Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Location: Ljubljana / Gala Hala / Slovenia
Concert date: 20.12.2012
Attendance: 350
Ticket price: €10.00 (presale) / €13.00 (day of show)
There was no end. Obviously. Though I’d have loved to see the faces of the fanatics who currently have a fifteen-year stockpile of canned food in the basement. Ha! The (deliberately) misread Mayan calendar turned out to be yet another end-of-the-world nonsense, and the Iron Median tribute show proved once again that our guys are probably among the best Iron Maiden tribute acts even on a world level. The original is conquering the world again, this time with the hugely successful Maiden England tour, and us fans are really struggling to wait for their return to European soil. So much so, in fact, that Iron Median were a real band-aid on the wound and a proper help through the withdrawal symptoms until we meet the Maidens again.
This time the support slot also went to a tribute band, namely a Postojna tribute to the hard rock dinosaurs AC/DC, made up of seasoned veterans of bands like (Forgotten) Eden, Requiem and Divine Illusion. According to those who saw their set, they delivered it very solidly and convincingly, but that’ll have to be double-checked live. Some time when, say, Ljubljana doesn’t have fifteen gigs on the same night. During their set we were still headbanging and calling on the Devil at Orto bar to »Return of Darkness and Evil« with Teleport, Hellsword and Vigilance.
Iron Median came back to Metelkova for the first time since their very first show, played in May 2007 at Channel Zero. In between they deflowered Orto bar, then Belgrade and plenty of other places, and this year, right before the end, two minutes before midnight, they played Gala Hala. Iron Median are a band made up of proven names: Alen Steržaj (Big Foot Mama) on bass, Tine Horvat (Ivje, Bananas) on drums, the human fire siren Sergej Škofljanec (M.I.L.F., ex-Requiem) on vocals, and the guitar duo of Matjaž Tozon and Helmut Frangeš – Maco (Sausages), and a while back a sixth member joined them too, none other than Eddie, of course. In Iron Median he shows up in the raw »punk« look of the era of the debut and the Killers album. Shortly after eleven, after an ominous intro, Iron Median proved with the very first notes that Iron Maiden still run through their veins. The instrumental performance was top-notch again; the guitar duo nailed every solo flawlessly, even if at times a bit »sloppy« in the Gers way — there can only be one Smith. The bass rumble shook the foundations again; Alen approaches his bass playing visibly and audibly with great respect for the boss ‘Arry, but thanks to many miles of touring he’s by far the most active and convincing presence on stage. All that was missing was the shooting. And the fantastic Škofljanec once again carried the set spectacularly, with Aces High giving him no trouble at all — what’s more, right now he probably sings it even better than Dickinson himself. Favorites like The Number of the Beast, The Trooper and Flight of Icarus fired up the hot crowd even more, and the band was visibly thrilled by the roaring response of a really active and loud audience. Part of the credit surely goes to Sergej’s likeable, charismatic stage leadership and of course his incredible vocal form. Hallowed Be Thy Named was the only moment that gave Sergej some trouble, but the old pro pulled it off well, although it’s really high time he learned the lyrics properly. Sadly, though, Iron Median also seem to suffer from the biggest flaw you can pin on their musical fathers. The song selection, with an exception or two, was completely predictable and played it safe. It would be smart to give the setlist a proper shake-up and slot in a few more rarities that we’ll never hear from Iron Maiden. Still, Iron Median managed to soothe the hunger until the spring and summer months, when Maiden England will be playing near us. And the crowd was obviously hungry for Maiden songs, which we got in top-notch form. But in the end I have to write one more thing. Since Iron Median’s purpose is crystal clear, let this be more of an appeal to the audience. Just a few hundred meters from Gala Hala, a gig of three local metal bands was going on at half the price, at least one of them drawing heavily from the Maiden legacy, and all three playing exclusively good, original material. And there were fewer than a hundred people at Orto. People, support local bands that write their own music!
Photo Gallery
