Interviews

PART 2 (a preview of the official album release, with an interview recap) A new story from Pelhan, their second. A new chapter built from a decade of experience and two years of polishing ideas. The result of personal growth,…

The beginnings of the music we now know as Pelhan go back to 2000. Aleš Pelhan, guitarist and singer, formed the band RoXoN at the age of 15. At first they played well-known rock tunes and gathered experience at mostly small local gigs.…

We sat down with the duo Črt Batagelj and Matej Ahlin, better known as Dirty Skunks, to talk about the premiere of Tolminator, the new metal festival coming to Tolmin. It goes down at the well-known venue in Tolmin (and Sotočje) from July…

At the end of January, the thrash metallers who strode confidently onto the scene in 2006, when Domen Hudrap founded a band and named it Thraw, made themselves heard again after a long silence. After a studio break of a few years (which…

Albums upon albums. Bands upon bands. And it was the eighties. The very eighties that swept through Slovenia too and carried it into a lively hard rock and heavy metal movement, which in the second half of the decade also gave birth to the…

(scroll down the bar and find an English version) We hear all the time about our artists leaving their homeland and planting their creative spirit somewhere beyond Slovenia's borders. Far fewer are the stories where the homeland is some…

Talking to young people is always something special. They often surprise you with how breezily they state their views and convictions on the world's most complicated questions, which in an instant become a lot simpler, if not downright…

Klemen Markelj has put his masterful chops on no fewer than three foreign albums this year. The first is the second album from Irish progressive metal project The Vicious Head Society, titled Extinction Level Event. The second is the new…

The Slovenian heavy metal band SkyEye was founded seven years ago by guitarist Grega Stalowsky, bassist Primož Lovšin and singer Jan Leščanec. Later (in 2016), guitarist Marko Kavčnik and drummer Jurij Nograšek joined the lineup. In…

Need some advice on raising kids who dream of playing in a metal band? Head to Medvode, where the parents of four now-grown young men and one young woman will blow all your doubts away in a heartbeat. Twenty years ago, those kids founded…

Grega Habič is a guitar ace from Jesenice of a kind they don't make anymore. A seasoned, versatile guitar virtuoso who's one of a kind. Unique. He's counted among the most active Slovenian musicians, and the adjective "independent" fits…

For an English version, please scroll down the bar! John Arch (on the right in the photo above) is something of a cult figure from the classic days of heavy metal! Between 1982 and 1987 he sang in the first incarnation of the…

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…

"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…

Coroner are a cult Swiss trio who brought technical thrash metal to European soil in the mid-eighties and wrote themselves into history with legendary releases like R.I.P., Punishment for Decadence, No More Color and Mental Vortex. On…

At Metaldays 2018 we got the chance to sit down with one of the hottest young metal bands out there right now, New Zealand's Alien Weaponry.

It's been almost thirty years since Nihilist first cranked their Boss HM2 pedals up to 11, and the flag of Swedish death metal is still flying high today. But a pretty big hole opened up in the genre when Dismember, one of the big four of…

Slovenia's excellent prog and jazz-rock fusionists from Idrija, Divje jezero, dropped their new studio album "Pobeg iz blodanjaka" this May, proving they're one of the most exciting all-instrumental bands in Slovenia right now, one who can…

Riding the huge wave of success from the release of "F.E.A.R." (2016), Marillion's tour has "stretched" into autumn 2017 after a run of successful summer festival shows. The first stop on this leg is the ancient Roman amphitheater in…

At Metaldays 2017, we sat down with drummer Will Carroll to talk about Death Angel, who are heading back to Ljubljana on Sunday, plus thrash in general, his side projects like Hammers of Misfortune, and his past work with cult bands like…

When Dismember, one of the big four of Swedish death metal, went into early retirement, they left a gaping hole in the death metal scene. Stockholm's Lik decided to fill that void, and with their debut Mass Funeral Evocation they've more…

Idrija's excellent prog and jazz rock fusionists Divje jezero released their new studio album "Pobeg iz blodanjaka" this May, confirming that they're one of the most exciting all-instrumental bands in Slovenia right now, and one that can…

We caught up with one of the most exciting bands in Slovenia, Prismojeni profesorji bluesa, before their show at Kino Šiška to talk about their first live album, playing stages in America, and what's next.

We caught up with one of the most eye-catching bands on the Slovenian scene, Prismojeni profesorji bluesa, before their gig at Kino Šiška to talk about their first live album, playing stages in America, and what's coming next.

