Live Reports

"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."

Polish black metallers Batushka kicked off Advent in December with a mass that's just right for the holiest month of the year.

"Every single show was sold out in advance. The European leg came closest to Slovenia on 12.11.2017, when Helloween played Munich, and then two weeks later at the Aegon Arena, a tennis hall in the Slovak capital Bratislava, where RockLine…

"Blackie delivered the show at a better level than anyone could have expected. Vocally, he held up incredibly well. And with his mountainous charisma and demonic charm, he proved once again that he's still the one true, die-hard rock'n'roll…

On November 27, 2017, we caught the one-of-a-kind director of rock'n'roll chillers and horrors, the indestructible rock excellence that is Alice Cooper, in Vienna. His stop in the Austrian capital was all the more special because legendary…

Helloween, today seen in many ways as the pioneers of power metal, have reunited with Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen while keeping their current lineup. That took them from a quintet to a septet, and they've named the massive world tour…

Bay Area thrash giants Testament released their twelfth studio album Brotherhood of the Snake last year, but only this year did they bring it to Europe on a real, proper tour - including their very first indoor show in Slovenia - and that…

This year marks a »hairy« 25 years since the release of one of the most beloved albums, and for many W.A.S.P. fans their best studio record: »The Crimson Idol«. On their new tour the band decided to play it in full again. W.A.S.P. named the…

Three years ago at Metaldays, Vulture Industries wowed a nicely packed second-stage crowd with their bizarre Turning Golem project. This time around, with Stranger Times, in a roughly half-full Orto, they came across as a bit less…

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…

"The image we've been missing all these years is also, let's hope, one that will (be)come a fixture of the new era, with which L.A. Guns will keep delighting their fans for many years to come."

Intervals, Polyphia and Nick Johnston at Orto bar weren't just a success. They were phenomenal.

So the Lewis–Guns combo is essential, the vital element that conjures up that true-blue L.A. Guns image. It's the image we've been missing all these years, and let's hope it (be)comes a fixture of the new era, one L.A. Guns can use to…

"This round of musical revelry at C.M.A.K. featured the Belgian alternative rock trio Brutus. The band, who recently dropped their debut “Burst”, are getting more and more well known and are increasingly in demand on stages across Europe.…

The bill for this round of musical revelry at C.M.A.K. featured the Belgian alternative rock trio Brutus. The band, who recently hatched their debut »Burst«, are getting better and better known and more and more in demand on stages across…

"From what we heard and saw, the Accept classics sound even more convincing in the hands of Dirkschneider than in the live set of today's Accept. Simple as that. The vocals decide. And Udo is still the number one Accept voice, even though…

venue: Ljubljana / Dvorana Stožice / Slovenia date: 30.10.2017 Nick Cave and his band of "bad seeds" long ago earned honorary Slovenian citizenship over their long and prolific career. He belongs to that handful of foreign acts, the…

According to Christian doctrine, God is made up of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity naturally has its opposite number too, embodied by Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet as the…

Nick Cave and his band of »bad seeds« were handed Slovenian citizenship long ago, over the course of their long and prolific career. He belongs to that handful of foreign acts, the elite, you could say, who are deeply cherished and adored…

It had never happened before that I had to wait fifteen minutes in line to get into a death metal show at Orto bar, or that the hall was jam-packed from the very first note!

From what we heard and saw, Accept classics sound even more convincing in the hands of Dirkschneider than in the live repertoire of today's Accept. Simple as that. The vocals decide. And Udo is still the number one Accept throat, even…

So Black Diamond keep rolling. It was great to see and experience them on stage again, especially since their gigs remain a rarity. The band promises a new album, which is a great sign that the quintet isn't standing still and keeps…

In the middle of the last week of October, on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, we witnessed an intriguing musical collision at CUK Kino Šiška in Ljubljana. Composer, pianist and conductor Milko Lazar joined forces on stage with trumpeter 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…

The Paradise Lost, Pallbearer and Sinistro show at Zagreb's Boogaloo club was solidly executed, but it would have left a better impression with better sound. All we can do is hope they sort that out by next time.

Location: Pordenone / Palazzetto dello Sport / Italy Date: Saturday, 07.10.2017 Procol Harum, the legendary English pioneers of progressive rock, have hit the road on a new tour for their fiftieth anniversary, one that was meant…

It's hard to sum up all the emotions that hit you when you finally see a band live that you'd almost convinced yourself you'd never get to see, especially when, while they play the classics that helped write the history of progressive rock,…

location: Zagreb / Vintage Industrial Bar / Croatia date: 03.10.2017 Less than a year has passed since the cult Canadian veterans of experimental metal Voivod, famed for their artistically visionary, full-blooded wrestling with the…

"After Verona in 2016, another amphitheater has "fallen" – this time in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where Marillion once again glowed in all their majestic performing magic!"

