Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Concert date: 12/20/2012
I don’t think there’s been a single Thursday since Kadilnica of Death opened its doors at Orto Bar without a gig to go with it. The two polecats have given the local metal scene a fresh spot for shows and hanging out, and the great turnout gives no sign that it’ll be wrapping up anytime soon. Last Thursday, the upper floor of Orto was taken over by a hellish triple bill of Teleport, Hellsword and Vigilance , marching under the banner Return of Evil and Darkness!
First up on stage were young Ljubljana thrashers Teleport, a band that keeps gaining more and more clout. The guys recently released their first demo, Galactic Usurper, as a trio, and soon after beefed up the lineup with an extra guitar. »Beam me up, Scotty« and the four-piece, on a suitably decked-out Orto stage (»gas« masks with glowing green eyes), launched into just under an hour of technical-flavored thrash topped off with sci-fi lyrics. That begs a comparison with Canadian legends Voivod, and the comparison really is on point, because Teleport don’t sound even remotely like anything that came out of the Bay Area. They’re much closer to German thrash, mostly thanks to the rough, raspy vocals, while the broken rhythms, minimal black metal touches and psychotic, weird, otherworldly riffs bring them nearer to the aforementioned Canadians and bands like Vektor, Coroner and Nocturnus. The second guitar has already melted nicely into the band, and only the rhythm section still needs a few cosmetic fixes, but otherwise Teleport are right now one of the most promising local bands.
From technical thrash and sci-fi lyrics we traveled somewhere way further south. On stage stepped Ljubljana trio Hellsword, who walk the hellish path of speed/black metal pioneers Bathory, Celtic Frost, Venom, Sodom and Destruction, which isn’t necessarily the most original thing, but it’s damn nice to have a band around here that doesn’t overcomplicate things and probably sacrifices a virgin or two before every show. Hellsword are total “old-school worship,” which means they pump out a demonic mix of black and speed metal: “straight to the point” cupa-cupa drumming, perversely blasphemous riffs and solos, a metallically rattling bass (with really colorful, lively lines) and the devilish vocals of Mike Manslaughter. This time, because of technical problems (»The Marshall died on us«), the Hellsword-style hail-Satan din came off rather limp, so apparently the sacrificial knife needs sharpening. The blasphemy wasn’t as convincing as usual this time, but you can see and hear that the band is diligently and persistently racking up live mileage, and they find their way even through trouble. The perfect musical pick for this blessed Christmas season, with cookies and The Omen and Rosemary’s Baby.
The night was closed out by Postojna heavy/speed maniacs Vigilance, whose upcoming debut album we really can’t wait for. Their EP Steeds of Time went down well with the crowd, and the hard gigging has paid off for the band even more. I last saw Vigilance a little less than a year ago, and I can’t believe how much the band has progressed! Not only does the newer material sound several notches better than the songs from the debut EP, the four-piece has also seriously upgraded their stage show, which is now strong, convincing and confident. The same goes for Jakob Rejec’s visibly improved vocals and the killer guitar duo of Gilian Adam and Rejec. Rejec reliably served up cleverly constructed riffs, and Gilian added high-flying solos on top, which take the already rich heavy metal up another level. The uncompromising speed metal assault, with which Vigilance effectively blend in old-school heavy metal, was the absolute peak of Thursday night, and if the prophecy about the end of the world had come true, it would have been an excellent soundtrack to the flood of the world.
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