We sat down with Denis Brnčič, the man behind Železne stopinje, a documentary about the rise of the Slovenian heavy metal scene.

We sat down with the legendary frontman of an even more legendary Canadian band right before their very first show in Slovenia.

Before a jam-packed gig in the upstairs club space of Orto bar, one of the hottest and busiest rockers in Slovenia right now joined me for a short but thorough and utterly heartwarming chat. Matevž Šalehar "Hamo" blew out the first ten…

Lačni Franz are a cult Slovenian rock band, founded in Maribor in 1979 by Zoran Predin and Oto Rimele. They've left behind a history of 15 records, and the latest, titled Ladja norcev, came out this year with a largely rejuvenated lineup.…

Tilen Hudrap is without a doubt the Slovenian musician living the dream of everyone who's ever worked within the magic of metal music back home. Three years ago he joined American speed/thrash metal icons Vicious Rumors, recently he became…

HELP! A Beatles Tribute is a one-of-a-kind tribute band that has made a name for itself, among a sea of copycat acts, for the most authentic sound of Liverpool legends The Beatles. With authentic costumes, instruments, attention to detail…

American progressive death metal outfit Fallujah is a relatively young band. But in its short life it has won people over by making serious progress with every release, which has stirred up quite a bit of attention among those who swear by…

Tuomas Saukkonen is without a doubt a workaholic. Before founding Wolfheart, he played in Before the Dawn, Black Sun Aeon, Dawn of Solace and a few other bands. He's also active as a producer. On top of that, he runs the label OneManArmy,…

Whenever we go looking in Moonspell for a compelling blend of avant-garde, progressive metal with gothic elements, plus the kind of elements Celtic Frost defined way back when (dark metal, in other words), we can't get around the band's…

Legendary German bards Blind Guardian are about to enter their 30th year next year, and from day one Hansi Kürsch has been the heart of the band. For three decades, with one of the finest voices in metal, he has been delivering the…

Many still consider Chris Impellitteri perhaps even the fastest guitarist in classic heavy metal. Chris first really made a name for himself after forming the band Impellitteri with singer Rob Rock in 1987, and they put out their…

Hernan "Eddie" Hermida hardly needs an introduction. He's a major name in the deathcore scene, and he was already shaping it with the legendary All Shall Perish.

Mike Flyntz is the guitarist of Riot V. Riot V are today the logical, posthumous continuation of the career of Riot, the legendary New York heavy metal band. That makes them one of the pioneers of the metal scene, with roots reaching back…

In 2004, Freddy Scherer jumped ship from the Swiss hard rock outfit China to his far more popular countrymen in Gotthard, filling the second guitar slot after Mandy Meyer (Unisonic, Krokus) left Gotthard. Before Gotthard's show in Vienna on…

Mr. Gillan, who was in Portugal at the time of the interview, and I had an interesting phone chat about all sorts of topics from his rich musical career. A few closing words were also devoted to the July Deep Purple show in Ljubljana,…

Elvis Jackson are merrymakers from Primorska whose years of club grinding paid off big time, and today they enjoy the status of one of Slovenia's biggest rock bands.

Guitarist and vocalist Roye Albrihgton is a founding member and the boss of the legendary British band Nektar, who were an important part of the fast-growing progressive rock scene in the seventies.

John Mayall is a music legend who, even at eighty, is still tirelessly touring the world. Before his show in Graz, Austria, the ever-spry silver-haired veteran took a few minutes out for Rockline too.

Rijeka's musical provocateurs Let 3 go unfiltered on the past, the present and the future, and on the many layers of socio-real perversion.

Alex Beyrodt has been one of the most prominent German heavy metal and hard rock guitarists of the last few years, if not one of the top European ones. He was discovered back in the eighties by the great guru of German metal, Matt Sinner,…

Jordan Rudess took a few minutes out for a phone call on January 31, 2014, right in the middle of Paris on Dream Theater's new tour. He told us about the band's new album »Dream Theater« (2013) and the chemistry in the group, and he opened…

Ahead of Iced Earth's January show in Ljubljana, we sat down for a few words with the band's eternal mastermind, Jon Schaffer, and the chat was mostly about the new album, which proves Iced Earth are far from done.

After The Tide's set at Gala Hala, I headed backstage for a quick interview with the band. The planned 10 minutes turned into a 45-minute conversation about how they approach making music, about loyalty, and about the days ahead.

A multidisciplinary avant-garde artist of many talents opens up about the essence of it all, the messages behind the work, and dreams for the future.

In a cozy rehearsal space, partly kitted out with money from album sales, Tomcat talked about their past, their plans for the future, and the state of Slovenian (hard) rock in general.

