Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Retro Kult
Label: Self-released
Released: 2013
Duration: 58:10
Rating: 4/5
Retro Kult are a Slovenian hard rock band that hasn’t been around long, but its members are already seriously seasoned and battle-tested. It was obviously only a matter of time before the wheel of fate threw them together into a squad of five musicians who read each other perfectly and click when it comes to creating their own original music.
There’s no cult of sectarian madness behind the name Retro Kult, nor any other obsession with worshipping higher powers. It’s simply the musical direction of the quintet, which is set on building a soundscape from the days of recording tape. Back when (to put it fondly) you weren’t allowed to »fuck up« in the studio because tape was expensive, and bands recorded songs on the first take! As if you were playing a live gig. Only you play it in the studio. So the only thing that counts is the analog recording. Hence the name Retro Kult! Salvation lies in analog technique (Salvatio Analogum)!
Retro Kult put a whole lot on the line here. They knew it from the start, even before going into the recording process. The sound of the album is definitely a matter of perception! It’s organic, warm and incredibly dynamic. It’s alive. The vibe is real. The vibration the musicians radiate is poured authentically onto the tape and into the content of the record! The moment captured in the studio is preserved as it was. No after-the-fact cosmetic fixes and touch-ups. That’s what the guys wanted. »Salvatio Analogum« sounds like a gig: you feel how the building blocks of the sound fit together, you feel the bonds between the band members, you feel the chemistry between them. You feel the unity, you feel the power!
And the style? It looks to a colorful palette of acts who built their expression on the raw force of a devastating rock ‘n’ roll riff and »bad ass« uncompromising attitude! The role models call up the retro nostalgia of the unrepeatable, one-of-a-kind character and work of Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses… Ragged, raw, unbridled and committed! Some of the riffs also carry hints that the band could swerve toward punk rock at any moment, or, as the polar opposite, even flirt shamelessly with glam rascality. But the foundation of Retro Kult’s musical heritage stays nailed to the old-school guidelines of classic hard rock and rock ‘n’ roll.
The band also masterfully exploits the effects of microphonics, which you can hear in the »mid eight« passages (the instrumental middle sections of songs) and in the outros and intros, where they use such effects to color the frameworks of the songs. So you get one shot. One try. Whatever happens, happens. The band nails it. With great courage and balls! The cult rock albums, the ones that wrote the history of rock ‘n’ roll, carry their »flubs«, which their authors still know very well today and which of course stay hidden from us mere earthlings, but they exist. That means Retro Kult didn’t play everything 100% right either. That’s impossible if you’re after authenticity. Nothing in the world is perfect. That’s just an illusion. And that’s exactly where the elementary beauty of this carefree, ambitious and fiery rock ‘n’ roll product hides, one that explores the primordial heritage of the first rock ‘n’ roll pioneers in the relaxed harmony of the five-piece. The important realization, though, is that Retro Kult don’t succumb to imitating their role models at any point. They don’t fall into the trap of replicating famous rock ‘n’ roll riffs. The melos is »Slovenian«, and the use of the Slovenian language deepens that too. The songs Zarja and Corvinus are prime examples of pure-blooded patriotism, which gives that much-needed feeling that »Salvatio Analogum« is a strictly Slovenian hard rock statement. The album cover itself points to it effectively, with its yellowed sleeve, as does the symbolism of the front cover, which doesn’t hide its geographic origin.
Retro Kult can be gloomy, and in the instrumental passages they can carelessly sail even toward psychedelic touches, which deepens the retro sound of the record. The guys didn’t cut a thing. You can hear the switching of amps and the clicking of footswitches. It all finds its right place instantly in the opening track Preludij, which gives you an immediate insight into what Retro Kult are made of. The opening southern rock development later rolls into an invigorating, energetic »drive« that trades in the AC/DC legacy. Fair enough.
The central story of the album »Salvatio Analogum« is definitely the song Zarja. A varied mini epic suite full of mood swings, following in the footsteps of the great days of the distant past, when famous rock classics like Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Love To Love (UFO) and Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd) were being born. You can of course feel some of that sentiment in it, but the song is wrapped up in true Retro Kult fashion, and so it’s an authentic reflection of a birth on the sunny side of the Alps.
A mix of madness and pain, with a dash of the occult and temptation, the »bad ass« rocker Senca wins you over with its energetic, unadulterated feel. It’s a dark number with a good dose of ride through a blues-leaning riff and later an AC/DC rhythmic stampede, with the penetrating, erogenous sound of a cowbell putting the cherry on top! A similar course of events can be detected in Pekel in raj and in the closing Vol 4. The songs are built on minor keys and are dark. But they carry a good amount of clean melodic lines, where there’s also plenty of room for a plasma of guitar harmonies in thirds (Vol. 4).
Alongside the excellent playing of the instrumental part of the crew, Anži’s vocal contribution is of course very important. He’s growing into an excellent singer. His vocal style (color of the voice included) is tailor-made for the band’s musical direction. It’s explosive, and with the power he builds through his interpretation of the verses, he successfully sells his chosen vocal adventures from the mid to the high and highest vocal registers! The man punctuates the verses in all the right places with a throaty punch! He has a refined feel for it, and he’ll build on it further in the future.
Of course, in their huge desire to deliver the masses an authentic mirror of themselves on the album »Salvatio Analogum«, the guys also showed some vulnerability. Some passages (especially the calmer, transitional ones) are played with less confidence within individual parts of a song, and in the very next motif of the same song you can feel a much greater degree of determination. So at a few points you can sense fluctuations in terms of the album’s players feeling a bit more or less sure of themselves. Then there are those already mentioned »flubs«, which actually have the opposite effect. All in all, they even enrich the album.
Retro Kult recorded this album in both Slovenian and English. In a mere ten days. I have the Slovenian version in my hands, and I can assure you the guys didn’t fall into the trap of Slovenian being less nimble in rock music, given the well-known fluidity of English. They tailored the verses successfully, and Slovenian works with confidence in the hard rock school of Retro Kult.
No hiding and no cosmetic touch-ups. Just a raw rock ‘n’ roll storm across all borders! »Salvatio Analogum« may seem naive at first glance, but on the other hand it’s a work of great courage and honest rock ‘n’ roll heart from this quintet. Precisely because it stayed unvarnished, it shines like a pearl, and as a debut it’s an extremely nice send-off, one the band can safely and carefree build its musical development on in the future. It’s a testament to big ambitions and a desire for validation on the scene. For affirmation. And Retro Kult are definitely a breath of fresh air on the Slovenian scene. In terms of musical innovation, they certainly won’t knock planet Earth out of its ecliptic with »Salvatio Analogum«, but they sidestep the apparent trap of being weighed down by generic sound with plenty of proven heart and great sincerity in their performance.
Lineup
Anži – vocals, backing vocals
Zupi – guitar, backing vocals
Deži – guitar, backing vocals
Jonny – bass guitar, backing vocals
Božo – drums, backing vocals
Production
Mike 3D
Track list
1. Preludij
2. Pekel in raj
3. V večnosti
4. Čutim te
5. Zarja
6. Corvinus
7. V sanje
8. Senca
9. Tebi
10. Vol. 4
