Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Video: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Orto bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Concert date: 03/29/2014
Ticket price: €4
This time the working folks had no excuse to skip Kadilnica of Death either, because for the first time in the KoD metal nights series, Orto bar opened its doors on a Saturday! And that wasn’t the only reason to show up: after two years of concert retirement, the Kamnik heavy metal jokers Use Less were back among the living!
A quick recap: between 2008 and 2010, Use Less put out two demos of high-octane heavy metal (3 Little Statements of Life, Mind Collapse), conquered plenty of stages at home, and then two years ago hit us with an unpleasant surprise in the form of lineup upheaval. In February 2012, the band’s lead vocalist and spandex-wearer Rok »Tavta« Tavčar and guitarist Matej Osredkar (who later found a successful new home in gorečih vesoljskih samorogih) left the band, and for the rest of Use Less a painful period of searching for new members began. It ended last fall, when the band was, surprisingly, reinforced by the female voice of Urša Marinšek, and after a few months of rehearsals Use Less finally stepped back where they belong. On stage!
The new additions were what raised the biggest questions about the band’s return. How the hell would Use Less sound with a female vocalist? Did Grkot’s heart break when Anette left Nightwish, and is he going to fill that deep void with Use Less? Well, the answer was obvious from the very first notes. Hard to believe, but with Urša up front, Use Less sound even more aggressive, even more crushing, and even more heavy. Compared to Tavta’s high screams, Urša’s vocals are much lower and deeper, so the guys tuned down a bit too. At moments and in places we did miss the occasional higher vocal excursion, but Urša did her job brilliantly. For her stage debut she showed a ton of confidence, and with practice and mileage the shyness and the lack of live experience will surely disappear too. Backed by the guys, who are used to the stage, Urša seemed more and more assured from song to song, though the banter between tracks and the crowd-rousing mostly fell to Grega this time.
If the vocals surprised us despite some initial caution, the guys proved they aren’t afraid of stages and haven’t forgotten how it’s done in spite of the two-year break. The instrumental foursome delivered with a huge dose of energy and almost no flubs, and it was obvious they were way more than just hungry for it. It was great to hear the crushers Mind Collapse (in a basically brand-new arrangement), Non-Existing Opportunity and Burning Bridges again after so long, along with the gorgeous ballad The Challenge of Love (during which Urša cracked the most). Of course, the obligatory staple wasn’t missing either, the Steel Panther cover Asian Hooker (if I were slightly tasteless, I could write that now Use Less smell of sushi too. But I won’t. Oops). Use Less also surprised us with an Anthrax classic and a new, still-untitled song, which suggests the band is clearly heading toward the waters of more complex and slightly progressive metal.
Use Less can be more than happy with their first comeback gig, and so is the crowd. And yes, we missed you, Use Less, so please don’t go anywhere.
Setlist
1. Bedtime Story
2. NEO
3. Seven
4. Dragons & Swords
5. The Challenge of Love
6. 19v18
7. Asian Hooker
8. Mind Collapse
9. Metal Thrashing Mad
10. Burning Bridges
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