Live Reports

After a warm-up night like the one Iced Earth, Metalsteel and Eruption put on, counting down the days until we're back in T'mina gets a whole lot easier.

Jim Kerr glanced up at the sky a few times during the show and told the crowd it rains all the time in Glasgow anyway, trying to put everyone at ease, but nobody was losing sleep over it. Kerr had no trouble re-establishing that incredible…

"So, to draw the line under it all: the first open air edition of Metaljot raspaljot will go down as a very warm memory. The festival's organization was top-notch and there were really no major shortcomings to speak of. The lineup was…

Performers: Dr. Feelgood, Eric Gales, Glenn HughesLocation: Pordenone / Parco San Valentino / ItalyDate: July 6, 2018 The 27th edition of the Pordenone Blues Festival literally snuck up on us from behind. July is packed with…

Last Friday, Laško, otherwise known mostly for Pivo in cvetje, hosted a much, much smaller but far more heartfelt festival tailor-made for heavy metal fans, and with its very first "open air" edition Metaljot raspaljot has already earned…

The 27th edition of Pordenone Blues Festival literally snuck up on us. July is packed with gig adventures, and this trip to Pordenone wasn't even planned. We made the call at the last minute. The festival normally runs for a week, but we…

Location: Vienna / Arena Open Air / AustriaDate: June 30, 2018 Everyone who goes to concerts has a list of acts they simply have to see live at some point. For me personally, and I'm sure for plenty of others too, one of those is…

The wait for Alice in Chains was worth it, because on a sunny Saturday in Vienna the Americans delivered one of the finest concert experiences ever.

location: Vienna / Wiener Stadthalle, Halle F / Austria date: 23.06.2018 The most important band in the history of progressive rock, King Crimson, who celebrate their fiftieth anniversary this November 30, rolled into Vienna's…

Every King Crimson gig is a story unto itself, and this dreamlike Vienna show by the cult octet was no exception, once again demonstrating in vivid fashion why they are the most important band in the history of prog rock, if not the…

Under the baton of Fat Mike and the Punk Rock Holiday organizing crew, the Tolmin festival has now spawned a one-day city edition: the mini festival Punk in Drublic.

Location: St. Veit a. d. Glan / Herzogburg / AustriaDate: Saturday, June 9, 2018 The idyllic Austrian town of Sankt Veit an der Glan played host to legendary guitar maestro Steve Hackett, who came as a special guest of the…

The Djabe show in St. Veit had a fantastic atmosphere, which is what you get whenever the great Steve Hackett takes the stage. He won us over once again with his guitar artistry and musical versatility.

Even in their golden years, Scorpions remain a treat, and their punchy rock comes alive most intensely on stage.

Mist from Ljubljana, the only doom metal act we've got here, want to break free of the sun's shackles on their debut. Free Me of the Sun, their long-awaited full-length first album, was born in darkness and dusk last Saturday at Metelkova…

In terms of the lineup, day one belonged to Šlajn, Buh and Nula Kelvina. All three bands presented new albums. Buh and Šlajn both dropped self-titled debuts, though each is built around a core of seasoned, battle-hardened musicians, while…

place: Cerkno / Stari plac / Slovenia date: 19.05.2018 Day three, and Cerkno again? Of course! Jazz plus every other kind of cultural and artistic creativity the festival always has room for. We started the morning with Gombač's…

location: Cerkno / Stari plac / Slovenia date: 18.05.2018 And then came day two of this year's 23rd edition of the traditional Jazz Cerkno festival. Once again with three seriously interesting acts on the bill. And once again the clock…

location: Cerkno / Star plac / Slovenia date: 17.05.2018 The year has come around again, and with it a new edition of the legendary Jazz Cerkno festival. Believe it or not, it's the 23rd one! As always, going to this event is about way…

At SOHO bar, Divje Jezero won us over above all with their well-developed musicality, dynamics, tightness and knack for crafting complex yet melodic arrangements, blazing through some of the key pieces from both studio albums they've…

If Pomaranča marks the beginning of heavy metal on Slovenian soil, then Noctiferia undoubtedly marks the beginning of extreme metal in Slovenia.

"There was no shortage of attention from the ladies, and it kept him going long after the show, when he just couldn't tear himself away from hanging out at Hangar Bar."

