Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Various Artists
Label: Dallas Records
Released: 2006
It’s been 20 years since the cult rock compilation Rijeka – Paris – Texas put the Rijeka rock scene of the eighties on the map, and the locals have decided to wake up their sleepy scene. Back in the late, great Yugoslavia, that compilation lifted bands like Fit, Grad and Let 3 out of obscurity, and it’s Damir Martinović – Mrle of that last band who decided to become the savior of Rijeka’s underground “musicians”. Through his label Ciklama Records he teamed up with the bigger label Dallas, and the result is the compilation in front of us. When Rijeka – Paris – Texas came out, conditions were far friendlier to smaller bands than they are today, and Dallas, together with Ciklama Records, decided to step in and help groups that hadn’t broken through yet. A Slovenian label or two could definitely take a page from Mrle’s book…
The compilation features five awesome, awesome bands from Rijeka, two tracks each, and the soundtrack to the stage show Heroine also gets two tracks.
The record is opened by oddballs One Piece Puzzle, who bring you the tracks Superveshmashina and Ona prima ljudski. The music One Piece Puzzle play comes closest to industrial metal or rock, with an interesting vocal performance from singer Ratka. You certainly can’t accuse them of being unoriginal.
Next up is the music from the show Heroine, the first original solo project by young Mila Čuljak. My opinion… The worst part of the compilation, and in my view it shouldn’t be among artists who actually make their music with their own hands instead of leaving it all to a computer. Yep, you guessed it, I’m no fan of electronic music. I honestly don’t get how Heroine ended up on a compilation alongside bands like Father, Downfall and the rest. Just because they happen to come from Rijeka?!
Luckily, the track Lost in Words fixes the taste with Father, the saviors of Croatian metal. Father are the best-known band on the compilation and one that’s already drifting away from the underground label. Probably the best-known Rijeka band right now, apart from Let 3. Father, who also contribute the track Never Come Back, play excellent metal that follows current trends, yet still stands out enough from the flood of new metal where everything sounds pretty much the same.
Invert would be easiest to place on the Swedish label Burning Heart. That means quality, easygoing hardcore or skate punk that doesn’t bring anything new, since it leans heavily on bands like Millencolin, NOFX and the like. Nothing to Lose and Something’s Wrong are their contribution.
Downfall carry on into heavier waters, a promising melodic death metal outfit. Alongside Father they’re the standard-bearers of the Rijeka metal scene, and they set things on fire with Second and the calmer B.l.e.a.k.
Last band up, O.Š. SULUD III, drag us back to the elementary-school classroom with some very interesting rock that stylistically sits close to the Yugo rock bands of the eighties.
As the cherry on top, the record also offers a multimedia extra in the form of an animated video by Lana Letović and Manuela Paladin Šabanović, with the music provided by The Gilletes vs. Higland Brothers. Yet another electronic track, backed by a bizarre clip that you’d probably need to be on certain substances to make sense of. I could have lived without it…
Strašni Riječani isn’t a compilation aiming for commercial success; its purpose is mainly to showcase and offer a cross-section of what the Rijeka scene is making in the 21st century. A very commendable move, and a chance for unestablished bands to have new doors opened for them. My only gripe, at least to my taste, is that the project is cast too wide genre-wise, since the record’s mostly rock direction gets spoiled by Heroine. Mrle says he listens to all kinds of music, which is certainly fair enough, but he could still have saved Heroine for Strašni Riječani 2, which he says will most likely lean electronic.
Lineup
One Piece Puzzle
Heroine (soundtrack)
Father
Invert
Downfall
O.Š. Sulud III
Production
Damir – Martinović – Mrle
Tracklist
1. One Piece Puzzle – Superveshmashina
2. Heroine – Blood is all over/Song 4 Selma
3. Father – Lost in Words
4. Invert – Nothing to Lose
5. Downfall – Second
6. One Piece Puzzle – Ona prima ljudski
7. O.Š. Sulud III – Droga u meni
8. Father – Never Come Back
9. Invert – Something’s Wrong
10. Downfall – B.l.e.a.k.
11. O.Š. Sulud III – Ljubav cvate oko vate
12. Heroine – Fabulous kick
+ Multimedia
