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Label: Century MediaRelease date: January 7, 2022Production: Wilderun, Jens Bogren, Tony LindgrenAlbum length: 01:06:35 Wilderun, an American progressive metal band from Boston, have been around since roughly…

Location: Ljubljana / Orto Bar / SloveniaDate: Wednesday, 28 September 2022 This year's autumn concert season is undeniably packed. Besides plenty of local shows, many American bands are touring Europe. The Elder and Pallbearer concert…

Released via: Nuclear BlastProduction: Robb Flynn, Zack Ohren, Colin Richardson, Chris ClancyRelease date: August 26, 2022Album length: 59:22/70:00 (special edition) The last few years have been pretty turbulent for California metallers…

Venue: Ljubljana / Media Center (Open Air) / SloveniaDate: Tuesday, 9 August 2022 Festival season is in full swing, but there's always room for a standalone show. This one — featuring metal giants Lamb of God, German thrash veterans…

Location: Zagreb / Dom Sportova / Croatia Date: Saturday, 30 July 2022 "Finally!" — that's what plenty of people thought when the French sensation Gojira finally came within striking distance of Slovenia. The band still hasn't…

Label: Atomic FireRelease date: April 1, 2022Production: Meshuggah & Rickard BengtssonAlbum length: 66.43 min Swedish heavyweights Meshuggah took even more time than usual to put this new album together. It's no secret that…

Label: self-releasedRelease date: April 30, 2021Production: Dethrone the Corrupted, Matic MlakarLength: 20:28 Modern metal subgenres get overlooked fast in Slovenia, especially whatever has been relevant on the international scene over…

Label: Roadrunner RecordsRelease date: April 30, 2021Production: Joe DuplantierAlbum length: 51:52 min Over the past decade, France's Gojira haven't just become the country's most recognizable metal band, they've also climbed to the…

Label: Roadrunner RecordsRelease date: September 24, 2020Production: Josh WilburAlbum length: 46:31 Over the past decade, Florida's Trivium have become one of the most talked-about bands on the metal scene. And nothing here is left to…

Anotos is a record that smartly marries elements of the old and new death metal schools. It brings intensity, zero compromise and plenty of dynamics.

Heaven Shall Burn took a risky gamble with the double album Of Truth And Sacrifice, but in the end it turns out to have been a calculated one. The album has everything Heaven Shall Burn are known for, and then some.

City Burials is the kind of album fans will fall for instantly. But going by the sheer quality, it's safe to say it'll win the band some new fans too. Once again, Katatonia stay consistent in their style and somehow just can't disappoint.

With Macro, Jinjer mostly just confirm their status, but there's no real, noticeable natural progression to speak of. Macro is undoubtedly a solid release, but the band already proved with its predecessor that it's capable of more.

With Death Atlas, Cattle Decapitation deliver the most polished, most refined record of their career. Every previous release was said to be a tough act to follow, but after this one, the next album will undoubtedly have a hell of a job on…

With The Nothing, Korn deliver another superbly produced record packed with punch and darkness. It's an album that will thrill the band's followers.

As I Lay Dying are back with Shaped By Fire, and they came back in style. The rich production, with its powerful sound, only backs that up. It's an album made for the fans, no doubt. Whether AILD can keep up this quality going forward, only…

Older fans won't be interested in this album in the slightest. But then, In Flames aren't a young band anymore that has to pay the bills by playing small halls. Despite all the criticism, In Flames somehow hung on. It more than obviously…

With Quadra, Sepultura have proven once again that they're far from done. Quadra surprises with its punch, its variety and even its pomp. Definitely another album that will win Sepultura plenty of new fans.

We Blame The Empire's second album is going to thrill fans of modern metalcore above all. The record boasts a good dose of punch, melody, emotion and electronic touches.

Alcest delivered a performance and setlist that more than lived up to the hype — their show can simply be described as nothing short of magical.

Polish progressive rockers Riverside hardly need an introduction. Since forming in 2001, the band has put out seven albums, and each one shows Riverside as something special. Sure, they have their own recognizable style, but every record…

Despite a far-from-cheerful setlist, Leprous managed to conjure up a genuinely special atmosphere at Graz's Explosiv club, keeping the crowd on their feet right to the end. And credit where it's due — support acts Klone and Maraton were…

This past Monday evening at Kino Šiška was a packed affair full of brutality, hard-hitting riffs, and technical chops — courtesy of Thy Art Is Murder, Carnifex, Fit For An Autopsy, Rivers of Nihil, and I AM.

Periphery's Hail Stan is definitive proof that the band's energy isn't fading. The whole album brims with creativity and experimentation, and it still sounds unmistakably like them. It's all backed by a lush production where Periphery hold…

Archspire, Beneath The Massacre, Vulvodynia, and Inferi made sure the year went out with one final concert packed with brutality, technicality, punch, and melody.

