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Škou Šou 2026 (Elvis Jackson, Demm, Enginetail, Gal Holly Fischer Band)Saturday, 10/10/2026Bar Hiša mladih, Ajdovščina, Slovenia "Jebeš wrwžje! Info: Škou Šou is a charity event raising funds to subsidize therapy for young people…

Faster Pussycat (40th Anniversary Tour), Blacklist Union, Femme FataleSunday, 9/27/2026Kulturni dom, Prosecco, Italy "Anyone can play R'n'R, you just have to want it badly enough" Traveling around to gigs on Rockline duty comes…

Wajdooshna Rocks mini festivalFriday, 11 Sept 2026Letališče, Ajdovščina, Slovenia "Does Ajdovščina even deserve a rock festival?" The Wajdooshna rocks festival was dogged by bad luck right from the start. The original date, 21…

Released: February 3, 2025 on (self-run label) EJ RecordsProduction: Bojan Pahljina and Elvis JacksonLength: 35:28Genre: Ska/Hardcore Punk "A feel-good album for easy listening" I know a lot less about HC punk and that kind of…

Sting (support: Girlband!), Sting 3.0 tourSaturday, August 1, 2026Arena / Pula / Croatia "Sting on autopilot, cabaret-style" My wife and I both pretty much love Sting and The Police, so there was no need to agonize or weigh the…

Savatage (support: Vision Divine)Tuesday, July 28, 2026Este (Padua) / Castello Carrarese / Italy "Zoran Stevanović on vocals" A fine little crew gathered south of the Ikea in Padua: two old hands from this very online rock-metal…

LovebitesWednesday, July 22, 2026Flex, Vienna, Austria "13 Love Bites" The pint-sized Japanese powerhouses Lovebites had been on my "must go" gig list for quite a while, and this time a work trip to Vienna lined up perfectly with…

The Offspring, Savršeni Marginalci, LuzeriSunday, 14 June 2026Velesajam, Zagreb, Croatia "Tonac, fuck it all, turn this up!" This time I set off from Ajdovščina (which is, as you know, a metropolis) with my daughters in tow,…

Myrath, Roses of ThievesTuesday, 21 April 2026Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia Once again, a solo trip into (almost) uncharted territory. I hadn't heard of support act Roses of Thieves before, and Myrath — like so many proper prog…

Geoff Tate's Operation Mindcrime: The Final Chapter, Masterplan, Inner VitriolTuesday, 14 April 2026Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia Due to the complicated situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the oil shortage, the coastal crew I was…

Released: February 18, 2026 via VictorProduced by: Steve JacobsLength: 64.10 minGenre: Power (Speed, Thrash, Prog) Metal "The stars have aligned" Outstanding Power is the fifth studio album from these pint-sized powerhouses from…

Alogia, XXV Godina, guests The Fifth RiderSaturday, 7 March 2026Zappa Barka, Belgrade, Serbia "Prog power heaven" Alogia is not a particularly active live band, to put it mildly. Since you never know when — or in what lineup —…

The Mahones, 35th Anniversary TourTuesday, 24 February 2026Quantic, Bucharest, Romania "A Tragicomic Experience" Whenever I'm in Bucharest, I meet up with an old friend and former colleague, Victor. He always takes care of the…

The 69 Eyes, D-A-D, Cowpunks & Glampires Tour 2026Wednesday, January 28, 2026Live Club, Trezzo sull'Adda (near Milan), Italy "Boring title — at least something to tag." Times are changing — like a few times in recent months,…

Niet, support EmberSaturday, 20 December 2025Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia "I saw red!" After catching Niet in acoustic guise in Ajdovščina (9 August 2025 — RockLine concert review), going through their discography afterwards and…

Battle Beast (support acts Dominum and Majestica)Wednesday, 3 Dec 2025Cvetličarna, Ljubljana, Slovenia "Midnight Fever" Not wanting to miss Scandinavian power metal eminence Tommy Johansson and his band Majestica, I showed up at…

Helloween with special guests Beast in BlackWednesday, 19 November 2025Unipol Forum, Milan, Italy "40 years gone in the blink of an eye" This particular concert ended up being a solo ride. All the usual suspects were tied up with…

W.A.S.P.Wednesday, 29 October 2025Media Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia "El-ou-vi-i ..." Vesp (as us metal wannabes called them back in grade school) stopped off in Ljubljana for the second-to-last date of the Album One Alive tour,…

Released: 8/27/2025 on Reigning Phoenix Music / VictorProduction: Dennis Ward and Charlie BauerfeindLength: 50:47Genre: Power Metal "Down the Well-Worn Tracks" What's a smart thing to say about the new album from some of the…

Blind GuardianSaturday, 23 August 2025Tvornica kulture, Zagreb, Croatia "Let's sing the Bard's song!" After a long thirteen years (if internet sources are to be believed), the German masters of medieval folk melodies returned…