“Beauty comes from imperfection” is the motto of Candle Nine, the musician whose real name is Stéphane Jean Michel. On 01.11.2013 he released his second studio album "Lost + Directionless". Buckle up for liftoff and a brand-new…

Darren James Smith is the drummer of Canadian melodic hard rock greats Harem Scarem. The band officially announced its retirement after releasing its farewell studio album "Hope" in 2008. But after practically "furious" demands from fans…

Ken Hensley is considered one of the most accomplished musicians in rock. A composer, arranger, lyricist (poet) and multi-instrumentalist all in one, he shook up the rock world as early as the start of the seventies, when he played with…

In the run-up to the release of their studio debut "Salvatio Analogum" and their show at Orto bar, Retro Kult opened up to Rockline about their past, and of course about their current and future plans.

The raw debut from Ljubljana's Joko Ono, laid bare exclusively in an interview on the very day of the release party for their energetic little record.

Y&T hit Europe again this year, and for them 2013 is the "Year of the Snake." The snake graces the cover of their album »Mean Streak« (1983), and the band's new tour celebrates 30 years since the release of that cult classic.

Rene Shades is the man who finally stabilized the current lineup of the legendary Danish hard rockers Pretty Maids in April 2011. Before the band's show in Salzburg on September 26, 2013, he took a moment to chat with our crew.

David Readman is a top-notch English vocalist with a German passport. Since 1994 he's been fronting Pink Cream 69, the fantastic and highly respected German melodic hard rockers from Karlsruhe. He joined the band after original singer Andi…

The time for action is now, and we ourselves are the agents of change, stress Ribnica's musical visionaries Golliwog, while the truth of the world is multilayered ...

Doug Aldrich is currently considered one of the best hard rock guitarists on the planet. He's so good that in Whitesnake he stepped into the giant shoes of legendary guitar wizards from Micky Moody to Adrian Vandenberg, John Sykes and,…

Chicago death/doom metallers Novembers Doom, who count among the pioneers of the American death/doom metal scene (originally still under the name Laceration), have just released their new album Bled White. We talked to the Americans about…

Swedish death metal outfit Unleashed, who have just released their twelfth studio album Dawn of the Nine, are today, along with Grave, the name that spells Swedish death metal.

Pentagram started out in the early seventies and are considered one of the pioneers of doom metal. The one constant in this band with a turbulent history is the eccentric vocalist Bobby Liebling, who is to blame for both their fame and…

Overjam is back! The second edition in a row moves from Vrtojba to Tolmin this time, to the well-known, much-loved spot where the Soča and Tolminka rivers meet. It all goes down in the middle of idyllic nature, August 14-17, 2013!

Vlado Kreslin opened his door for a few precious moments and let us backstage, right up close to the geysers of creativity without which Slovenian music would be a lot blander and emptier.

We sat down with Ljubljana's young hard rockers Top Stripper, who stepped onto the scene a few months ago with quiet but determined steps and their debut »High Heels Avenue«

The bassist of the big-footed mama, BFM's inspirational guru Alen Steržaj, opens up in depth about the ups and downs, the origins and the rebirth.

A big name on the guitar scene talks briefly about his work and career.

After the successful launch of the warmly received debut Last Man Standing, here's a deeper look into the history of Black Diamond!

Veteran Gamma Ray bassist Dirk Schlächter, who also handles producer duties on the band's albums, opens up in an in-depth chat with RockLine about the mood in the Gamma Ray camp on the new Hellish Rock tour. The run brought the band to…

Dani Löble is one of the best drummers in modern Euro power metal. As the first drummer and driving wheel of the rhythm section in Helloween, a band that in many ways defined the very idea of European power metal, he's been with the…

After last year's tour with Lady Ga Ga and a run of festival gigs, it was time for a headlining tour of their own, and just before The Darkness' show in Vienna, RockLine caught up with guitarist Dan Hawkins and bassist Frankie Poullain, who…

On 22 March 2013 we're in for something really special - Ljubljana's Kino Šiška will host a Joy Division celebration (more about the event here), where original band member Peter Hook and his band The Light will play the legendary album…

We live in times of social turbulence and a destabilized society, and the ones with plenty to say about political engagement, about whether we are (or are even allowed to be) passive, are the poets of the homeland, rebellion and justice,…

We sat down with Bruce Soord, frontman and mastermind of indie prog act The Pineapple Thief. Soord hinted that he's already smitten with Slovenia, and their upcoming gig definitely won't be their last here.