In short, time at a festival flies by at breakneck speed. Faster than you'd like, and suddenly it's Saturday. Your sense of time and space slowly slips away. The senses, intuition and instincts sharpen. All in the glow of charisma,…

And then came day two of this year's 23rd edition of the traditional Jazz Cerkno festival. Once again with three exceptionally interesting acts on the bill. And once again, half past seven in the evening was when the jazz kicked off in…

Day one of the 23rd edition of the Jazz Cerkno festival is already in the books. The crowd was, as usual on a day like Thursday, a touch smaller than you'd hope for, since Thursday is still part of the week that ends in a working Friday.…

Marco Mendoza actually delivered less with his show than you'd expect. But he's hugely experienced and has an incredible knack for talking to the crowd and working it. With his charisma and a bag of "tricks" that are tried-and-tested…

The traditional May get-together in Čadrg, with musicians in tow, remains a "time-honored custom" there. This time the flinty lads from the Čadrg Records label invited Nika Solce and the band Disdrug to join them, and for the occasion fired…

If there's one band anywhere on the planet, or in Slovenia, that I'd literally order to play at every party, whatever the occasion, that flattering title would surely go to Ana Pupedan. These Pivka rock'n'roll clowns serve up two to three…

"Brand-new album in their pocket, Demolition Group showed once again on the big stage of Kino Šiška what a rock'n'roll machine they are, and how much punch their musical rhetoric packs when you give the band room to really stretch out on…

With the new album in their pockets, the new Demolition Group once again showed on the big stage of Kino Šiška what a rock'n'roll machine they are, and how much expressive power their musical rhetoric packs when you give the band room to…

Even Garfield knew Mondays were rotten, but they get a whole lot less rotten when something called, say, Marduk spices them up.

"This year it became part of the "Im memoriam prof. Peter Hafner" festival program and, as part of it, hosted a combo of three extremely interesting acts. Two Slovenian and one Croatian."

So this year it became part of the "Im memoriam prof. Peter Hafner" festival program and, as part of it, hosted a lineup of three extremely interesting acts. Two Slovenian and one Croatian. Playing together were Ljubljana's Jegulja, Disdrug…

Bar Gabrijel once again lit up musically in all its glory. Now Cerkno is slowly wrapping itself in the pre-festival fever of Jazz Cerkno. Just a little longer. Just a tiny bit more.

"Celebrating the 30th birthday of Slovenia's oldest heavy-sound festival, staged by the legendary Interceptor, with Big Bad Wolf, Fuck Logic and Marax along for the ride."

30 years have passed since the Fuck Off Commercial festival was founded. That makes it the oldest heavy music festival in Slovenia, and this year it's celebrating a pretty serious jubilee. To mark the occasion, the legendary Styrian metal…

The Toasters remain a band you never miss when they roll through our neighborhood. They're still distinctive and, of course, about as infectious live as it gets. And let me say it again: this time the Ljubljana show was »saved« by superb…

If the Chinese have their bear and the Swedes have Abba, we Slovenes have our own kind of Panda: refined art pop rock veterans of Slovenian mainstream music, especially of the eighties and nineties. It's a joy to catch them on stage every…

Great sound, great crowd, and a band that's tight as hell. I'd honestly kind of forgotten how good San Di Ego are. As a band and as individuals. All four of them are equals, and when they fuse into one body they become a hell of a…

April isn't just the month of weird weather, it's also the month of the annual, traditional metal weekend at Kranj's TrainStation Subart.

Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia Date: Thursday, 12.04.2018 Adi Smolar is the guy who always brings cheer to the people. No point wasting words on that. A born party man. From head to toe. His folk-beloved musical catalog…

It's incredible what absolute minimalism can do for expressive power. A voice and a guitar. All you need is a stage. But of course, you've got to be cut from the right cloth. Like our eternally young and one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter ace,…

"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. "

Stray Train once again threw one hell of a party at Orto bar: a vivid patchwork of classic, boozy rock'n'roll riffs, drenched in the fashionable contours of a modern sound and a subtly brilliant (rustic) flirtation with the rhetoric of the…

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,…

In their first-ever Slovenian show, Trivium displayed incredible tightness and a professionalism that comes from a lot of miles on the road. Power Trip convinced in a similar way and definitely look promising, while Venom Prison will need…

This time quality beat quantity, since there was no need to wade through a flood of pointless support acts, just the two headliners.