NietSaturday, 9 Aug 2025Castra (castle walls), Ajdovščina, Slovenia "Every weapon brings sufferingAnd every suffering turns into revolt" When your wife buys concert tickets, you don't say "niet" — even if you're not a fan of the…

Duran DuranSaturday, 12. 7. 2025Forte Arena, Pula, Sardinia, Italy "Nick Rhodes, king of shoulder pads" Fate sometimes takes strange paths. Last year, for my birthday present, I arranged to see Duran Duran in Pula after thirteen…

DragonForceWednesday, July 2, 2025Tvornica kulture, Zagreb, Croatia "Svirajte, p...e! Seriously?" After just over a year (March 2024, alongside Amaranthe and Infected Rain, review here), it was time again to catch the (loosely…

BrkoviFriday, 27 June 2025Mostovna, Solkan, Slovenia New Kid on the Block With Brkovi shows, it's usually the same story for me — I have to blast all my favourite tracks in the car on the way there. For reasons unknown, Shamso…

Released: June 6, 2025 via Vertigo / Republic / UniversalProduction: Jacob Hansen, Michael PoulsenLength: 44:10Genre: Rockabilly Metal "Fuck Yeah!" Does anybody in Volbeat actually miss Rob Caggiano? Apparently plenty of people…

Released: 4/25/2025 on Lorna VistaProduction: Gene WalkerLength: 46:43Genre: Spirit(ual) pop rock "Satanic Commercial Kitsch" Ghost have rarely made it onto my playlist in the past (with one giant exception). I have a feeling…

Riot V, Crystal Viper, MetalsteelSaturday, 3 May 2025Klub Jedro, Medvode, Slovenia "Metal unity, metal oneness, metal solidarity" Dear metalheads, dear rockers, dear readers of this e-zine — and everyone else along for the ride.…

Released: April 11, 2025 on Reaper EntertainmentProduction: Damna & AydanLength: 54:42Genre: Folk/Power Metal "A Grand Finale to the Trilogy" Our western neighbors from Friuli-Venezia Giulia have wrapped up the Reader of the…

Iron MedianSaturday, 19 April 2025Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia Iron-average? Not even close! After a good three years, another chance to catch an Iron Median gig — the cleverly named reincarnation of Iron Maiden — at Orto Bar…

Released: February 14, 2025 on Nuclear BlastProduction: DynaztyLength: 42:14Genre: Disco Metal "Pop sounds dressed up as metal" Around 2010, an interesting phenomenon started popping up in power metal circles. A bunch of bands…

Released: Feb. 28, 2025 via Napalm RecordsProduction: Probably Tobias Sammet and Sascha PaethRunning time: 50:09Genre: Symphonic power metal that doesn't want to be "Just Another Day at Tobi Sammet's Office" Tobias Sammet, fallen…

ManOwaRFriday, February 15, 2025Munich / Zenith / Germany "Other bands play - ManOwaR kill!!!"Manowar — I last saw and heard them in 1999 at the Gods of Metal festival in Milan. Then came a string of questionable albums, starting…

Date: Friday, 7 Feb 2025Venue: Kranjska Gora, main squarePerformers: some kid with an acoustic guitar, Plavi orkestar in their original lineup "Still need a bit more practice" During a short break in Kranjska Gora I was checking…

Released: January 24, 2025 on Frontiers RecordsProduction: Olaf ThörsenLength: 57:46Genre: Prog Power Metal "SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM" Back in 1999, Labÿrinth were the next big thing in power metal. The year before, the Italian…

Date: Friday, 24 January 2025Venue: Ljubljana, SloveniaPerformers: Zabranjeno pušenje, documentary Svjetla Sarajeva Yours truly ended up, completely out of the blue and on a special invite from a special someone, at a cultural event…

Date: Friday, 27 Dec 2024Venue: Županja, CroatiaLine-up: Gazde, Jelusick, Opća opasnost On a sunny winter Friday, the magnificent seven of us piled into a black METAL van and set off for the distant Županja, where Croatian hard rock…

Acts: Blind Guardian, Kissin' Dynamite, Gamma Ray, H.E.A.T, Dynazty, AxxisDate: Friday, December 13, 2024Venue: Schwabenhalle, Augsburg, Germany Kai Hansen trying to breathe new life into Gamma Ray? Where better to catch that than…

Event: D:A:D 40th anniversary concert with special guests SandnessDate: Monday, November 25, 2024Venue: Legend Club, Milan, Italy 18 years after the indescribable events at the D:A:D concert in Graz, my buddy and I hit the road down…

Hardcore Superstar / Wednesday 13 / South Of SalemSunday, 17 November 2024Padova Hall / Padova / Italy (below you will find the texts also in English language) The rocking evening at Padova Hall was opened by British hard rock…

Released: Oct 4, 2024 via AFM RecordsProduced by: Nick FossLength: 53:52Genre: Hard Rock “Corporate rock for corporate …” Good thing mobile phones weren't in wide use yet in the early nineties. That way, the debauchery that went…