The birth of a post-apocalyptic society of robot zombies, riding on musical tricks that build a one-of-a-kind sonic universe from Canada's experimental masters Voivod. Unforgettable!

Another encounter with the magic that keeps you in a trance long after the show, in a kind of parallel world beyond reality and logic. The world of Marillion's music. A unique world that is born anew only at live meetings with this…

That's what happens when Crazy Davy heads off to a Roman amphitheater. And we're right behind him! Third time this year. Seriously. Ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about Devin Townsend, a musician who constantly walks the thin,…

At first glance The Rumjacks are a funny but actually pretty successful combo of blokes who grew up on their parents' Irish and Scottish music…. well, in Australia. With that kind of parental abuse, sooner or later you're bound to…

Arch Enemy definitely delivered with a tight, epic performance that never felt like routine. But the over-the-top theatrics made it clear the band no longer always puts the music first. Kitsch and clichés take center stage, and as for…

Location: Zagreb / ŠRC Šalata / CroatiaDate: 29.08.2017 Duran Duran are now counted among the legends of new wave, New Romantic and mainstream eighties music. Big heralds of the eighties pop generation. With over 100 million records…

Location: Tolmin / Sotočje / SloveniaDate: 25.08.2017 And then came day two of the first (and historic) edition of the "Motörcity" festival in northern Primorska, on the idyllic spot where the Tolminka and Soča rivers meet. It's the…

Nostalgia for the eighties is back. Back once again close to our Slovenian stomping grounds. In the Croatian capital, Zagreb, where Duran Duran first played in 2001. This time they dropped by the ŠRC Šalata sports and recreation center and…

Location: Tolmin / Sotočje / SloveniaDate: 24.08.2017 Gotta hand it to them. The crew behind Metaldays, PunkRock Holiday and Overjam has a huge heart. Fresh off trying out a winter edition of the famous Tolmin festival Metaldays,…

The closing act of the first Motörcity festival came with sets from razor-sharp guitar matador Matt Schofield, German new-blues representatives Henrik Freischlader Band, and our lovable, household-name bluesrockers Hamo And Tribute 2 Love!

"Alex Bent's fortress of drums gave rock-solid backing to the front line of twin-guitar phrasing and Matt Heafy's wild abandon, and Heafy, in his own little theater, never forgot to keep flicking his tongue around like crazy all night long.…

And then came day two of the first (and historic) edition of the »Motörcity« festival in northern Primorska, more precisely at the idyllic spot where the Tolminka and Soča rivers meet. It's where a whole bundle of the most important…

Day one delivered three superb concerts. All of them were rooted in the blues, yet each act approached the genre in its own way, in both interpretation and stage presence. Either way, all three gave the music gourmets plenty to chew on.

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / GermanyDate: Saturday, July 15, 2017 The third day also brought a heap of metal subgenre deviations to Balingen, though the emphasis was clearly on traditional old-school craft and power metal, which…

Trivium, the modern metal outfit from Florida, first made a real mark on the old continent when they opened the shows on the late-autumn 2006 tour of metal titans Iron Maiden, and this summer they've lined up a handful of gigs across…

Devin Townsend Project is back in Europe, and there's no reason to skip their show when they're playing relatively close to Slovenia. This time they hit up Graz's Explosiv club.

Date: Tuesday, 8/8/2017Location: Majano / Area Concerti Festival / Italy On day two of the summer festival in the Friulian town of Majano, the stage belonged to red-hot Los Angeles retro hard rock revivalists Rival Sons. This hugely…

Location: Majano / Area Concerti Festival / Italy Date: Monday, 07.08.2017 This year's festival lineup in Majano, a little town a good ten kilometers northwest of Udine in Italy, brought two Swedish melodic death metal outfits to…

Na drugi dan poletnega festivala v furlanskem mestecu Majano, so se na odru zglasili vroči losangeleški rock'n'roll in hard rock revitalisti Rival Sons, kjer so predstavili aktualni studijski album »Hollow Bones« (2016).

Location: Seebronn (Rottenburg a.d. Neckar) / Festivalgelände / Germany Date: 30.07.2017 And that's a wrap. The last day of this year's Rock of Ages festival has arrived, held near the German village of Seebronn, in the authentic…

Punk Rock Holiday 1.7 was undoubtedly a success. Over five days, a rich and varied lineup brought together plenty of renowned veteran bands and promising young acts, so the outlook for future editions of the festival is more than good.

