Šank Rock
Nova Gorica / Bevkov trg / Slovenia
Saturday, 20 December 2025, 8:10 PM – 10:10 PM
Šank Rock needs no lengthy introduction to Slovenian music fans — especially not the die-hard kind. They are legends. They are one of the most important bands to have brought to our shores in the eighties the music that was riding massive global popularity at the time. In a way, through their emergence, their work, and a string of albums, they quickly and more than successfully absorbed the spirit of the then-dominant Def Leppard, Winger, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Extreme, Poison, Ratt! Album by album they grew and cemented their position as the chief ambassadors of hard rock and glam metal in Slovenia!
This is a band that is evergreen and generational — today their musical catalog unites at least three generations of listeners under the same banner. A band that blended the Slovenian language with the classic format of hard rock and, in many ways, glam metal! And in doing so, they preserved the incredible melodic singability of every single composition. That’s no small feat when you’re working with the Slovenian language. This is the stamp on the musical landscape that every one of us carries deep in our soul. And no one can take that crown from them.
The band has been experiencing a genuine renaissance of late. Sure, their concerts have always drawn intense responses from Slovenian audiences, who have maintained a traditionally high level of affection and dedication to the band — but it’s worth pointing out that right now, Šank Rock feel more relevant than ever. After June 2023, when they grandly celebrated over 40 years of activity in Velenje (RockLine concert review), dropped the new single Se še spomniš with a lineup featuring the long-missed and newly returned original drummer Aleš Uranjeк, they threw themselves into intensive touring and later even recast themselves in an acoustic format — which gave rise to the new acoustic live album “Romantično” released this year (following “Bosa Dama” from 1996, this is the band’s second acoustic live album). Then another single dropped: the excellent Danes je dan, and the band announced they’re preparing material for a new album due out in 2026.
And Šank Rock strike while the iron is hot. They don’t stop — not even as 2025 winds down. Among a string of confirmed shows sat this pre-Christmas Saturday gig in Nova Gorica. Under ideal conditions: free of charge and, on top of that, dry. Right in the middle of Bevkov trg, already decked out in its Christmas look. The crowd that turned out to meet Šank Rock was impressive. They only tightened into a proper mass once the quintet actually stepped onto the stage — around ten minutes past eight in the evening. Loads of young faces, including right up front.
The band is on point the moment they hit the stage. What sets Šank Rock apart is that they’re one of those rare acts that radiates, from the very first second to the very last, an incredible level of good humor, carefree joy, and — as more than a few of their classics demand — a burning desire to deliver the best possible rock ‘n’ roll party! Šank Rock are a crew of rock-and-roll veterans who have mastered the art of working the crowd. They pull you in like a magnet and don’t let go — right through the last beat and the last guitar lick. Even when they themselves know that something in a given night didn’t go quite to plan, the audience can barely tell. Simple as that. If tonight isn’t your best night, Šank Rock are there to tear apart any potential bad energy and chase every dark thought away — with the overflowing warmth of their own brand of rock-and-roll firepower.
This concert clocked in at a full two hours, encore included. And trust me — it flew by so fast you’d have sworn they played at least half an hour less. Matjaž handled the crowd with the easy confidence of a seasoned pro; they ate out of his hand. A few of his blistering high screams made it crystal clear his vocal range hasn’t rusted an inch — even though you could tell (especially in the between-song banter) that a mild cold had been nibbling at him. Matjaž filled those breaks with mischievous commentary and kept the crowd pulled even closer. The intensely agile Bor and Cveto, meanwhile, threw fuel on the fire with their expertly executed moves across the stage and their extra flirtation with the crowd, adding yet more heat to the whole joyful frenzy. That’s why Šank Rock in this kind of blistering form always give off the sense of being untouchable on stage. No one can take that from them. It’s their winning hand, their wild card that always kicks the doors wide open. Onstage they also radiate an extraordinary camaraderie — you get the feeling they breathe as one. The chemistry is right there. The performance: captivating and hypnotic.
