Author: Rok Klemše
Venue: Izbruhov bazen, Kranj
Gig date: 10.04.2009
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: 12€
So, while all over Slovenia people were baking potica, dyeing eggs, cooking/roasting dead piglets, grating horseradish, celebrating the day they nailed the “savior” to a cross 2000 years ago and flocking in droves to the “blessing” so the priests could sprinkle their grub with holy water, we metalheads trekked to the Gorenjska metropolis, to a former swimming pool, for a proper dose of thrash, because we’d already missed the ringing in our ears and a good honest hangover. This holiday was set to be one hell of a party, because German thrash legend(s) Vendetta rolled into town, backed by the Swiss party-thrash-core duo Shadow’s Far and Mortal Factor, and the organizers topped it off with the local saw-masters Eruption. And it was great to be back in Kranj, where a space for alternative/underground culture is obviously about to come to life in a serious way and make sure that sooner or later churches will once again burn with tall flames on hilltops all over Slovenia. We’re waiting…
Anyway, the whole thing was supposed to kick off at nine. I don’t know why, since it would’ve been late enough if it all started at eight. Of course it dragged on a bit, which didn’t bother the assembled metalheads one bit, since they could happily drink in the parking lot and swap news.
Around half past nine the locals Eruption took the stage. The crowd knows them more than well, and even though the sound gave them a lot of trouble at the start, it didn’t spoil the party. The guys played very few gigs last year because of lineup problems, but now the new bassist and guitarist clearly feel right at home in the band and on stage, and what we saw was (as it later turned out) the best-attended set of the night. Like I said, the sound guy messed with them a bit at the start, somewhere near the end the rhythm guitarist snapped a string, but that got sorted within a single song, and the crowd couldn’t have cared less that one monitor wasn’t working. Why would they? The guys were (as always) spitting out proper thrash, kicked off a small mosh pit, had a whole row of headbanging fans, and they clearly went down well with Amande (Mortal Factor’s vocalist) too, who was the designated party animal of the night and by far the most “animated” member of the crowd during Eruption’s set. I don’t know their stuff down to the nuances, but I think they played two new songs, and it seems to me Buco on vocals calmed down a bit too (less high-pitched “screaming”), so the guys definitely have a bright future ahead, and let’s hope we’ll see them on stage plenty more this year and in the years to come, in at least as good form as they showed this time. Hey guys, will we get an album before we’re all grandpas?
After a (too) long break, during which it got properly cold in the venue (and no, cold beer doesn’t help you warm up (tested)(though it’s true you feel better after a beer, four, …)), the first half of the Swiss opening twins came rushing onto the stage: Mortal Factor. Sadly they didn’t manage to fill the hall. I think most of the crowd came to watch a song or two and then wandered outside to keep drinking, even though in my opinion they delivered the best set of the night. As far as I know the guys still haven’t recorded an album, even though they’ve been around since 2003. They’ve put out one promo, appeared on a bunch of compilations, have a hefty stack of live mileage, but an album is nowhere to be seen. Shame. Anyway, these guys fire off killer death/thrash/core, and personally they raised every hair on my body and head (the few I’ve got left). In a moment I forgot the place was freezing, and their set flew by while I was happily swaying my hips and knees (and a bit of neck too). Like I said, it’s a shame more people weren’t watching. Although the guys (especially the singer) partied hard and were happy with the response of the small crowd (I’d say around 50-60 people) that watched their set. Their music doesn’t boast a lot of originality, but within the genre they play and in terms of command of their instruments (at a pretty high level) they find their footing extremely well. Their mix of sawing riffs/breakdowns/blast beats (though those are really rare)/screams and growls goes down smooth, and plenty of modern-day “wannabe” black-metallers could learn a thing or two about aggression from them. Add the singer, who at (roughly eyeballing it) just under 190 cm and (at least 120 kilos) goes nuts, runs, jumps around the stage (and into the crowd) and at full sprint squeezes out truly animalistic growls (plenty of Scandinavian Johanns could learn something from him…), and you know you missed a serious thrash party. I did notice on the forums that people (why is it that only the ones who watch a song or two and then go outside to drink write on forums?) didn’t exactly like them, but for me they were definitely the best band of the night. And if you watch their videos on YouTube (and there are plenty), know that, judging by what I saw in Kranj, those clips don’t do them justice. The sound was great, the guys and the crowd were up for a party, and 40 minutes passed in the blink of an eye. And then it was back out into the cold for a beer, thanks to the anti-smoking law!
And another far-too-long break went by (this night really did drag) before the last of the openers took the stage, Swiss again: Shadow’s Far. They’ve been crawling the earth together since 1997, but in that time they’ve only managed to release one EP, “Lost In Contemplation” in 2004 and in 2007 their first (and so far only) album, “Eleven Sins”. Their music is true-believer aggressive thrash that very obviously draws on early, aggressive German thrash, and there’s practically nothing new to be said about it. It’s true, though, that it would probably have been better to swap their slot with Mortal Factor, but that’s another story. Anyway, the crowd gathered in front of the stage was thin again, maybe 40 people watching, most of them pretty static, except for Mortal Factor’s singer, who with a beer in hand jumped, went wild, yelled, headbanged, and sprinted up and down (I’ll have to check whether he used to train as a runner) and tried to kick off a mosh pit (he partly succeeded during two songs), but there was no real interaction between the crowd and the band. Sadly. I think the guys deserved a bigger crowd and probably a better response despite being unknown around here, because for any true aggressive/stinky thrasher their music is balm for the ears. Then again, maybe folks were just too drunk, which, given the long breaks and the number of empty bottles of beer/wine/schnapps before the doors, isn’t entirely impossible. So the guys led the small crowd through most of the songs from both of their releases and had a great time doing it themselves, which is worth something in the end too. If you want to know how they sound, go to their website, where you can “download” their EP (for free), and you’ll see you missed a proper thrash party if you weren’t there that night or if you were elsewhere during their set, guzzling cheap wine or homemade schnapps.
And (unbelievably) after yet another too-long break (can someone please explain the trick of leaving a stage that’s totally set up for a band sitting empty for a good 20 minutes??) at one (!?) in the morning, Vendetta finally honored us with their set. A band that belongs to the second generation of German thrash metal (and in my opinion to the second league too, even if they have their bright moments) and has been delighting us with their playing again since 2007, even though the album “Hate” certainly doesn’t reach their releases from the 80s of the last century (“Go And Live… Stay And Die” – 1987 and “Brain Damage” – 1988). They’ve stopped by here for the second time, after last year’s show at Metal Mania in Komno, but their set was nothing special. If we tackle the technical side first, I have to admit the sound was good, but somehow hollow. The whole thing reminded me of Kretor’s last gig at MC in Tolmin in 2007, when in theory everything clicked too (crowd, sound, …) but the band put exactly 12% of its energy into the performance. And Vendetta did the same that night. For thrashers they were DEFINITELY too static, the contact with the crowd was forced and rehearsed (I don’t think such a well-known band should get away with that attitude toward their fans, even if only 50 people are watching), and if they’re promoting the tour as one where they’ll play the first two albums almost in full, they could have actually done that.
That’s it, short and sweet. I was disappointed, because it felt like the guys couldn’t be bothered to play at that late hour (it would be interesting to know if they themselves wanted to go on that late…), and we went home with a bitter taste in our mouths, and I think we all felt it would have been better if only the first three bands had played that night, in a slightly shuffled running order, so we’d have had enough strength left to get properly wasted. Damn, I think it’s the first time in my life I walked home from a thrash gig almost in a straight line…
Photos: Jure Frelih
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