Demolition Group Unveil Their New Lineup at Ortofest (2017)

Poba Last updated 4 July 2019

Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Date: Thursday, 06.04.2017

This year marks a full 35 years since the Brežice alternative rock outfit Demolition Group formed, which is an enviable number by any measure. Two years ago the band put out their still-current latest studio album »Zlagano sonce«, and 2016 brought quite a bit of turbulence. Disagreements within the band led to the departure of one of the founding members, the iconic saxophonist Jože Pegam, and guitarist Matija Lapuh left along with him. But Demolition Group managed to pick themselves up in time, and the gaps in the lineup were filled by two seasoned musicians: saxophonist Aleš Suša and guitarist Petar Stojanović.

So the band entered the new year 2017 with a string of announced shows, and on 06.04.2017 we finally caught them again at Orto bar, where they played as part of this year’s Ortofest.

The band hit the stage of Orto bar’s downstairs room a little after ten in the evening. Holding it down in today’s Demolition Group lineup is the iconic, truly irreplaceable Goran Šalamon, a man of unique charisma and a sparkling mind, a man who doesn’t mince words, a man who makes the ground shake when he thunders in with his incredibly piercing and distinctive vocals, often backed up by his trademark roaring rage and anger. The rhythm section is still the brothers Tomi (drums) and Ivica Gregl (bass guitar).

With an inexhaustible run of favorites, the band proved they’re not done yet. The new Demolition Group definitely play a bit differently compared to the previous incarnation of the band. They come across as a bit more concise, more textbook. Stojanovič is an incredibly technically skilled guitarist. Fast, precise. Guitar solos in Demolition Group now come in hurricane-like swells. On the other side, Aleš Suša, with his highly convincing eruptions of saxophone improvisation, can’t quite match the towering charisma of his predecessor, but even so, he and Petar Stojanovič have managed to build a pleasing, massive chemistry, an impenetrable wall of backing behind the soundscape that has always been unique and special to Demolition Group. The sound during the show was satisfactory. In fact, the balance of the building blocks was as spot-on as ever. The musicality of Ivica Gregl’s fluid, sharply funked-up bass, paired with the always reliable tempo-setting of his brother Tomi, made a welcome contrast to the riff-driven guitar/saxophone tandem that delivers the band’s recognizable, mocking live destructiveness. At the center of it all stays the signature Goran, with his unique performance as a doctor of the tongue and a hugely charismatic figure of stage movement (and swaying).

That night Demolition Group »survived«. To be honest, I prefer the band’s previous lineup, with the one-and-only Joco on sax, but let’s be fair. The band plays with undiminished power and fury even in their latest lineup, and with some mileage the new forces in the freshly rejuvenated group will settle into optimal effectiveness. So? Yes! Demolition Group are moving forward! Let’s hope some new original material is »cooking« too, because as we know, Goran never runs short of extraordinary poetic insight and intellectual provocation that hits like a lead bullet and cuts straight through like the sharpest razor.

author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

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