Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Rok Klemše
Venue: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Concert date: 31.03.2011
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: 18€ / 22€
And we’re off! As tradition dictates, Ortofest threw open its doors at the start of April. It’s the only real club festival on the sunny side of the Alps, and every year it gives our capital’s April gig calendar a proper shot in the arm. April is when Orto bar serves concert junkies a varied spread of rock’n’roll, punk jangle, breakneck metal rhythms and charming blues embraces. There’s something for everyone! This year the festival was opened on the last day of March by Big Foot Mama, and then on April Fools’ Day Orto bar draped itself in black and took metal junkies into its bosom.
Organized by Veseli Dihurčki, day two of Ortofest featured Count Raven, a one-of-a-kind doom metal trio from Sweden, and catching them on stage is a real little exclusive. The Count Raven guys are family men these days, so they only play the occasional weekend gig. Given doom metal’s underfed popularity (even outright anonymity) on our turf, the mere announcement of the show was a minor holiday. Count Raven started playing in the late eighties, and with the albums “Storm Warning” (1990) and “Destruction of the Void” (1992) they were one of the key bands in establishing the classic doom sound, which is why we can safely call them cult today. Since the reunion in 2003 their musical activity has been less intense, but two years ago they still put out their fifth studio album overall, “Mammons War”.
But before the Scandinavian master class kicked off, Voodoo Mule took the stage right on time, a fresh band from the local underground made up of Jernej (vocals, guitar), Matej (bass) and Fabo (drums). The Ljubljana trio is a brand-new lineup, and a very welcome one for the awakening Slovenian stoner/doom scene. Until last Friday the fresh Voodoo Mule meat had only two gigs under its belt, so for most of the crowd they were a real mystery, though it started unraveling pretty quickly. Despite their minimalist sound, Voodoo Mule came across as very self-assured and stood firmly on stage the whole set. The low-tuned instruments and long, intricately built songs hide a few progressive levers, while plenty of transitions and surprising twists keep the dynamics up. Though they clearly follow a heavy-rock stoner sound, Voodoo Mule’s music is an exceptionally colorful conglomerate of influences: the psychedelic bits recall the golden era of sixties American psychedelia like Jefferson Airplane, there’s constant flirting with the rich Kyuss legacy, you can hear the brilliant ideas of Led Zeppelin in the dirty blues sound, and the heart-tearing raw tone takes us into the world of early Black Sabbath creepiness. Over a good half hour of playing, the club filled up nicely and listened with interest to the original material of a promising new name on our music scene. Voodoo Mule have tons of room to maneuver and develop, and with diligent practice and more live shows ahead, they’re bound to shake off the occasional slip-ups that are an inevitable part of every newly formed musical core.
A few minutes past half past ten, it was time for Count Raven. Given Orto bar’s uncompromising time dictate, with concerts allowed to run only until midnight, it was crucial that the organizer stuck to the schedule and “pushed” the Swedes onto the stage early enough that we could hope for an hour-and-a-half-long set.
Count Raven began spoiling Orto bar with the song Wolfmoon, which came out on last year’s seven-inch vinyl, before Jen sent us back in time for the first time that night, to the early nineties, with its distinctly low tones and slow rhythm. With the charismatic vocalist/guitarist Dan “Fodde” Fondelius and his creepy riffs, the four walls of Orto bar quickly started closing in, and under the baton of those slow salvos from the stage a feeling of claustrophobia spread through the crowd, a very characteristic effect of sludgy, ultra-slow doom metal. The conquest continued at a slightly faster pace with Poltergeist (“Mammons War”, 2009), which gravitates toward the stoner metal tradition, since with its vocal harmonies, more melodic arrangements and hidden blues touches Count Raven drifted slightly away from their doom roots on this one. The trio on stage put on a textbook display of tightness, harmony and knowing each other inside out, and together with a satisfyingly good sound, the foundations for an excellent show were already laid. Count Raven successfully stood up to the minimalist sound of a single guitar, and made up for the impoverished overall sonic picture with a march of ear-splitting doomy riffs and the razor-sharp sound of a metallic guitar. Fondelius’ vocal timbre at times recalled Ozzy Osbourne, and his stage presence otherwise came from an extremely charismatic personality and power. Bassist Fredrik Jansson also stood out with his unusual retro style and positive stage attitude, forming a reliable rhythmic foundation for Fondelius’ brilliant riffs together with drummer Jens Bock. With a well-balanced mix of older and newer material, the Swedes steered the show safely to its end with the songs Hippies Triumph and High on Infinity.
What to say about the gig a few days later, with heads well cooled? Friday’s get-together was a real treat, and with the chronic shortage of doom metal events, the visit of these Swedish doom metal legends was a bull’s-eye. We can only hope that in the medium term some other established name from this genre, forever working in the shadows, will visit our parts.
Photos: Rok Klemše
Setlist
COUNT RAVEN: 1. Wolfmoon 2. Jen 3. The Poltergeist 4. In Honour 5. Destruction of the Void 6. Fallen Angels 7. Inam Naudemina 8. In the Name of Rock ‘n’ Roll 9. Scream 10. Nashira 11. Leaving the Warzone 12. Children’s Holocaust 13. Hippies Triumph 14. High on Infinity
Photo gallery
