Location: Postojna / Kulturni dom Postojna / Slovenia
Date: Friday, September 30, 2022
That day finally came. Ever since the rock and metal world in Slovenia got its hands on the reissue of the cult debut album “Rocks Off” by the legendary Postojna-based glam metal/hard rock outfit Mary Rose (RockLine review) — courtesy of ZKP RTV at the end of last November — this day had been quietly anticipated.
And time? What is time? It flies like lightning. Especially these last two years. Like it doesn’t even exist. In recent months the live scene has somehow managed to get back on its feet, and Eki was finally able, together with his team, to set two dates for the band’s anniversary shows! September 30th and October 1st, 2022! A grand celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of “Rocks Off” — an album that first came out back in 1990.
The band and their crew had genuinely thought of everything. Every last detail. Down to the finest particulars. We timed our visit for Friday, September 30th, 2022. It’s around half past eight in the evening. Outside the entrance to the cultural center in the heart of Postojna, the rockers — those brave enough to still smoke — are finishing their last cigarette. And yet inside, the lobby is even more packed. Where do you buy tickets? Where’s the cloakroom? Where’s the press desk — and, most importantly, where are they pouring beer? Good thing the restrooms could wait their turn.
The interior of the hall — where Mary Rose had presented their then-freshly-released album “Resnični svet” back in mid-May 2019 — was solidly packed. Plenty of familiar faces. Postojna in full force. A full bloom of Postojna rockers and metalheads, old and young alike. Naturally, a bunch of familiar faces from other parts of Slovenia as well — musicians and music enthusiasts, close friends, family members, and so on. Everyone was, among other things, feverishly anticipating the reunion of Mary Rose in their original lineup. Yes. Exactly the one that recorded “Rocks Off”.
At nine in the evening, the lights go out. The ‘giraffe’ camera crane on the right side of the stage (from the audience’s perspective) signals that the whole event will be carefully filmed. The stage backdrop is cleverly reinforced by projection screens, which meaningfully complemented the whole point of the event. And there they are. Eki! The man, the myth, the legend! Eki Alilovski on guitar! Behind him Sandi Trojner on keyboards; in the back, the ‘giant octopus’ behind the drum fortress — David Debevec (the man who shared the stage with Duran Duran at Križanke 2012 while playing with Leeloojamais); then to David’s left, a young man and the band’s new bassist Anže Stegel. A few moments later, a well-known silhouette steps into the foreground — a tall, bald figure who is none other than the monstrous vocalist Žanil Tataj – Žak.
The sound is gorgeous. The instrument balance is exemplary and pleasing. People aren’t hiding their passion or their emotions. Sparks are crackling in the air. Everywhere. It didn’t take long before a good chunk of the crowd was on its feet watching the band’s every move on stage, with ovations and loud responses. Everything went according to plan up to roughly the midpoint of the first set. But then. Eki, standing at the left stage position (from the audience’s perspective), found himself in a spot of ‘major ventilation’ — a genuine draft, dead serious, caught between warm and cold air. This was causing his guitars to go out of tune, which in turn created no small amount of hassle not just for him but for the others too, who had only just warmed up to the right performance temperature. The gaps between songs unfortunately stretched longer as a result. Žak tried to fill those moments with a variety of comic bits.
Given Eki’s health issues of recent years — among them having to adjust his pick mid-song — we should be genuinely grateful we can still admire the legendary Slovenian guitar ace on stage at all. Despite the occasional clenched-teeth moment, he once again delivered an excellent performance. Eki’s solos remain a treat unto themselves and one of the first things that pulls you into Mary Rose’s music. With his guitar solo style, Eki is something of a relic of the eighties. A one-of-a-kind phenomenon. Especially in 2022. He is Slovenia’s answer to the world metal and rock scene of the eighties at their peak. Hats off to the man when you watch him on stage.
