Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: November 22, 2013
Attendance: 130
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry)
The big day has finally come: the official launch of the studio debut »Divja pot« (RockLine review HERE) by Hellcats, the first all-Slovenia heavy rock / heavy metal band, has hit the Slovenian capital too! A Friday, a hangout with a band with an exciting reputation on the horizon, and free entry at our beloved Orto bar. The result? A crush, of course! In every sense. A pile of familiar faces from the current and past Slovenian rock scene. On top of that, plenty of seasoned rockers aged 45 and up, practically “dads” already, and of course a bunch of other potent young rock folks. In short, the leading names of the rock scene in Slovenia, the music media, and everyone who, one way or another, went all in to help Hellcats take their first discographic steps safely.
The way Hellcats crowds split up by location is interesting. The most important thing is that they never, ever go missing! In Ljubljana, the gang described in the first paragraph always shows up at their gigs. In Kamnik, on October 3, 2013 (RockLine report by Urban Bolta HERE), a completely different crowd came to back the band, noticeably younger on average and reinforced by the well-known squad of metalheads from Kamnik and the surrounding area. Everybody loves Hellcats. And why wouldn’t they? With the release of a really lovely studio debut, the girls have entered a new chapter of their career. The phase of hardening up and the thorny fight for acceptance on the scene is behind them. The album »Divja pot« can serve as a shining example to many Slovenian rock and heavy metal bands of how a song has to be arranged to hit instantly, so from now on Hellcats need to be taken seriously. The quartet is more mature and more experienced, and the album’s content reflects exactly that.
The band hit the stage around half past ten and, as expected, played their studio debut »Divja pot« in full. This gig was more proof that the girls are turning into an ever more confident, impenetrable heavy rock fortress that’s hard to knock off course. The whole performance felt a few notches livelier and more agile compared with what we saw at Kotlovnica in Kamnik on October 3, 2013. Singer Ajda impressed most with a stepped-up show, belting out the gig at a noticeably higher level than at Kotlovnica. That’s not to say anything was wrong at Kotlovnica, but you could feel a difference in commitment and emotional involvement, and at Orto bar it was convincing all the way through. The Orto bar setting is simply that perfect intimate club space where the contact between crowd and band is especially intense and shared, and that gives the band extra wings during the stage performance. The Orto bar show was heavily loaded with that feeling.
The other members of the band are no strangers to toughness either. Everything runs like clockwork. The rhythm duo of Saša and Sonja is reliable, solid and tight, and the stance of the most important figure in the Hellcats lineup (most important in the sense that she generates most of the melody in Hellcats songs and the backdrop Ajda’s vocals lean on), guitarist Katja, was once again a textbook example of what a guitarist has to do on stage to get the job done the way it should be done. Sharp-dressed attitude all around, beautifully played solos, guitar phrases, and passages colored with extra ornaments. Only one thing stung during the show. The sound. There was way too much crackle and rumble!
In front of the stage, a mass of alcohol-fueled heads! Tight, tight, tight. Wherever you turned! And hellishly hot everywhere! Just as it should be when you’re hanging out with cats from hell. Hellish frying without a fryer this time at Orto bar! An event that succeeded in full measure. The turnout was great, the band in an exceptionally good mood and especially fired up on stage. Gorgeous chemistry in the room, a limitless Friday switch-off in sight! The partying showed no signs of ending even after the Hellcats show was over!
So only good times are looming for Hellcats. They can look to the future with pride and cheer in their hearts. Especially with such a lovely studio debut in their pocket. But the girls also have to realize that resting on your laurels is forbidden fruit. So they’ll have to start thinking as soon as possible about creating new original material and recording the next studio effort as quickly as they can. The band is soon heading out on a short tour of Italy. That will be the real test of what they actually mean right now beyond Slovenia’s borders. A kind of indicator. A kind of self-check. The trip will tell the band what still needs doing in the future and where they’ve already realized their musical vision. We wish them loads of luck.
Photo gallery
