Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Postojna / Ambasada Jugoslavija / Slovenia
Concert date: 24.02.2012
Attendance: 350
Ticket price: 8,00€ / 10,00€
Driving into Postojna, I was hit by some slightly strange feelings – after two years I was back at the spot of the former Rock Caffe, which in its two years of life delivered a whole string of excellent rock events, before a profit-hungry, Yugo-nostalgic mafia took it over and the good times were over. The biggest losers, of course, were rock fans from Inner Carniola and the Littoral, who had only just gotten into the habit of hitting the club regularly when it shut its doors – or, more precisely, started courting a different target crowd. Still, miracles do happen, and after a long time Ambasada Jugoslavija, as the club is now called, welcomed »ragged, drunk and smelly longhairs« back into its bosom.
The draw in Postojna was Requiem, the rock-solid elder statesmen of Slovenian heavy metal. After already letting the whole of Slovenia know with their December show at Kino Šiška in Ljubljana that they’re here and still breathing, this time the reason to get together was even sweeter: the release of their new, fifth album overall, »Fallen Angel«!
The opening act of the night went to newcomers on the Slovenian music scene, Evil Eve. Given the negative comments from most people who’d already seen the »Evil Ones« live, I was pleasantly surprised by the wind in their sails. Evil Eve made up for their beginners’ lack of original material with covers of acts like Nirvana, Billy Idol and the Cranberries, which melded nicely into a cohesive sound for the band. Sure, with their inorganic, modern alt sound Evil Eve aren’t the most fitting choice of support for Requiem, but nobody can fault their professional approach and clearly defined musical ambitions. The stage show leaned on the experienced and sex-appeal-packed Eva Breznikar, who brought the set safely into harbor with a Lady Gaga cover and the closing original, Ideal.
Next up, entertaining young and old in equal measure, were Shutdown, heavy metallers from Nova Gorica who are stylistically close to Requiem and therefore all the more inviting. A healthy number of mostly baby-faced longhairs packed into the little hall, and the guys on stage visibly got a lift from it. Three weeks ago I’d seen Shutdown in poor form (report here), but this time, as if they’d read my mind, they squeezed out every last atom of energy and delivered the best show I’ve seen from them to date. Domo, still the band’s only guitarist, shone, pulling off bouncy antics from his usual spot on the left side of the stage. During the instrumental parts, when vocalist Egzi regularly left the stage, the trio of Domo / Dejan / Pejo laid down classic-minded heavy metal riffs like a proper »power rock trio«, in the style of old-school Triumph or Krokus. Egzi was in great form too! The guy puts in the work on his voice, and when his approach is right he can pull out both mid and high registers without any noticeable loss of vocal power! Shutdown slotted Ozzy’s Nori Vlak in among their own material, with Domo paying tribute to the late Randy Rhoads in a well-executed solo spot, and finished things off perfectly with the Judas Priest classic You’re Got Another Thing Comin’. Shutdown – sit down, A+!
Then came the main magic of the night – Requiem, who always squeeze out the most on home turf and satisfy the band’s loyal supporters – of whom there are naturally the most right in the Littoral, so by around midnight, when Requiem took the stage, the club was nicely packed.
After a taped intro the five of them spread out across the stage, and Miha’s drumstick swing kicked off Let It Hurt and with it a full two-hour journey through the rediscovery of Requiem’s relatively rich legacy.
With the arrival of their new bassist, Requiem have come to life in full light and, by their own account, really clicked. They’ve carried that ease and mutual understanding onto the stage, where they work like a well-oiled, tightly rehearsed unit. Requiem can boast an excellent rhythm section, made up of seasoned bass player Martin Rozman and technically outstanding drummer Miha Nedoh. Add the guitar enthusiasm of young Matjaž Marin on the right, experienced Marko Slokar on the left side of the stage and frontman Sergej Škofljanec between them, and you get a crew of proven musicians and the foundation of today’s cohesion, which wins people over with ease. But that’s not all. The brilliant performance coincided with optimal sound conditions this time, so even the most demanding music connoisseurs could give themselves over to genuine heavy metal execution.
Requiem sailed between old, newer and newest material. Kaja, Zvezdno nebo and Čarovnice broke down the wall between band and crowd early in the show, with Sergej warming the audience up further with his banter as usual. For a bit of variety (much like at Requiem’s comeback gig in 2009), a »priest« showed up during Križarji and tried to convert the crowd with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. In the first part Requiem strung together a few brand-new tracks from the new album, such as Slovenska, Red Leather, Little Princess and the title track Fallen Angels. Before we knew it we were already in the second half of the marathon set, and the intensity hadn’t dropped by even a hair! Sergej proved with outstanding vocals, song after song, that the title of best classic rock vocalist is still firmly in his hands. The acoustic version of Ogenj was his and his alone, and when the rest of the band returned to the stage, Requiem surprised with a new version of Zbudie se – they reworked it into a Deep South sound, where the smell of endless savannas hangs in the air and where American rednecks are still chasing redskins to this day! For the exhausted crowd, Marko Slokar and the crew conjured up one last dose of genuine Slovenian heavy rock in the encore, before finally stepping off stage and treating themselves to a well-earned beer.
The Fallen Angel is born, then! With it Requiem have opened a new chapter in their story, one in which, we can at least hope, plenty more stories will be written!
Setlists
SHUTDOWN:
1. Desert
2. Scream Machine
3. Križarji
4. Dedicated
5. crazy Train
6. Do It Now
7. Valkira
————
8. You’re Got Another Thing Comin’
REQUIEM:
1. Intro – Let It Hurt
2. Slovenska
3. Pozabi na vse
4. Kaja
5. Zvezdno nebo
6. Čarovnice
7. All Night Long
8. Ti in jaz
9. Križarji
10. Red Leather
11. Little Princess
12. Gospa
13. Fallen Angels
14. Heroji
15. Ogenj
16. zbudi se
17. Pekel in raj
18. Začaraj me
19. Mr. Twister
20. 12 let
21. Udar nazaj
22. Stare device
————–
23. Rock’n’roll naj živi
24. Amsterdam
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