It was hard to be disappointed by the Heaven Shall Burn, August Burns Red, Whitechapel and In Hearts Wake show. The bands threw a proper party, though it took some serious stamina to keep up. Definitely a gig we'd be happy to see again.

"The pact with the devil lives on, unblemished."

"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."

With a Cankarjev Dom show marking 10 years together, Prismojeni profesorji bluesa proved once again that they're one of a kind, with an authenticity Slovenia can't match.

Three weeks after we feasted on a show by the mighty Sepultura, who are going through an artistic reawakening in these new times, another excuse to revisit Graz's Explosiv came along: Venom Inc., Suffocation, Nervosa, Aeternam and Survive.…

A domestic metal album coming out is already a reason to celebrate, and when it comes out on vinyl, even more so. Now imagine four homegrown, stylistically diverse releases hitting the turntable on the very same night!

"Žen are musicians who know exactly what they want. Their musical vision is firmly chiseled, and it's confirmed by the eclectic expression that runs through their original music, which makes them downright special and unique in the…

Last Thursday, grannies and Little Red Riding Hoods gave Orto bar a wide berth, because a hungry Big Bad Wolf came stomping out of the woods and into Ljubljana with his debut, Outrage of Modesty.

Location: Zagreb / Dom sportova (small hall) / CroatiaDate: 09.03.2018 American rock giants and masters of musical perfection Toto dropped in on our southern neighbors in Zagreb during their current '40 Trips Around the Sun' tour,…

Žen are Eva Badanjak (guitar, synthesizers, vocals), Sara Ercegović (drums, synthesizers, vocals) and Ivona Ivković (bass guitar, synthesizers, vocals). Last fall the girls put out their third studio album »Sunčani ljudi«, and since 2014…

Despite lousy sound in the wrong hall, Toto delivered a fantastic night of music in Zagreb, one that ran noticeably longer than usual and packed in, besides the expected standards, plenty of rarely played gems from their rich catalog.

"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."

More often than not, watching a band like this is downright grotesque. It's incredible how they use minimalist tricks to build such a predatory, mocking atmosphere that strings heavens together, then in the next moment ruthlessly slams you…

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

Therion's golden age is over, but that doesn't mean the band is a write-off. With a more than solid show at Kino Šiška, Therion announced a new era and gave us some hope for the road ahead.

With a night of Sepultura, Obscura, Goatwhore and Fit For An Autopsy, Graz's Explosiv club more than lived up to its name.

For fans of distorted sonic perversions, a trip to Klub kanalske mladine, where Nuclear Aggressor from Gorizia in Italy, Postojna technical death metallers Licence To Hate and Tolmin thrash/death metallers Devil's Bridge had all confirmed,…

location: Ljubljana / Dvorana Tivoli (Mala dvorana) / Slovenia date: 22.02.2018 Time, what is time? Actually, there's no such thing. An honest artist doesn't know it and doesn't even acknowledge it. Especially when you run into the…

Ralf Hütter, Henning Schmitz, Fritz Hilpert and Falk Grieffenhagen, after almost five decades of musical revolution, remain, with their interstellar spacecraft, the great musical phenomenon of the future! And still a musical revolution!

For a good hour, the great innovator Frith attacked his guitar strings from every possible side and angle with every household and peddler's gadget imaginable, and mostly entertained us with his total contempt for any established musical…

For a measly eight euros, The Faceless, Srd, Nature and Grob made sure plenty of souls who swear by more extreme metal got their fix at Kranj's Trainstation club on Friday night.

Bold, unusual, but never over the edge. So there you go. The musical substance is light, though not endlessly loosened up, which means Ullmann / Swell's The Chicago Plan don't demand a thick skin from the listener, something you can often…

place: Vienna / Gasometer / Austria date: February 14, 2018 No question about it! Whenever Steven Wilson goes on tour, it's pretty much a given that you have to catch him live at least once! Steven is an outstanding musician,…

No question about it! Whenever Steven Wilson goes on tour, it's pretty much a given that you have to catch him live at least once! On the current "To The Bone" tour, with his perfectionism and flawless execution, he disarmed, enchanted and…

"Patrick Mameli looked in great shape all night. His growling was more than enviable, and the man has clearly been hitting the gym, because he's chiseled and dangerous-looking."