On top of those unforgettable melodies that all of Slovenia knows by heart, incredible guitar virtuoso Bor Zuljan brings an extra peak to every song on the setlist. He stunned again tonight. He’s the kind of musician I can say without hesitation is the only serious contender among Slovenian guitar virtuosos in the hard rock and glam metal genre who Joe Satriani and Steve Vai would welcome into the fold without a second thought — should they ever decide to do another G3 tour!
The band has developed an extraordinary tightness on stage. Massive sound, a beautifully layered backdrop of Bor’s phrasing woven against Samo’s keys — which on more than one occasion locked into a chunky, Hammond-like rhythmic support. Cveto digs into the bass guitar like it’s straight out of a textbook, and Aleš remains a beast behind his stage fortress. As a quintet, the whole unit delivers incredible bombast, energy and passion, and watching them play you get the feeling they’re savoring every single second of channeling their onstage musical magic — magic they share unselfishly with the crowd. Even after 43 years of doing this! The fire doesn’t dim. Though the years pass quietly, Šank Rock in 2025 move like freshly minted stallions hungry to prove themselves, as if the band had barely just fired up the engine. And the crowd? The women in the audience left the male rockers far behind in the sing-along stakes. That’s how it should be and stay.
Riding a setlist that spanned virtually every era of the band’s career — and where the perennial crowd-pleasers proverbially steal the most love and attention: the timeless Pridite na žur, Puščava sna, Jaz nimam noč za spanje, Le 17, TV, Maček, Ker te ljubim (just Matjaž and Bor in a stripped-back unplugged rendition), Laški pir, Rockerji, Delam kar paše mi, Metulj (Matjaž stopped the track after a few seconds, telling the crowd to turn on their phone lights and hold them high in the air — hmm, Zippo days are long gone — then the band launched into the song again), and in the encore Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh plus the irresistible, raucous closing charge Dej bolj naglas radio — the band delivered exactly what the crowd came for. A catapult launch into the wide-open space of pure carefree bliss, as dictated by the fever of Saturday night. Nothing more and nothing less than a brilliant party that was genuinely hard to say goodbye to.
As expected. You demand the best from Šank Rock and the best is exactly what you get. Two hours of flawless stage performance delivered — and it was genuinely hard to accept that those two hours had gone by so damn fast. Šank Rock remain a byword for the Slovenian rock scene. Firmly in the saddle, riding their musical vision with a clear-eyed gallop into the future. The miles logged are enormous, the mark left on the Slovenian rock scene monumental. But when you see them live, they carry on like kids who’ve barely written their first song. Priceless. And trust me — next year, Šank Rock are going to get a little younger all over again.
Text: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Setlist
1. Danes je dan
2. Lahka dama
3. Pridite na žur
4. Puščava sna
5. Restart
6. Le 17
7. Poišči me (orig. Bazar)
8. TV
9. Maček
10. Hvala za vse (acoustic)
11. Ker te ljubim (acoustic)
12. Jaz nimam noč za spanje
13. Se še spomniš
14. Laški pir
15. Želim da si tu
16. Rockerji
17. Delam kar paše mi
18. Metulj
19. Nekaj več
20. Al’ ostanem, al’ naj grem (The Clash cover)
—encore—
21. Living On A Prayer (orig. Bon Jovi)
22. Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh
23. Dej bolj naglas radio
2 komad je bil lahka dama , ni sreče brez R’N’R pa na mojo žalost ne igrajo , ker zame je eden njihovih najboljših komadov . Slišal sem ga samo v Velenju na 40 letnici. Je pa škoda da igrajo priredbe , ko imajo sami dosti boljših komadov , sploh novejših z zadnjih albumov, ki jih ne igrajo.
Hej hej, velika hvala za tole rešeno uganko. Prav med prvimi tremi komadi sem izgubil pravi stik z bendom, ker sem fotkal in to iz publike in ‘slalomirat’ med folkom, ki jim greš v vsakem primeru ‘na živce’ in hkrati razmišljat, ali imam zadost dobrih slik al ne, terja davek na zbranosti, sploh pri mojem EMŠO-u…. velika hvala znova, sem popravil in seveda upam da se vidimo kje in čimprej na kakšnem piru 😀