Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: 03.03.2016
Attendance: 80
Ticket price: €4.00
The third edition of Kadilnica of Death brought two Slovenian death metal bands to the stage at Orto bar: Vasectomy from Murska Sobota and Abolished, a quintet officially based in Ljubljana, even though the members come from all over Slovenia.
Shortly after half past nine in the evening, Abolished took the stage first. It quickly became clear that the two bands are friends, or at least back each other up in a kind of »brotherly« way. Even before Abolished started, a nice crew of the band’s supporters had gathered, and they went even wilder during Vasectomy’s set. The quintet of Matjaž “Mata” Kocbek (vocals), Črtomir Fleisinger (guitar), Benjamin Lazar (guitar), Damjan Kovačič (bass) and Patrik Gregor (drums) spent three quarters of an hour thoroughly presenting their own material. The guys sank their teeth into the show with a surprisingly pleasant death metal requiem of a opener, then, to spice up the night, worked an inventive version of the Slayer track Disciple into the set and seasoned the finish with a souped-up take on the Judas Priest standard Breaking the Law. This band is definitely a rising new addition to the Slovenian death metal scene. Confident and with plenty of no-compromise attitude, they sharpened their blades and fangs, which radiated enough bloodlust through the whole carnage theater of the set to win everyone over with their presence and their deeds. This is a band with enough original material to put out a studio debut, and even though they’re relatively new on the scene, the assured performance proved the guys put in the hard work together for a good while before storming Slovenian stages, so we can expect even more boiling-over brutalization from this quintet in the future. A convincing growl with a ringing tonal deviation, tight chemistry, a proper mix of technically demanding transitions and sequences of rhythmic turns and harmonizing over semitone-sharpened riffs, an unbridled rush of hellishly fast riff massacre.
Just under half an hour later, Vasectomy took the stage. Also a quintet (a temporary one, too?). Dressed in white shirts and surgical masks. In harmony with the band’s name. Orto bar filled up a little more. Although the band officially consists of three members, Patrik Ritlop (vocals), David Matjašič (guitar) and Luka Kutoša (guitar), they managed to find a bassist and a drummer for this show. Considering how rarely the band plays out (they already released their EP »Blood Stained Chains« back in 2012), the quintet was very well rehearsed. You don’t know the story behind it, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Vasectomy may have just now found the right form to settle into a regular quintet lineup. No doubt about it. The guys from Prekmurje delivered a convincing live show and served up a nice helping of tightness between them. Vocalist Patrik’s growl was convincing and at times downright hilarious, and he was especially likable when addressing the crowd in an authentically simplified version of the Prekmurje dialect. Patrik keeps the songs moving by alternating his brutal vocals, from low, almost muffled growls to higher, frothing screeches that still stay within growl territory. Bringer of Blood, originally by Six Feet Under, fit right in with the band’s own material, which definitely grabbed most of the attention. The band showed great chemistry, though with less technical garnish than Abolished, but they more than make up for that lack with rumbling, rolling riffs that build an estranged underworld, from which Vasectomy managed to coax out the little devil himself. Atmospheric groove nudged somewhere in the direction of Obituary. Minus the vocals, of course. Stuffy, hopeless darkness! With this show, Vasectomy made it clear they belong in the league of death metal oddballs. Let’s hope the studio debut crawls into the world soon. So the surgical tools got seriously bloodied tonight.
Let me draw the closing conclusion of the night. Another hugely successful edition of Kadilnica of Death.
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