Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Location: Komen / Slovenia
Concert date: 02.07.2016
Komen has a great spot right in the heart of the Karst region, which makes it a perfect base for day trips. If you’re up for a little detour, I can recommend the Cerje memorial to the defenders of Slovenian soil in World War I, near Opatje selo, and just a few kilometers away on the other side of the border there’s an interesting open-air museum with caverns and trenches, also from WWI.
We got back to the venue on Saturday at five in the afternoon, when Zagreb black metallers Frozen Forest were supposed to be on stage, but the band was nowhere to be found and the stage just sat there with an awkward, silent void. Not even letting the organizer know you won’t be showing up is hardly a decent way to behave…
The upside is that Serbian thrashers Alitor ended up with more time, but sadly it didn’t help them much, since they don’t have enough material for a longer set right now, only what their studio debut Eternal Depression, released two years ago, has to offer. Too bad, because the four-piece from Vojvodina unleashed a proper tornado of progressive thrash metal that pays nice tribute to bands like Xentrix, Anacrusis and Vektor, while the solos occasionally recall the later Death albums. Marko Todorović delivers effective bass rumbling, and his vocals suit the band’s instrumental sound just right, striking a good balance between an aggressive and a melodic approach. Both guitarists chip in with backing vocals now and then, which only elevates things further, but the real charm of Alitor definitely lies in the barrages of guitar riffs, which aren’t just thrash clichés but well thought out and worked through, and blend nicely with the bass lines and fluid drumming into a mighty whole. Alitor were a thoroughly pleasant surprise, easily the best foreign band at this year’s Live After Death by a mile, and I really hope we get to see them here again.
Which is something I can’t say for the next act, Krematorium from Rijeka. With their overlong set of generic, clichéd thrash metal they got downright tiresome. All the more so when, toward the end of the set, there was only a single, solitary person left watching them, while the band’s vocalist kept nagging the crowd to come up front. The songs from their debut Body Bags, released last year, were quickly forgotten.
Krematorium’s fellow townsmen Monox, who also released their debut, Perception Changes, last year, left a much better and longer-lasting impression. The five-piece from Rijeka plays death/thrash metal that’s firmly rooted in modern, melodic waters with djent touches, which at times recalls Gojira or Meshuggah. Technically the band is exceptionally well schooled, the rhythm section is especially crushing, backed up by the fat riffs of seven-string guitars, and Tonko’s vocals are varied too, interesting above all for their half-spoken, half-sung verses. Monox are definitely a band worth checking out.
Once evening fell, Komen turned pitch black with the great hope of Slovenian black metal, Cvinger, who this year, with the release of their second studio album Embodied In Incense, also became a great hope of European black metal. Among other things, they’ve already played as the official support band on tour with Gorgoroth, and they even made it to China, where they played a tour of more than ten dates. This time they brought their chaos to Komen and trampled all over it with black metal that sounds fairly classic but is spiced up with elements of death metal, and even more so with liturgical elements in the style of Batushka. Live, Cvinger are a machine that leaves nothing to chance. The only things that might bug you a little are the overly triggered drums and the constant blast beating, but hey, it’s black metal, and certain “clichés” are perfectly understandable and expected. The band backed up the ritual with candelabras, and even more so did vocalist Lucerus with his gloomy, monk-like guttural singing, which he often cuts through with screaming and growling. Once again the set was perhaps a bit too long and dragged toward the end, but on the other hand it’s only right that bands who deserve it get a solid chunk of time. Cvinger are almost without a doubt the standard-bearers of Slovenian black metal right now, which they’ll also prove in November on a co-headlining tour with Norway’s Ragnarok.
Judging by what they showed, though, the standard-bearers of heavy metal here at home are without a doubt Metalsteel, who delivered by far the most polished, professional and well-crafted performance at Live After Death. Probably the most consistent metal band in Slovenia, both in the studio and on stage, they once again proved and confirmed that the path Metalsteel have taken is the only right one, i.e. from a young, inexperienced group that many people (unjustly) mocked to a mature band that has made the most of its potential and then surpassed it. The current studio album This Is Your Revelation confirmed it, and their Saturday show at Live After Death confirmed it once again. Great sound, confident stage presence with moves in the style of Judas Priest, top-notch tightness and exceptional technical chops are just some of the factors that make Metalsteel simply excellent live. The girl and the guys offered a cross-section of their whole career this time, and (personally speaking) the standouts were the crushers from the current record like New Way of Thinking, Narcissus, the title track, then White Circle with Bad In Bed, Topla je smrt from the debut, beautifully sung by Daša, the title track of the fourth studio record, and an especially pleasant surprise with Let Me Be Your Guide. On the album that one is sung by the legendary James Rivera, and in Komen Matej Sušnik stepped into his shoes and shone with excellent vocals. They didn’t reach Rivera’s inhumanly high screams, but he skillfully adapted the lines to his own abilities. Matej was especially impressive this time with his vocal help to Beni and Rok, and in general Metalsteel come across on stage as an exceptional crew breathing with the same full lungs, and given that it’s been a good two years since the release of This Is Your Revelation, I’m (we’re) waiting impatiently for the new album.
With Metalsteel’s farewell, Live After Death 2016 was also nearing its own farewell. Next came the Ljubljana sci-fi thrashers Teleport, who will get more attention next time, and the festival was closed out by Italian black metal outfit Idolatria.
Live After Death 2016 thus passed in a pleasant, homey atmosphere, which is the main hallmark of this festival. The turnout was a disappointment, with probably only around three hundred visitors across both days, so some serious thought is needed about where to go from here. Full respect to the organizers, with Bišt at the helm, but it’s worth considering how to draw more visitors from neighboring countries; this year, for example, there were only a handful of Italians and Croatians. Maybe the right formula would again be one bigger, bigger-sounding name each day, though of course that comes with a bigger financial bite… Anyway, we definitely want Live After Death to keep going in the future!
Photo Gallery
