Venue: Kino Šiška / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Date: Thursday, 5 December 2019
Swiss folk metallers Eluveitie have been making regular pilgrimages back to Slovenia over the past decade. The band has gone through a whole string of lineup changes — familiar faces have come and gone — yet their popularity hasn’t dipped. Before the show, the area around Kino Šiška was visibly buzzing. Eluveitie, who have played Slovenia at least ten times by now, still pull a massive crowd. But there was an even bigger reason to show up this time around. Italian gothic metal legends Lacuna Coil were visiting Slovenia for the very first time. And following their Metaldays appearance, Moldovan metallers Infected Rain were back too, riding a noticeable surge in popularity this year.
First up were Moldovan outfit Infected Rain, and they wasted absolutely no time warming up — there was nothing reserved about their stage presence. Over the past year the band has gained serious traction, dropping their latest album Endorphin on the well-respected Napalm Records label. After a decade of grinding it out, Infected Rain had finally turned heads, with critics starting to mention them in the same breath as Ukraine’s Jinjer. Fortunately, Infected Rain have no interest in being Jinjer. Their sound floats somewhere between metalcore and nu metal — nothing that jumps out immediately, but with each track the band made it clear they’re a cut above average. The songs come loaded with additional samples and quieter passages where vocalist Lena weaves in her melodic vocals. Then when the heavier, more aggressive numbers kick in, she switches to full-on screams. The whole set felt polished. Infected Rain carry themselves like seasoned pros on stage. The playing isn’t the most technically demanding, but the energy they bring is extraordinary. Lena holds it all together brilliantly, working the crowd between songs and keeping everyone locked in. All eyes are naturally on her — and in the quieter moments her clean vocals genuinely shine — but the rest of the band more than hold their own too. The setlist leaned heavily toward the new album, which makes sense given how many new listeners they’ve picked up this year, but if this show is anything to go by, Infected Rain have won the room all over again and a return visit would be more than welcome. Infected Rain are a great reminder that you need to pay attention to bands coming from countries that don’t usually show up on the radar.
For Italian titans Lacuna Coil, you can really only say one thing: “Finally!” The band from Milan had somehow managed to dodge Slovenia practically since they formed in 1997. They never even made it to Metaldays/Metalcamp. But after nine albums and two decades in the game, they finally slotted Slovenia into the tour schedule. You wouldn’t necessarily have expected an overwhelming response — it was their first time here, after all. But the opposite happened. Lacuna Coil could easily have headlined. Singer Cristina Scabbia has always been the undeniable focal point, and she’s been flanked since day one by vocalist Andrea Ferro and bassist Marco Coti Zelati, while the guitarists and drummers have rotated over the years. With the current album it feels like Lacuna Coil have finally found the right chemistry among the members. They hit the stage looking like they’d taken style notes from Behemoth — the band were painted up like some kind of black metal outfit — though to be fair, Lacuna Coil have been rocking that image for a few years now. Black Anima naturally dominated the setlist, but there was room for a classic hit or two as well.
Lacuna Coil are surprisingly well-preserved. Expectations were met and then some. Scabbia’s voice is intact, powerful and every bit as convincing as on record. Andrea Ferro was right there alongside her with his own melodic vocals, and these days he throws in the occasional growl too. After the newer tracks Reckless and Layers of Time, it was time for the famous cover — and down came Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode. The crowd went loud, and Lacuna Coil woke up even the back rows of the hall with it. A couple more new tracks followed, then the older Heaven’s a Lie — the song that first put Lacuna Coil on the map and showed just how much potential they had, even though by that point the band already had three albums under their belt. That era, roughly 15 years ago, saw them tour the US and break through beyond Europe. Closing out with Nothing Stands Our Way, Lacuna Coil proved one last time that they’re a tight, energetic live act capable of getting the entire Kino Šiška hall on its feet. The one and only complaint about their set? The whole thing was too short. Given the reaction and the size of the crowd — the show was nearly sold out — you can only hope Lacuna Coil come back soon as headliners and play a proper set drawing on the mountain of hits they’ve built up over their career.
Swiss folk metal sensation Eluveitie returned after more than a year away, their last local appearance being at Metaldays. The band has played Slovenian soil at least ten times. After the last major lineup shakeup — when vocalist Anna Murphy and several other members walked — it looked for a moment like Eluveitie might not bounce back. But frontman Chrigel Glanzmann had built up enough credibility and clout to always find replacements. More than that, he refreshed the lineup with younger blood, found the right musicians, and has since put out two albums with them. The latest, Ategnatos, came out this very year, giving the band every reason to hit the road.
Once again, Eluveitie managed to fill the main hall of Kino Šiška. Glanzmann, now the sole original member, still knows how to convince with his crew of experienced and classically trained musicians. All nine members fleshed out the sonic picture throughout the entire set. Alongside the standard instruments you could hear hurdy gurdy, violins, mandolas, harps, bagpipes and, of course, various flutes. Eluveitie are without question a seasoned band that knows how to connect with a crowd. But the music itself is not without controversy. The band has two guitarists, and for the most part they’re playing the same thing — a solo here and there being the exception. More than once the whole thing felt like it had been thrown together without much rhyme or reason, a direct consequence of cramming in too many instruments. At times Eluveitie veer dangerously close to kitsch. The guitars flirt with melodic death metal but you can barely hear them through all the other instrumentation. Despite all the “fluff” Eluveitie pile on, they won the crowd over again this time too. The new tracks landed well, there was a drum solo thrown in for good measure, and of course there was no getting out of there without the hits — Rose for Epona, Thousandfold, Helvetios and the closing Inis Mona. Eluveitie may not be in their golden era anymore, but they’re far from done — their shows are more than solid, and right now it looks like their popularity isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
A near-sold-out Kino Šiška delivered one of this year’s metal highlights in Slovenia with the Eluveitie, Lacuna Coil and Infected Rain show.
Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Nina Grad
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Lacuna Coil 
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Eluveitie ![]()
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