Released: July 19, 2024 via Reaper EntertainmentProduction: ?Length: 57:02Genre: Heavy/Power/Maiden Metal "Buckwheat Žganci, Maiden Style" I'd bumped into Skyeye here and there before, spun a track or two, liked what I heard, and…

Event: Pelhan Headline Show, Support: HarpierDate: 19.9.2024Venue: Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia On Thursday, in the intimate atmosphere of Orto Bar, Harpier opened the night as support and Primorska hard rockers Pelhan…

Released: May 10, 2024 on High Roller RecordsProduction: Jimmy Waldo, Giles LaveryLength: 56:30Genre: US Prog/Power "Prog Power for the Melancholics" The tragicomedy "The Warlord" goes something like this: Two descendants of…

Duran DuranTuesday, 30 July 2024Pula / Arena Pula / Croatia LeBon has developed a pretty solid dad bod in recent years. The new version of New Moon on Monday isn't really my thing. The White Lines cover cooled things down a…

Event: Moon & Stars festival, headliners Status QuoDate: July 12, 2024Location: Piazza Grande, Locarno, Switzerland "Current status: black and white" Sometimes, even as a hardened and battle-worn metalhead, life drops you in…

Released: May 10, 2024 via Atomic Fire RecordsProduction: Riot V, Bruno RavelLength: 51 min, 33 secGenre: Power Metal / Hard Rock "Live and Breathe Heavy Metal" Aaaaaahhh, where do I even start? Riot (now Riot V) are the most…

Released: April 20, 2024 via self-release PELHANProduction: Aleš Pelhan and Matjaž ŠvageljLength: 49:05 min.Genre: Hard Rock "Hard Rock'n'Roll" With a killer release party in Ajdovščina on April 20, 2024, the second album from…

Released: 3/15/2024 on Napalm RecordsProduction: Damien Rainaud, Sam Totman, Herman LiLength: 68 min., 11 sec.Genre: Extreme Power Metal "The boys are back in town ... almost" In 2011, DragonForce swapped their charismatic…

Performing: PelhanDate: Saturday, 20 April 2024Location: Ajdovščina, bar Hiša mladih After the debut V neznano, released on 13 March 2014, it took Aleš Pelhan a full ten years to put out the second album Zgrabi me. The band…

Released: March 8, 2024 on Atomic Fire RecordsProduction: Sonata ArcticaLength: 59:29 min.Genre: Quasi power metal "Tony with His Fingers Crossed" In the review of Sonata's Bucharest gig I mentioned that Tony had been teasing us…

Performers: Black Motel Six, Great Master, DragonHammer, ANGRADate: Saturday, 23 March 2024Venue: Arci Tom, Mantua, Italy In my review of Angra's latest album Cycles of Pain, I expressed the wish that they'd come somewhere close…

Released March 1, 2024 via BMGProduction: Roy ZLength: 58:49 min.Genre: Heavy Metal / Hard Rock "Tyranny of Souls, Part Two" A full 19 years Bruce kept us waiting for a new album, and next to that, Axl and his 15-year slow-cook…

Performers: Infected Rain, DragonForce, Amaranthe Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024 Venue: Gasometer, Vienna, Austria Back at the Gasometer after four months, this time in my official capacity as a Rockline writer. Thanks to Laura…

Released October 27, 2023 by BMGProduction: Josh Blair, Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Mr. HudsonLength: 50.07 min.Genre: Pop rock / New wave Before I start the review, and to head off protests, bad vibes and other meltdowns, I have to…

Založba/Label: Atomic Fire RecordsDatum izida/Release date: 10/13/2023Produkcija/Producer: Matt SmithDolžina albuma/Running Time: 66.04 minZvrst/Genre: Progressive Metal6.5/10 (for an english version - please scroll down the bar) …

Label: Atomic Fire RecordsRelease date: 3. 11. 2023Production: Dennis WardRunning Time: 58.20 minGenre: Progressive MetalRating: 8/10 English: »Fabio's Resurrection« Father, I must confess, for I have sinned and am still…

Performers: Induction, Sonata ArcticaDate: Tuesday, 7 November 2023Location: Bucharest / Quantum Pub / Romania English version: Induction, Sonata Arctica, Quantic Pub, Bucharest, 7.11.2023 What could be better than taking…

Label: Nika RecordsRelease date: 4/28/2023Production: MetalsteelAlbum length: 36 min.Genre: Heavy MetalRating: 8.5/10 English version: Slovenian classic metal champions Metalsteel have decided to pay tribute to some of most…

Performers: Brkovi / Ice On FireDate: Tuesday, 31. 10. 2023Location: Izola / Hangar bar / Slovenia(for Slovene version please scroll down the bar) English version: Ice on Fire & Brkovi (The Mustache), Halloween, Hangar,…

Acts: Blind Guardian / support: Dawn of ExtinctionVenue: Vienna / Gasometer / AustriaDate: Wednesday, 18 October 2023 After eight years (if my grasp of Hansi's blunt German is anything to go by), Blind Guardian have finally graced…