This year's festival program in the town of Majano, a good ten kilometers northwest of Udine in Italy, brought two Swedish melodic death metal acts to town on Monday, August 7, 2017. Both are hugely popular with the new generation of heavy…

Location: Tolmin / Sotočje / SloveniaDate: Tuesday, 07/25/2017 After Monday's downpours we were all hoping Tuesday would feel a little less like Judgment Day, and luckily that more or less came true. So in the early afternoon we got…

Location: Seebronn / Festivalgelände / Germany Date: 29.07.2017 So. The second day of this year's Rock of Ages festival put nine acts on the stage, and the program was kicked off at half past eleven by German heavy/hard…

Location: Seebronn (Rottenburg a. d. Neckar) / Festivalgelände / GermanyDate: 28.07.2017 Rock Of Ages has a much shorter history than the notorious Bang Your Head!!!, but both fall under the same local promoter, the editorial team…

Summer, sea, punk. Yes, definitely better than summer, sea and the musical abominations of terrace bands on our coast or the Croatian one. At the peak of the summer season, American giants The Offspring played in glamorous Lignano.

"The response was truly lukewarm, even though the crowd was visibly enjoying itself throughout the show. Marilyn Manson sensed this flatness quickly and started acting extremely formal. Just enough to »pocket« another gig and a few rustling…

Day three of this year's Rock Of Ages party saw Killcode, Spider Muprhy Gang, Thunder, Kim Wilde and the evening's headliners, Swiss hard rockers Gotthard, hit the stage!

So. The second day of this year's Rock of Ages festival put nine acts on stage! Saga were picked as the day's headliners, going up against their direct "challengers" Marillion, and the rest of the bill lined up like this: Dare, Pretty…

All good things come to an end, and Metaldays 2017 is no exception.

Program-wise, the least interesting day of the three-day festival was opened by melodic rockers Eden's Curse. They were followed by British glam rockers Hello, singer-songwriter and author of countless radio hits Albert Hammond, German folk…

On Thursday the sun finally woke us up, and the cool-down by the Soča felt great after the rain and mud. Luckily the main stage program that day was on the meager side, so it was all the nicer to hang out under the trees by the second…

Lineup: Almanac, Angelus Apatrida, Bullet, Entombed A.D., Krokus, Lee Aaron, Magnum, Riot V, Rose Tattoo, Steve Grimmett`s Grim Reaper, Vince Neil, Paragon, Dead LordLocation: Balingen / Messegelände / Germany Date: July 14, 2017 …

On day three the weather finally took pity on us. Wednesday was marked mainly by the German heavy metal duo of Grave Digger and queen Doro, the blackjazz avant-garde of Norway's Shining, the acrobatics of their countryman Abbath, and a…

Even in 2017, Sting's presence is still strong enough to grab you for a good hour and a half and take you on a trip through hits from the last four decades.

After Monday's downpours, we were all hoping Tuesday would feel a little less like Judgment Day, and luckily that partly came true.

Despite apocalyptic downpours, we made it through the first full day of the festival thanks to killer sets from Iced Earth, Dool, Loudness, Absu, Batushka and Venom Inc.

Metaldays has become a festival you wait for as anxiously and impatiently as the birth of a firstborn, moving into a new house, or a wedding. I'm exaggerating, of course, but I'm not exactly far from the truth either.

Location: Balingen / Messegelände / GermanyDate: Thursday, 13.07.2017 The nineteenth Bang Your Head festival is here, and with it a new RockLine expedition to Balingen, Germany. One of Europe's most important summer festivals, known…

Day three brought a heap of metal subgenre deviations to Balingen too, though the emphasis was clearly on old-school traditional craft and power metal, which the closing stretch of the program confirmed with a set from Sweden's HammerFall

Day two brought excellent sets from the bands, with the bigger letdown being the meeting with former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil and his backing band. The highlights of the day have to be Riot V, Steve Grimmett's Grim Reaper, Angelus…

After a solid twenty-one years, the Slovenian stage lit up once again with the snot-nosed kid in a baseball cap flipping the bird, this time crossed with the classic Motörhead logo. Ugly Kid Joe are finally back in Slovenia!

The nineteenth Bang Your Head festival has arrived, and with it a new RockLine expedition to Balingen, Germany. It's one of Europe's most important summer festivals. It prides itself on an always colorful mixed bag of mostly classic heavy…

Just like every year, this year's Bang Your Head!!! 2017 got a warm-up day, the one that happens the day before the festival officially kicks off. This time there was no real standout headliner, but still a bundle of bands that make showing…

Location: Lignano Sabbiadoro / Beach Arena / Italy Date: Wednesday, 05.07.2017 Guitar maestro Steve Hackett, who has done by far the most of any (former) member to keep the musical legacy of the legendary Genesis alive, stopped by…

The urban culture center Kino Šiška kicked off the second half of its summer concert season with a pretty big name. After My Dying Bride not long ago, the cathedral has now been stormed by another legendary shoegaze outfit, Jesus and Mary…

