Venue: Ljubljana / Media Center (Open Air) / Slovenia
Date: Tuesday, 9 August 2022
Festival season is in full swing, but there’s always room for a standalone show. This one — featuring metal giants Lamb of God, German thrash veterans Kreator, brutalizers Cattle Decapitation and Blood Incantation, and newer act Vended — played out like a proper mini-festival. Due to massive demand, the organizers decided to hold the concert in the parking lot of club Cvetličarna rather than inside the venue itself, which was undoubtedly a brilliant call, as it meant more people could get their hands on a ticket. The trade-off was a shifted timeline, since the party had to wrap up by ten o’clock sharp.
Things kicked off at four in the afternoon when Vended took the stage. They’re a young band with only the EP What Is It/Kill It to their name. The lineup includes Griffin Taylor, son of the legendary Corey Taylor (Slipknot), while behind the kit sits Simon Crahan, son of Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan. The Slipknot influence is, needless to say, undeniable. Over half an hour, Vended put on a fairly energetic show — exactly what you’d expect from a young band still racking up the miles. Their sound is a mix of various (sub)genres: elements of nu metal, hardcore, and metalcore are all in the mix. The whole thing is reminiscent of early Slipknot, just without the same drum intensity. Vended go for a more aggressive approach, so there aren’t really any bells and whistles — at least not yet. They’re definitely a promising act, but we’ll have to wait for a full album before we can see what direction they’re really headed. The main hope is that they don’t end up as a Slipknot clone on life support.
Next up were Blood Incantation, the death metal outfit from Denver. The band — who previously visited the Koper club CMK — made another stop in Slovenia and delivered a refreshingly original take on death metal. Blood Incantation swear by old-school death metal, but in their own particular way. Unlike the modern technical death metal crowd, they draw from the American and Canadian scenes of the nineties, which is sure to hit the spot for Morbid Angel and Gorguts fans especially. Their set showcased an impressive degree of technical precision combined with nice touches of psychedelia and unconventional song structures — altogether a pretty unique experience. The band has three albums and an EP behind them. The latest album was left out of the setlist, as it’s an ambient release. Blood Incantation are undeniably one of a kind, though the sound really wasn’t doing them any favors — with music this complex, poor mixing makes everything come across as chaotic and ultimately unlistenable. That said, this is absolutely a band worth seeing, and they’d shine especially bright in a club setting.
Cattle Decapitation have been touring heavily over the last ten years and have made several stops in Slovenia along the way — impressing both on the festival circuit and in club shows. This time around, the band finally got the chance to bring their latest album Death Atlas, released in 2019, to European audiences. When their Bring Back The Plague tour was ironically cancelled due to the pandemic, Cattle Decapitation had a long wait before getting back to Europe. Naturally, the setlist was almost entirely focused on that latest album, which stays true to the band’s brutal style. After all these years, the band hasn’t let up one bit — in fact, they’ve leveled up with an additional guitarist, making the sound noticeably fuller than on their last visit here. Cattle Decapitation still put brutality front and center, and vocalist Travis Ryan is a force unto himself — at one point he spat into his hands and promptly smeared the product across his face. Clearly not short on appetite. Beyond the guitar precision, the rhythm section deserves a special mention. Bassist Olivier Pinard’s lines filled out the sonic picture even further, while drummer David McGraw dominated behind the kit with blistering speed and accuracy, blasting through most of the set. The sound itself improved as the set went on, so CD didn’t come across as too chaotic or formless. All in all, Cattle Decapitation delivered the evening’s peak moment of brutality.
Kreator took the second-to-last slot — a band that has made countless stops in Slovenia over the past twenty years. They were practically impossible to miss, turning up at every possible opportunity. Since their last visit, Kreator have put out a new album and swapped bassists: Frédéric Leclercq, previously of Dragonforce, is now holding down the low end. Kreator are inching toward their 40th anniversary, which commands real respect — staying in the thrash metal game that long is no small feat. Their form deserves credit too; they may not be quite as relentless as they once were, but the performance didn’t feel routine in the slightest. There weren’t any real surprises in the setlist, though. Kreator played what was essentially a festival best-of, running through the classic hits: Violent Revolution, Enemy of God, Hordes of Chaos, Phobia, Phantom Antichrist, and more. The latest album Hate über alles got some airtime too — it does have a few surprises in it, but Kreator leaned into their more typical style, including the odd cliché like Strongest of the Strong. Unfortunately the set was on the shorter side, which makes sense given they weren’t headlining — a longer run will have to wait for a dedicated tour. The closing stretch was classic Kreator: the timeless Flag of Hate followed by the legendary Pleasure to Kill. The performance was solid, though there were a few blips here and there — drummer Ventor can get a bit loose at moments. The guitar duo of Petrozza and Yli-Sirniö, on the other hand, delivered again, with the latter standing out particularly for his melodic lines and soloing. Kreator are far from done. It wouldn’t hurt to shake up the setlist with a less obvious track or two, though.
Lamb of God’s return was more than welcome. The band last played Slovenia back in 2010. In the years since, Lamb of God have put out a string of albums, drummer Chris Adler departed and was replaced by Art Cruz, and for this tour they were playing with a stand-in guitarist — the seasoned Phil Demmel (Vio-Lence, ex-Machine Head) stepped in for Willie Adler, who couldn’t make the European run due to personal reasons. Lamb of God opened their set with Memento Mori from their most recent album, released a couple of years ago. It didn’t take long for them to silence any skeptics. The sound was also greatly improved, making the whole Lamb of God experience genuinely enjoyable. The band put on a confident, supremely tight show with that unmistakable sound of theirs. Energy was everywhere, and frontman Randy Blythe in particular did a great job working the crowd into a frenzy. The setlist hit all the signature tracks — Now You’ve Got Something to Die For, Ruin, Laid to Rest, 512, Walk With Me In Hell, and more. A couple of new tracks from the upcoming album Omens, due out in the autumn, also made an appearance. There was no let-up across the entire set. The lighting rig, too, was well above par. Lamb of God showed up in a slightly different lineup, but Phil Demmel slotted in seamlessly, and drummer Art Cruz dominated behind his massive kit with razor-sharp precision and an instinct for groove. Lamb of God delivered a flawless set, closing things out with the unmistakable Redneck, which sparked a massive circle pit — as it always does. Lamb of God
The parking lot in front of Cvetličarna was the setting for a genuine metal spectacle. An event with a lineup this strong can easily go head-to-head with a great day at any festival. For a lot of metal fans, this will be one of the best concerts of the year.
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Vended
Blood Incantation
Cattle Decapitation
Kreator
Lamb of God