This time at RockLine we sat down with David Pajo, guitarist of post-rock pioneers Slint and one of the architects of the indie scene. He's played and created with a whole pile of huge bands like Tortoise, Interpol and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, all…

The Belgian band Herfs†'s "perversely wicked" musical mix, seasoned with rich harmonies and guitar sorcery and peering into the black corners of a soul stuffed with melancholy and visions of doom, builds the group's unmistakable charisma.…

Werefox is a new all-star crew of gifted musicians who set their sights high, and their debut I Am Memory, which dropped at midnight on January 10 this year, shows it in every note.

Kronika are an up-and-coming rock band from Frankolovo (near Celje) who never run out of dirty "roll". They've been on the scene since 2006, and this summer they put out their first album, called "V napačnem letu".

Črt Batagelj and Matej Ahlin are the duo behind Dirty Skunks, one of the most active (if not the most active) organizers of "underground" gigs in Slovenia.

Demolition Group have plenty of alter egos, and the sonic avant-gardism of Sinntetic Liquid is one of them. It's way more than a passing fad ...

If Planet starcev is a reflection of the state of our society, then Demolition Group are the apologists of this moment. The singer of the Brežice crew took time out to talk with us about current affairs and what music means, and revealed…

The Upper Carniola four-piece swears by dirt, and grunge is their channel for speaking straight from the heart. After the phoenix's fall it's time for a new chapter, they say, Dirtswitch, but the truth runs deeper.

With The Epic Industrialist tour, the incredible Devin Townsend made his first stop in Slovenia and played one of this year's best shows at Kino Šiška in Ljubljana on Friday, November 30, 2012. Before the gig, he gave us ten honest minutes…

Pete Trewavas is the cult bassist of the legendary English art rock band Marillion, who rode their biggest hit, »Kayleigh«, to become the flagship act of the new wave of progressive rock in the eighties. He's been a member of…

We sat down with the legendary frontman of the legendary Morbid Angel, David Vincent, and the conversation mostly circled around their still-controversial latest record, Illud Divinum Insanus.

Sami Yli-Sirniö is the quiet man in the background of the Kreator story, dutifully carrying out the orders of band boss Mille Petrozza. The versatile guitarist adds that touch of finesse to Kreator's otherwise merciless riff march!

The Slovenian death metal outfit Perforated formed in 2009. The five-piece has already recorded two demos and played a bunch of gigs both at home and abroad

What's the essence of Dead Dildo Drome, and who are the cowboys from beneath Kredarca? Ahead of their show at Gala, the main "culprits" talked about the debut and the primal power of honest music - no holds barred!

As part of the autumn »Tiho« tour, we caught up with Dan D on November 3, 2012, in Šmartno (Goriška Brda), and got the chance to sit down with their charismatic frontman and main songwriter Tomislav Jovanovič "Tokac".

The guitar wizard and great musical visionary took the time to answer a few questions we sent him ahead of his return to the Slovenian capital on November 13, 2012!

Wolf Hoffmann, frontman and founding member of the legendary standard-bearers of Teutonic metal, the long-living Accept, sat down for a chat with RockLine before the band's show in Ljubljana and walked us through the album "Stalingrad".

Ambitious bad-boy Slovenian rockers Tide deliver the most mature studio record of their career with the album "No. 4".

Bob Wayne is more than just one guy – he's the central figure of a band that mixes bluegrass with hillbilly and a punk take on country, all wrapped in backwoods tomfoolery. These bearded outlaws love walking the edge of the law, live by…

Sure, rednecks may be backward, but you can't say they're not fun or full of genuine humor. The smell of asphalt, gasoline fumes and the roar of eighteen-wheelers is just what the band Bob Wayne is all about, and Bob likes to call a spade a…

Big Addiction are a loud rock outfit from Velenje who drop their debut "To nisi ti" in early October 2012. Before the big day, guitarist Goran filled ROckLine in on the band's musical essence.

Parni Valjak are coming back on September 22, 2012 with an acoustic show at Ljubljana's Križanke. To promote the gig, the band held a press conference at Nebotičnik on September 14, 2012, and they had plenty of interesting things to tell…

If you're looking for someone who isn't a member of the current Pink Floyd but is the handiest musician in that galaxy for keeping the Pink Floyd legacy alive through the »tribute to Pink Floyd« band Brit Floyd, you can't go wrong picking…

On the first day of September, with summer slowly tipping over into autumn, the RockLine crew hit the road for Nova Gorica. RockLine has cooked up its first-ever video interview for you.