Mr. Hackett and his admirable crew of musical masters have proven once again that the test of time hasn't dented the quality of his live shows one bit. What's more, Steve keeps giving the impression that he has never played with as much…

Last Thursday it got seriously hot in Kranj when Dirty Rotten Imbeciles tore the place apart. And the embers had barely settled before Brazilian old-school HC veterans, the legendary Ratos De Porao, stormed into Transtation Subart. The…

So. Kranj has finally woken up too! Into a hot, muggy summer. With a scorching end to this June, courtesy of unique cross over thrash metal / hc / punk veterans from the USA, or more precisely the city of Houston. That's Dirty Rotten…

Britain's cult heroes The Cult added some extra heat to the already sizzling concert scene among our Croatian neighbors at the start of summer. On Tuesday, June 27, they played the interesting ŠRC Šalata venue in Zagreb. Last year the band…

A brand-new, wildly electrifying and fun show from head to toe. The best a hard rock band can serve up: the raw, stripped-down version of rock'n'roll at its most authentic. And in a club, where world-class musicians stand just a meter from…

Location: San Daniele del Friuli / Piazza Vittorio Emanuele / Italy Date: Friday, 06/23/2017 San Daniele Del Friuli is the prosciutto capital of Friuli. On Friday, June 23, 2017, the town once again threw its big annual day devoted…

Charismatic chieftain Franz Di Cioccio and crew remain great perfectionists in their musical craft, leaving nothing to chance. They approach everything they do with a hundred percent commitment and focus, even in the forty-seventh year of…

The excellent show by the outstanding Beyond Creation will be remembered fondly and makes a great send-off into the summer festival season.

Divje jezero also played Cerkno, an intensely committed quintet with its own musical culture and sharp creative intelligence, compelling any listener to fully enjoy the musical world these sturdy lads from Idrija pull you into.

"No doubt about it! A superb gig. Ridden from start to finish on the crest of a giant wave, a volcanic eruption of primal rock'n'roll riffs, secondarily adapted, of course, and served up again with total confidence. Just the way the new…

Even though they played nearby Zagreb last summer and are playing the Pivo in cvetje festival in Laško in mid-July this year, it was an absolute must to hop over a month earlier and check out the stage form of those charismatic Australian…

Location: Ljubljana / Arena Stožice / SloveniaDate: Tuesday, 06.06.2017 The American giants Green Day last set foot on Slovenian soil way back in February 1998, and first two years earlier, when the mega-successful Dookie had them…

With time an ever-crueller taskmaster, only a single date from this year's Godi Bodi Festival ended up on RockLine's radar! It's actually the first day of the festival program, held in Ljubljana and covered by Taša, Brest and Mistermarsh.

After almost twenty years, Green Day came back to Ljubljana and blew the Stožice arena away with an explosive show!

"This time Vincent earns a 3+ for what he showed us, and if he comes back next time with the full lineup, that grade could go a lot higher."

Pat Metheny and his quartet spent more than two hours in Cankarjev Dom building an incredible atmosphere out of mellow and more intense numbers alike. Definitely a gig tailor-made for fans of guitar wizardry and jazz lovers in general.

"No philosophizing here. Over a near two-hour, all-out show, the band once again delivered exactly what you expect from them, what you're used to from them: that superb dose of their very own rock'n'roll compound."

The love between Vincent and Trey Azagthoth ended again two years ago, and the Morbid Angel wagon split in two. One half carries on under the original name with returnee Steve Tucker, while Vincent runs I Am Morbid, with which he brought…

Divje jezero is a band that anyone with even a passing interest in quality music has to see live. The excellent all-instrumental quintet from Idrija, still going strong under the Celinka label, used this show to open this year's GodiBodi…

No rocket science here. We caught Demolition Group at this year's Ortofest in Ljubljana, and compared to that experience a month and a half ago, I can say this time at MINK they delivered a gig that was a shade more "slick", especially…

Location: Cerkno / Star plac / Slovenia Date: Saturday, May 20, 2017 Day three of the traditional, and by now 22nd, Jazz Cerkno Festival had arrived. This one was special because female jazz players absolutely dominated the lineup!…

Porter rolled into Ljubljana straight from a show in Belgrade that Serbian music media called outstanding, which was a promising sign for the Ljubljana gig, kicking off in Gallusova dvorana a few minutes after 8:00 PM. The five-piece…

The final day of this year's Jazz Cerkno festival has arrived. At five in the afternoon, Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara took the stage at the music school in Cerkno. It was a set from a duo with a seriously fascinating musical…

"Many of those in the crowd at Zagreb's Arena were sorry to see the show by these indestructible rock veterans fly by while they were reveling in the one-of-a-kind Deep Purple evergreens, as the seasoned masters of music once again proved…

A rundown of day three of the traditional, and altogether 22nd, Jazz Cerkno festival!