real shame, considering Ana is the centerpiece of the band’s stage shows. Still, ShadowIcon are a band bringing some much-needed variety to the Slovenian metal scene, because there are simply no other bands like this, symphonic power metal with a female vocalist front and center.
Anyone who kept a clear head could stick around for Brezno from here on. The Ljubljana folk metal sextet, made up of Sara Jeremič (vocals), Mitja Usenik (bass, vocals), Katarina Snoj (keyboards, backing vocals), Luka Žnideršič (guitar, backing vocals), Max Petač (guitar) and Matej Hrustek (drums), came across as more convincing than ShadowIcon in the end, especially when it comes to Sara’s vocals. They’re satisfyingly powerful, with just the right amount of dynamics in the way she shapes the melody in the verses, and a mezzo-soprano of enviable charisma. The violins and flutes are gone, but the guitars are much beefier, and bassist Mitja Usenik is even more involved, adding growls that complement the commandingly melodic female vocals. What sets Brezno firmly apart from the clichés is the lyrics, which are sung entirely in Slovenian. The same goes for the individual harmonic flourishes drawn from traditional Slovenian folk melodies, which successfully pass for something »Celtic« in their packaging. The band got a tremendous reception from the crowd. Plenty of diehards up front knew the lyrics by heart and, egged on by the band from the stage, stayed actively involved throughout. The band played eight tracks from their studio debut, with Žanjica, Krst, Solze and Glasnik among the highlights.
A completely successful night as part of the Kadilnica of Death program. And finally, for once, with a packed house too! Both bands can look to the future with optimism and no worries, since they can be proud of their studio releases, which, given the quality on display, are gratefully opening the doors wide for them on the road to natural evolution and artistic maturity.
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