Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Concert date: January 20, 2017
Looks like January is now officially the month of celebrations. A week ago we were at Orto bar toasting 15 years of Dirty Skunks, and last Friday it was time for the 15th anniversary of On Parole, the most active (and only) homegrown metal label, a story Matija »Chop« Prnaver kicked off in 2002 by releasing Igra narave from thrash veterans Sarcasm. A whole lot of beer has flowed since then, and Chop and Simon are still waving the On Parole flag high, even though you can imagine how thorny the road of a small metal label in Slovenia can be. On Parole has given the Slovenian scene a ton of great music that, without it, would probably often be hard to hold in your hands on a record, so it was great to see Orto packed last Friday, when five prisoners on parole took the stage.
First to greet Orto bar after a really long time were Brutart from Gorenjska, opening with Ian Curtis’s She’s Lost Control. Brutart put out their debut Mimic on On Parole in December 2007, followed by quite a few shows around Slovenia, and then a few years ago the band vanished without a word. Luckily the label’s anniversary was apparently reason enough to get back on stage, and we got to enjoy that unique blend of gothic, doom and death metal that’s so hard to pigeonhole once again. In a good half hour Brutart reminded everyone of their debut and unloaded a pile of massive, towering, slow riffs, Sebastijan’s animalistic drumming, Blaž’s mechanical, robotic vocals and a Poe-esque gothic atmosphere. Brutart’s music is soaked in heavy doom atmosphere and so in places works better in the intimacy of your own home than live, but it was still great to see a band many of us had already written off back on stage. I did miss the excellent Delirium in the set, but the new songs, enriched with a female vocalist’s recitation, sound promising, so we’re waiting with open arms for the second studio album, due in a few months.
The more dynamic, post-apocalyptic follow-up came courtesy of death ‘n’ roll maniacs Hellcrawler from Goriška, who released their second studio album Sandstorm Chronicles on On Parole about half a year ago. Hellcrawler tore through their set faster than a mutated zombie through the bowels of its fresh snack, and once again proved they sound even better on stage than on record. This time that was mostly down to the great energy (even though the band’s stage presence is mostly pretty static) and the top-notch, ultra-loud sound, which let Miran’s beastly growl and the HM-2 buzz of the guitars cut through with no trouble. Hellcrawler came across as hellishly varied: sure, they’re deeply rooted in Swedish death metal, but in all the right places they reward it with touches of crust, black and heavy metal, and even more so with cleverly placed melodic bits. Bonus points for Andraž’s Perturbator shirt and probably the best shot of the night.
Third place went to veterans of Slovenian thrash Sarcasm, who shocked everyone last year with the news that longtime vocalist Mucy was no longer in the band. Grega Čadež (Rise) stepped into his shoes, and you can only really judge whether that was the right call once you check it out live with your own eyes and ears. It started promisingly, even though songs from the still-current album Thrash aren’t exactly highlights, and fans of the band’s classic golden era soon got theirs, with songs like the anthemic Crematory and Dej mi/Sarcasm. Sarcasm even dusted off the excellent, prophetic Slovenski genocid, but that was exactly the point where the show kind of fell apart. It seemed like Grega had run out of vocal stamina, and every next song brought more vocal slip-ups. A band with this much mileage and such a rich discography really doesn’t need to play covers either, especially not in a not-so-convincing version like what happened this time with Angel smrti.
After Sarcasm said their goodbyes came probably the most anticipated moment of the night: the first of two release shows by bands that put out new albums on On Parole that very Friday. First to pour us a cup of suffering were black metallers Srd from Murska Sobota, who played their debut Smrti sel in full, apart from a GG Allin cover. Even though Srd have only been playing live for a few months, their set made it clear they’re a well-oiled death machine that seems to have been running for years and years. These guys know exactly how to serve black metal, and they proved it on the Orto bar stage. With great sound, a confident, self-assured presence and a black metal F.O.A.D. attitude, they showed with Smrti sel, Kupa trpljenja and especially Soča that Slovenian can sound superb in black metal, first and foremost thanks to Goran’s charismatic and furious vocal performance. The only downside was the clean vocals in Soča being harder to hear, right up to the explosive scream of the nine-minute masterpiece they used to say goodbye to Orto. With Srd, the Slovenian black metal scene has definitely gained fresh strength, and with Smrti sel one of the best representatives of the genre in this country. Word has it that Niklas Kvarforth of Shining, who lives in Ljubljana, was also thrilled by their set.
Last up were hard ‘n’ heavy tomcats Tomcat, with their new studio record Something’s Coming On Wrong. After the release of their debut Bits ‘n Pieces, the guys (or rather, Šujo) went through a serious lineup shake-up when four members left, but they picked themselves up stronger than before, and the result is a strong, coherent record full of quality, infectiously catchy songs, which really shines live. Tomcat greeted Orto right at the start with a brand-new song, then played Something’s Coming On Wrong from A to Z. The guys proved to be a superbly tight live machine with no shortage of confidence. They held up both instrumentally and vocally, with Žiga facing an especially demanding job, which he handled with distinction despite a few minor slip-ups. Tomcat knew the release party had to be something special, so they upgraded it with keyboards played live by their producer Alex Volasko, plus two backing vocalists who especially shone on the bluesy Last Letter. In a good hour Tomcat showed off their markedly upgraded form and made it clear that Something’s Coming On Wrong is a lovely addition to the Slovenian scene.
To wrap up: all the best to On Parole, here’s to many, many more years, thanks for your important contribution to the scene, and I hope the hair of the dog on Saturday wasn’t too long, hehe.
Photo gallery
