Author: Primož Novak
Location: Ljubljana/Kino Šiška/Slovenia
Concert date: June 13, 2016
Ticket price: €29/€34
It’s been a good while since a proper metalcore show rolled through that drew more than just a crowd at Metelkova or Orto Bar. Luckily, the wait wasn’t long: the Dihurčka duo pulled together one hell of an incredible package, which at first promised even more, but sadly Architects had to drop out because of a family emergency. Still, the legendary Killswitch Engage, Atreyu, August Burns Red and Bury Tomorrow stayed on board, and thanks to Architects’ cancellation they got to stretch their sets a bit. In short, metalcore fans had no reason to stay home, even though quite a few tickets got returned after the Architects cancellation.
At 6:30 PM, England’s Bury Tomorrow took the stage, playing to a bigger crowd than they did years ago. The band has four releases under their belt, the latest, Earthbound, coming out this year. Bury Tomorrow tried to get the still slightly sleepy crowd moving with an energetic performance, but they didn’t quite pull it off, even though the music they play should have won over plenty of people. The band serves up melodic riffs and heavy breakdowns, and mixes harsh vocals with clean ones. In short, they’ve got everything you’d expect from a metalcore band today. And yet BT offer nothing more than average, predictable stuff that can’t really stand out these days. On top of that, the guitars had pretty poor sound, so the whole thing came off rather unconvincing. BT will get a chance to retake the exam soon at the Metaldays festival. Maybe they’ll do better then.
August Burns Red, who were visiting Slovenia for the second time, undoubtedly delivered more. At times even too much. The band isn’t a fan of conventional metalcore and tries to add an extra dimension to it. Sure, ABR are full of melody and breakdowns, but their songs also hide interesting surprises, i.e. passages that flirt with country, jazz and who knows what else. The band did a great job with songs from their current album Found in Far Away Places (review HERE) as well as tracks from earlier releases. There wasn’t much chatting with the crowd; it felt like ABR wanted to squeeze in as much as possible, so they just kept stringing songs together. In their slot, the band proved their excellent chemistry, technical chops and energy. Every member more than solidly filled their role, and the standout was the hyperactive guitarist JB Brubaker, who just never ran out of melodic riffs. He made sure you could hear two guitar lines the whole time. Drummer Matt Greiner is a great example of how a great drummer is key to making metalcore something more. ABR definitely spiced up the whole lineup, and judging by what we saw, the turnout would have been good even if they’d been the headliner.
Atreyu came on third. Maybe a somewhat overlooked band, which was even inactive for a few years. Atreyu didn’t exactly stand out when they showed up on the scene alongside Killswitch Engage, God Forbid, Lamb of God and others. But over their career they’ve built up a pretty solid fanbase, which showed in the decently packed hall. In about 45 minutes, Atreyu served up a fun mix of metalcore, hardcore and punk. Their music is easygoing, and they’re undoubtedly a great party band, since there was no needless overcomplicating. The guitars were simple, and so was the rhythm section. The vocalist constantly egged on the crowd, the bassist even took a stroll through the hall with his instrument at one point, and drummer Brandon Saller made the whole thing even nicer with his lovely melodic vocals. Atreyu are the kind of band that would no doubt fit right into the lineup at Punk Rock Holiday, simply because they’re fun.
A few minutes after ten, the stars of the night, Killswitch Engage, hit the stage. The band returned to Slovenia after their famous show in Maribor back in 2008. This time with original singer Jesse Leach, who rejoined the band in 2012. On this tour the band was promoting their current album Incarnate (review HERE), which has been well received so far. They opened their set with the well-known opener A Bid Farewell, probably KSE’s best-known opening track. And right from the start the crowd joined in, singing along to the familiar choruses, which just kept coming. The new material clearly caught on too, but of course KSE didn’t forget the old fans, playing a few songs from the album Alive of Just Breathing. After all these years, Killswitch Engage are still pretty much at the top of their game. Throughout the whole set the five-piece worked hard to put on a decent show, full of punchy riffs, melody and a powerful rhythm section. Guitarist/producer Adam Dutkiewicz showed really well how an accurate right hand is essential to making everything sound even more confident, and even though Adam was visibly under the influence, no major mistakes could be heard. Vocalist Jesse Leach is in great shape too. His voice is clear and expressive. Adam often added backing vocals on top, which made the vocal harmonies even more special. The rest of the members were solidly tight as well, so the band as a whole was brilliantly connected. Toward the end, KSE lined up evergreens like Rose of Sharyn, The End of Heartache, My Curse and In Due Time. Maybe not everyone got their favorite, but overall there was no way to be disappointed by KSE’s performance.
Killswitch Engage were obviously thrilled with the Slovenian crowd. After a few minutes they even came back on stage and threw in the song Life to Lifeless from the album Alive or Just Breathing as an encore. Definitely a lovely finish to an outstanding show.
Drawing the bottom line, Kino Šiška finally got a great metalcore show after a long time, with Killswitch Engage, Atreyu, August Burns Red and Bury Tomorrow showing just how diverse metalcore itself can be these days.
photos and video: Klemen Udovč
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