Venue: Kino Šiška / Ljubljana / SloveniaDate: Thursday, 5 December 2019 Swiss folk metallers Eluveitie have been making regular pilgrimages back to Slovenia over the past decade. The band has gone through a whole string of lineup…

The Valley is undoubtedly a record that proves Whitechapel have plenty of room to move in deathcore if you look at things from a bit outside the box.

"Something fantastic about death metal, especially brutal death metal, is that you can use abstraction. In harmony and rhythms, you can make things as dark, complex and dissonant as possible. And you're under no obligation to follow the…

Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / SloveniaDate: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 When the concert was announced — P.O.D. and Alien Ant Farm coming to Ljubljana — plenty of people thought: wait, are those bands even still around?…

Where: Vienna / Gasometer / AustriaWhen: Sunday, 06. 10. 2019 A few years ago it was hard to imagine that one of the biggest metalcore bands could ever come back. Let alone that they'd manage to convince fans to give them a second…

Location: Gasometer, Vienna, AustriaWhen: Wednesday, 16 October 2019 2018 was a rough year for Machine Head. Robb Flynn was left almost on his own when long-standing members Phil Demmel and Dave McClain walked out. Sure, neither was an…

With a setlist running over two hours, Between The Buried And Me delivered an excellent cross-section of their entire career while showcasing incredible tightness and extreme stamina.

Revolver Club hosted a true death metal feast with a show featuring Nile, Hate Eternal, Vitriol, and Omophagia. The solid turnout made one thing clear: death metal, in any shape or form, is still very much worth your time.

Location: Ljubljana / Kino Šiška / SloveniaDate: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 Summer is over, and so are the festivals. Time to head back to the clubs. September is packed with shows, and Kino Šiška especially so — the venue is hitting its 10-year…

Location: Kranj / Transtation SubArt / SloveniaDate: Saturday, 07.09.2019 Swedish progressive metal outfit Soen grows more popular with every passing year. The band first caught attention largely through drummer Martin Lopez, who…

Location: Vienna / club Flex / Austria Date: Saturday, 10 August 2019 American progressive rockers Coheed And Cambria are pushing hard to promote their latest album Vaxis I (review HERE). The focus is mostly on the US leg of the…

With their ninth studio album, Coheed And Cambria return to the sprawling concept they kicked off with their debut. The record has every trait the band has shown so far, so fans won't be able to skip it.

Snarky Puppy's gig was a huge success despite the rain. The crowd made it clear that a return visit is more than welcome, because watching musicians play with this much perfectionism is a real treat.

Alkaloid don't disappoint the second time around, either. Liquid Anatomy was crafted by exceptionally skilled and seasoned musicians who could soon be leading the pack in the extreme metal scene if they keep heading in this direction.

“I Loved You At Your Darkest” is without a doubt a record that newer fans will see as a career peak, but older fans will probably find it no better than average.

The second part of the fifth Metal Weekend at Kranj's Trainstation club delivered a night with Belphegor, Suffocation, God Dethroned, Nordjevel and Darkrise that was the perfect blend of black and death metal.

Bullet For My Valentine won over a sold-out Kino Šiška with a tight, well-oiled show that lived up to expectations, with one exception: the whole thing was way too short.

Gripes aside, Septicflesh, Krisiun, Diabolical and Xaon put on a killer show at Orto bar, serving up a heaping helping of brutality, orchestration and darkness.

Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / SloveniaDate: Thursday, 03/21/2019 At first, it seemed like Icelandic outfit Solstafir would be just another band lost in the flood of post-metal/rock acts. They undoubtedly showed potential…

A half-empty Kino Šiška hall got a gig that will stay etched in memory. With their superb tightness, inventive setlist, stage lights and sound, Riverside made it clear they're no accident as one of the most respected prog rock bands around…

The smaller hall of Vienna's Arena hosted a show that fans of technical and progressive death metal welcomed with open arms. Obscura, together with Fallujah, Allegaeon and First Fragment, put on an unforgettable night despite the hall's…

Location: Orto bar / LjubljanaDate: Wednesday, 13. 2. 2019 The Australian death metal scene has been showing its quirks for a while now, and it's definitely a different beast from the American and European ones. Aussies are known for…

With their fifth studio album, Obscura show no signs of letting up. You can feel the consistency, the thoughtfulness and the progressiveness.

YouTube has been the go-to spot for promoting new tracks for a while now, with labels, musicians, producers and everyone else using it. In recent years, rock and metal fans have also been paying attention to players who want to show off…

ALEŠ PODBREŽNIK Slovenia - Top 10 albums 1. Duhovi – Dobri duhovi prošlosti 2. GHB (Grega Habič Band) - Songs Of Breathing Freely 3. Prismojeni profesorji bluesa – Wacky Blues Professors 4. džeZZva – Sintur 5. Demolition Group – Pojdiva…

Clutch, together with The Picturebooks and The Inspector Cluzo, warmed the hearts of plenty of hard rock devotees on a cold Sunday night with an unforgettable show.