Patrick Mameli, the indestructible elder statesman of the Dutch death metal pioneers, has brought Pestilence back from the dead for the third time. The little town of San Dona Di Piave got flattened on the band's current "Fight the Plague"…

It would all be pretty run-of-the-mill, if the trio weren't made up of seriously experienced musicians who found themselves on the same wavelength in a lineup with this kind of musical vision. They are violinist Barja Drnovšek, accordionist…

We caught this year's festival on its final Saturday. It shrank from a whole week to a welcome three days, and thanks to the weather it actually lived up to its name this time. That last day once again confirmed the festival's cozy,…

With his soulful power, he effortlessly made time and space vanish for a moment - it was a musical voyage that only Rod Stewart can deliver.

Rhino Bucket, California's »Sunset Strip AC/DC« rockers, just made their third return to the legendary temple of good rock and blues, the Bluesiana Rock Cafe in Vrba in Carinthia, and it delivered nothing less and nothing more than a…

"If I may close with a bit of basketball lingo: this was at least a triple-double with a 63 efficiency rating, and quite possibly one of the top contenders for gig of the year."

Fates Warning played Ljubljana's Orto bar for the third time... and once again, they hit the bullseye!

Every year, for a few years running now, the post-New Year blues get blown away by Dirty Skunks Fest, which is not just a celebration for the busiest gig-organizing duo in the country, but a celebration of the Slovenian alternative scene as…

The first major metal show of 2018, with old friends Kreator joined by Vader and Dagoba, was a success and a great kickoff to another fruitful concert year.

As always, this soul food was over too fast — or rather, we wolfed it down in a single bite.

location: Munich / Tonhalle / Germany date: 14.01.2018 Making the pilgrimage to see the legendary Accept has become a kind of mantra since their reunion in 2008 (and without Udo Dirkschneider in the lineup this time, for good). The band…

Accept are still venomous and razor-jagged on stage. No shortage of destructive power here. Toxic, razor-sharp guitars keep the spirit of the old days alive and carry it over into the character and charisma of the band's new era. The band's…

Rage, the Hamburg metal veterans, and Firewind, fronted by Ozzy's guitar hero Gus G, hit the road together and make a stop in Salzburg!

With LizZard and O.R.K., Channel Zero hosted a more-than-solid gig that served up an interesting mix of genres, and gave us one more proof that the newer bands deserve attention too.

The fact that times haven't been rosy for Rage for ages, and that the band lost quite a bit of live and compositional appeal after the split with Wagner and Smolski, is confirmed by the fact that Rage had to work two covers into their set…

"No rest for the wicked," as the saying goes, and true to form, barely a week into the new year Orto bar got its first post-holiday package.

Orto bar went off again. We've stepped into the new concert year and a new cycle of the famous Kadilnica of Death! The night of proper, true-believer "burning it down" was handled by seasoned Ljubljana old school thrash metal revivalists…

"Demolition Group are a band that always delivers their concert maximum. And this time was no different. The show at Gabrijel bar was in the category of those one-of-a-kind gigs you simply never forget"

"Excellent sound, with all four building blocks that shaped it sitting in an even balance and contrast. Musically, Mart are a pretty interesting act for the Slovenian scene, but they're still seriously developing and polishing their…

The second-to-last weekend of the dying year was seriously buzzing when it comes to gig mayhem in Slovenia. In Cerkno, it was Demolition Group's turn to play. Not because it was the second-to-last Saturday of the old year, but because bar…

On Saturday, Orto bar celebrated its twenty-third birthday, and alongside a rich DJ program, the live music was handled by the hugely popular and notorious Vojvodina crew Pero Defformero.

Mart are an all-instrumental band from Ajdovščina who stopped by the C.M.A.K. club in Cerkno before the end of this year.

location: Graz / Explosiv / Austria date: 12/14/2017 Panzerballett sounds odd already as a band name. The music is undoubtedly even odder. Since 2005 the band has been putting out albums that you could roughly call jazz metal, but…

This Christmas-flavored show by German jazz metal extremists Panzerballett was without a doubt a real treat for fans of complex, unconventional music. Definitely a gig that sticks in your memory.

Beasto Blanco, as expected, brought a proper debauched party to the stage. The intro already hinted at it, with Garric, this time as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, showing up dressed as Santa, alongside a scantily clad Calico, who…

On Saturday, Metalsteel gave birth to a star child on home turf: their sixth studio album, Beyond the Stars!

"Vincent Damon Furnier, as Alice Cooper's real name goes, turns a round seventy next February, and he remains the guarantee of everything a good rock'n'roll spectacle demands."