Žak handled his role with characteristic class. He sings exactly as he always has. Powerfully. Passionately, totally immersed. His delivery of power to extreme heights remains immaculate. The fiend of a vocalist is also theatrically razor-sharp throughout, flirting with the crowd and deploying his vivid arsenal of expressions and gestures. The freshly minted bassist Anže Stegel — Eki mischievously let slip the backstory of his joining the band during one of the breaks (Anže previously played with Vigilance) — played a solid, convincing set, even if you can feel he’s still a relative newcomer when it comes to bigger stages. The most important link in the band at this event, though, was David Debevec. It’s incredible how much he has refined and developed his drumming technique. Jaw-dropping. The arsenal of gear that makes up his drum fortress has grown right along with it. The days of David’s almost understated open hi-hat work on a basic kit with Leeloojamais aren’t even that far behind. It’s a shame Mary Rose — and David with them — play so rarely. Because David is a joy to watch during his drum show. That rock-solid focus. The concentration. Nothing slips past him. Including, among other things, a clever use of double bass — which called to mind the legendary Cozy Powell. Swiss-watch-precise bombardment. And we can’t forget Sandi Trojner, whose keyboards consistently delivered the essential sonic signature of Mary Rose’s identity, complementing Eki’s guitar phrasing throughout. The set featured tracks from the current album “Resničen svet” (2019, RockLine review), including: the title track, Paranoja, Planet, Kje si zdaj (with Žak on acoustic guitar), Stampedo, Vizija, and Preteklost (the opener). These were interwoven with classics from the “Feniks” album (2006, RockLine review), including Sam, Kralj za eno noč, Akcija, Izgubljen v času, and Krivda. The run through both albums was rounded off by Ko tako objame, which Eki wrapped up with signature riffs from Enter Sandman and Sad But True.
That same lineup then moved into tracks from the “Rocks Off” album. Did anyone expect “Rocks Off” to be played from start to finish with the original lineup? I did, for one. But I forgot a few factors — the time constraints, and the fact that the guys who recorded “Rocks Off” are no longer twenty years old. Anyway. Here’s the classic Hold On Baby, in which Žak found himself a touch low on the final chorus melody, but quickly and deftly wriggled out of the sticky spot and locked back onto the right pitch. These things happen to the best of them. The Žak–Eki–Sandi–David–Anže lineup stayed on stage for Rocking Pneumonia as well.
Then comes a break. Postojna’s mayor Igor Marentič steps on stage. Bassist for Norton. A rocker from head to toe. It’s great to have a mayor like that. No, he didn’t announce that the municipality of Postojna was going to open up its pockets and self-organize a Def Leppard concert at the sports airfield near Rakitnik — with Mary Rose as headliners. What Marentič did — in a heartfelt address with Eki by his side on stage — was share some anecdotes and deep thoughts as he relived flashes of his rock past, inextricably linked to the guys from Mary Rose.
Then comes the finale. The grand finale. On stage stand Franci Tominšek (vocals), Eki Alilovski (guitar), Jure Škodič (bass guitar), Primož Ogrizek (keyboards), and Mitja Šabec (drums). The band played just three tracks from “Rocks Off” in this biblical lineup, and visually it was bassist Jure Škodič who commanded the stage by a mile. Škodič became a bona fide king of glam that day in Postojna — and the other five could have taken a page right out of his book. Jure genuinely brought something extra onto the stage: a real shot of that pure eighties sentiment. We want more!
The crew delivered the lot with style. Franci’s voice defies time and still works brilliantly. Mitja Šabec is considered something of a ‘rare commodity’ drummer in Slovenia these days, having been living and working in Sweden for many years. For these 15–20 minutes on stage, he flew in exclusively from Sweden. Then come the “Rocks Off” classics Let’s Go Out Tonight, Fever, and the closing Action! The wave of emotion was extraordinary. Especially from those in the hall who were reliving the turn of the eighties into the nineties, people who grew up alongside Mary Rose.
An event that not long ago nobody dared to even think about. A few years back, Slovenia also got a documentary film about Slovenian metal called “Železne stopinje”. The importance of that document is greater than perhaps anyone gives it credit for! When it came out, we started talking more frequently again about the times and the bands that put Slovenia on the world metal map. After many years, this piece of Slovenian metal and rock history is finally getting the proper, well-deserved recognition it deserves. The “Rocks Off” album has received its reissue, and we got to enjoy a one-of-a-kind event in this anniversary celebration. Here’s hoping that ZKP RTV — or some other Slovenian label — will be inclined to reissue albums by some of the other pioneering metal acts from Slovenia as well. Perhaps even a reissue of the lost-but-recently-rediscovered second Mary Rose album?
Let’s just say that that evening in Postojna — where we witnessed the reunion of Mary Rose’s original lineup — was, in its own way, nothing short of historic. Here’s hoping that what the cameras captured that night will one day find its place on some live DVD or concert album. The thunderous responses and ovations were endless. Even after all the performers on stage had taken their collective bow at the end of the spectacle and had long since headed backstage. But hold on. The first day of the celebration was followed by a second! In short — Mary Rose. Thank you for your music and your refusal to quit. We’re already raising our glasses and drinking to the next 30 years!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