Location: Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 It was the third fall show for fans of technical and progressive death metal. The tour rolled into Ljubljana's Orto Bar once again. Headlining were American technical…

At London's O2 Forum in Kentish Town, Corrosion of Conformity, Orange Goblin, Fireball Ministry and Black Moth served up a wide range of metal and rock styles. A tour finale done right!

In front of a packed Wiener Stadthalle, which holds 16,000 people, cult thrash metallers Slayer rolled in on their farewell tour with Lamb of God, Anthrax and Obituary in tow, playing their career highlights one last time.

A packed Flex club in Vienna, hosting Tesseract, Between the Buried and Me and Plini, showed there's growing interest in bands that put the unusual and the diverse front and center.

Aborted, together with Cryptopsy, Benighted and Cytotoxin, delivered a night of extreme, brutal music and proved just how alive death metal is today.

Germany's prog heavyweights The Ocean prove they're in top form again in 2018, and the innovative new album shows it too. Without a doubt one of the best live bands on the scene right now.

With the Caligula's Horse, Circles and I Built The Sky show, Zagreb's KSET club got a taste of the promising Australian progressive scene.

Taake, Bölzer, One Tail, One Head and Slegest made sure Orto bar got a proper black metal mass. Attendees got one more confirmation that the gig season is a rich one, with black metal fans definitely not left out in the cold.

A jam-packed Dom sportova hall in Zagreb got a helping of eternal Jethro Tull classics, with a well-executed show and a nicely stitched-together setlist, but it never quite hit the peaks.

With Sonder, Tesseract kind of blend elements from their past albums. The band is still technical, atmospheric, melodic and unpredictable, but the album as a whole doesn't hit as hard as the first two.

"With their first show in Slovenia, Trivium showed incredible tightness and the kind of professionalism that only comes from a lot of miles on the road. "

Location: Vienna (Wien) / Gasometer / AustriaDate: 29.03.2018 The gig season is relentless. Slovenia alone has a small sea of concerts, and neighboring Austria has even more. This time the "The Final March" tour rolled into Vienna,…

"With their Cankarjev dom show marking 10 years together, Prismojeni profesorji bluesa once again proved an incredible originality and authenticity that has no equal in Slovenia."

"The golden age of Therion is over, but that doesn't mean the band should be written off. With a more than solid show at Kino Šiška, Therion announced a new era and, at the same time, hope for the future."

"With Sepultura, Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit For An Autopsy on the bill, Graz's Explosiv club undoubtedly lived up to its name."

ALEŠ PODBREŽNIK SLOVENIA: Art/Pop/Rock/Jazz: 1. EPP (alias Erik Platon) - Ekonomski propagandni pop 2. Na lepem prijazni – Srceder 3. Divje jezero – Pobeg iz blodnjaka 4. Drevored – Na zahod 5. Smaal Tokk – Sindrom druge plošče…

Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / SloveniaDate: Thursday, November 16, 2017 Years ago, it was hard to imagine that modern progressive bands could fill even a smaller concert hall. Acts like Animals As Leaders, Scale The Summit and…

"All things considered, the Paradise Lost, Pallbearer and Sinistro show at Zagreb's Boogaloo club was solidly put together, but it would undoubtedly have left a better impression with better sound. Here's hoping that gets fixed by next…

"Steven Wilson made sure that anyone at Graz's Orpheum came away remembering his show for a long time. With outstanding musicians, projections, great stage lighting, and varied, epic songs, his concert was a real little spectacle."

"All in all, Borknagar and Kampfar put black metal on full display, while Diabolical carried the death metal banner."

"Less than a year later, Kranj's thriving TrainStation got another above-average show from Ozric Tentacles, with excellent openers Project Rn"

Released by: Self-releasedProduction: Hannes Grossmann, V. SanturaRelease date: March 2015Album length: 73:01 These days we can probably say, no need to think twice, that extremity in metal has peaked. But every year some band turns up…

"Ozric Tentacles won the crowd over with their long set, even though the band isn't at the peak of its powers like it was more than a decade ago. In the end, you just have to admit that after three decades, Ozrics are still one of a kind…

"Despite the lousy sound and monotonous lighting, Gus G. pulled off more than a solid show, though we could definitely have used one more Firewind song"

"Plenty of people called Misery Index the winners of the night, but anyone who swears by hardcore in the broad sense definitely got their fix with Converge. And the locals confirmed that a show like this hadn't happened at Pekarna in a good…

Location: Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Velden Am Wörthersee (Velden) / AustriaDate: Wednesday, 19.03.2014 With so-called all-star lineups, the first question is usually: what can musicians coming from such different genres even play…

" Thrash metal has either said everything there is to say, or the scene just doesn't have enough capable bands to make the genre interesting again. If nothing else, you have to admit the bands on this bill are at least eco-conscious. You…

"You could write a truly exhaustive analysis of this show and still miss the point. The point is that a Steven Wilson concert, just like Porcupine Tree, is something you simply have to experience."