Author: Sebastijan Videc
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Orto bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Concert date: 26.04.2017
Ticket price: 24€
That Wednesday, the night before the holiday, was promising some proper heavy metal revelry at Ljubljana’s Orto bar, as part of the traditional April Ortofest. The weather folks had even forecast apocalyptic downpours, but the rain just never showed up. Vigilance, one of the young hopefuls of the Slovenian metal scene, had the honor of opening for former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley, and that’s no small thing.
It had been almost three and a half years since Rockline last caught Vigilance, and in that time the band has both grown and changed. As a reminder – Vigilance got going in 2010 as a heavy/speed metal band, but those early days, inspired by Iron Maiden and Running Wild, gradually gave way over a few years to darker waters steeped in the occult. Musically they’re still rooted in their ’80s heroes, only now bands like Black Sabbath, Venom and Mercyful Fate lead the pack. Despite all those influences, they sound fresh rather than like yet another copy. There have been lineup changes since we last met the band, too – in 2014 a permanent lineup took shape with Gilian Adam on guitar and now on vocals as well, Tine Kaluža staying put as the rhythm master behind the drums, a second guitarist, Rok Kalister, joining first as a guest and since last year as a full member, and Andrej Škof looking after the low end. The band kicked off its set in front of a »crowd« of fewer than twenty heads, and I had the feeling that this dragged down the energy on stage too. Luckily the lower hall of Orto bar slowly started filling up, and things got hotter and livelier on stage as well. You can tell Vigilance have racked up some serious live mileage, since they play plenty around Europe. This set was tight, punchy and uncompromising too. They also had good sound on their side, and my only criticism would go to the stage lighting, which looked very monotonous, with an occasional blue spotlight that flickered every so often with no connection to the rhythm. Sadly the quartet was very cramped for space because of the drums already set up for the stars of the night, so Andrej and his bass hid behind Gilian, who steered the band with his left hand through a good half hour of playing. Vigilance presented songs from their earlier albums, but also used the show to introduce new tracks from the upcoming album ‘Hammer of Satan’s Vengeance’, due out on June 9. If it looked a bit sorry at first, the set turned out downright excellent by the end, and the band rewarded the delighted audience with one more song.
Blaze Bayley started his musical journey in 1984 as the singer of the British heavy metal band Wolfsbane. He worked with them for ten years, and in 1994, after Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden, he won the auditions and became the new frontman of that legendary band. With Maiden, Blaze recorded the albums Factor X and Virtual XI, which weren’t exactly commercial successes, but still delivered quite a few classics. After Bruce came back, Blaze found himself on the road in 1999 and started his solo career. First as Blaze, then as Blaze Bayley Band, and from 2011 onward as Blaze Bayley – solo with guest musicians. Since 2014 those guests have been the British heavy metallers Absolva, led by Chris Appleton, with the exception of his brother Luke, who also plays bass for America’s Iced Earth. In my opinion Blaze hit the jackpot with this choice of musicians, because the young crew radiates incredible energy, and as the show proved, Blaze himself looks rejuvenated on stage. Going from stadium shows in front of tens of thousands to the club scene with a few dozen people has to be a brutal shock for anyone. But Blaze didn’t give up. His black Ford van has crisscrossed Europe more than once, and we’ve hosted him in Slovenia quite a few times too. And every single time he proves he’s a man who loves his work and is happy to satisfy his fans – no matter how many of them there are. This time the setlist was mostly built on the last two albums, the first two parts of the Infinite Entanglement trilogy, whose conclusion is expected next year. Of course we can’t talk about Blaze without mentioning Iron Maiden – while a few Iron Maiden songs are always in the repertoire (to the huge delight of the fans) – this time they were Futureal, The Clansman and Man On the Edge – his music is by no means a copy of theirs. Yes, the influence is definitely felt, but Blaze is slowly developing his own style, one better suited to his vocal abilities. He’s theatrical too, and with his grimaces and gestures on stage he wittily led a good hour and a half of show. The peak came right before the end, with the Wolfsbane classic Manhunt. During it the band members took a breather and played their solo bits, while Blaze got sent right off the stage after shoving Chris and Karl around at the start. Before the last song the charismatic singer thanked everyone for coming once more, and said that no luxury hotel room, no limo outside the hall and no paid meet&greet with fans awaited him afterwards, but that he’d head over to the merch stand to sign autographs and take pictures with fans for free. And once that was done, he’d sit down at the bar and drink beer until they closed the place. And that’s exactly how it went.
Still, you have to wonder where the Slovenian heavy metal ship is sailing. The lower hall of Orto bar was nowhere near full, and the performer was a former Iron Maiden singer known for great shows. A generation gap, maybe, or just laziness?
Setlist
1. Endure And Survive
2. Escape Velocity
3. Futureal
4. Blood
5. Silicon Messiah
6. Alive
7. Eating Lies
8. Samurai
9. Human
10. Fight Back
11. The Clansman
12. Calling You Home
13. Stare At the Sun
14. Man On the Edge
15. Dark Energy 256
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16. Manhunt
17. A Thousand Years
Photo gallery
