Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Date: Friday, 06.11.2015
By some strange coincidence, Norwegian forces completely took over Kino Šiška this weekend. No, we weren’t invaded by trolls, moose, reindeer and fishermen, not by black metallers (this time), and thankfully not by sky-high prices either. No, the Norwegian owls Kvelertak were back after a year and a half and just a day after their visit, the Norwegian blackjazz oddballs Shining were due to play the same spot. But before that, Kvelertak grabbed us by the throat and showed no mercy with their filthy, infectious rock ‘n’ roll.
There aren’t exactly any bands over here that match Kvelertak’s genre, but the choice of support acts was still pretty satisfying, since the first band on, the hardcore brawlers from Železniki TriFor60, already took care of a proper warm-up. For a good half hour, the guys shook raw, rough HC out of their sleeves, spiced with punk, crust and some metal elements, plus original, critical lyrics in Slovenian. They erupted from Jani’s throat like a volcano set on burning down everything that’s wrong with the country: vampiric bankers, depraved politicians, incompetents in positions of power, repressive authorities and the obsession with social media. TriFor60 deliver their messages through angry vocals, fast, charging guitars and a tearing, razor-sharp drum sound, and thanks to the excellent sound, their ultra-pissed-off set, with its F.O.A.D. attitude toward everything that’s wrong with modern society, came across even better than usual.
After the sharp, outspoken social criticism, the Ljubljana stoner trio Jegulja kept things rolling in a more relaxed vein, and they brought the fattest sound of the night. It felt like sticking your head in a bucket of electric eels, as the ears filled up with a dynamic, varied interplay of guitar lines, greasy riffs and loud, colorful drumming. The instrumental threesome skillfully break up and complement the classic stoner riffage with Kozel’s solos, which are sometimes psychedelic, sometimes shredder-style unhinged and sometimes classic rock. The guys have no bass player, but you don’t miss it at all, since the two guitars create more than enough depth, and the band’s onstage spontaneity impresses too, often leading to unplanned jams.
At half past ten, to the delight of a crowd that wasn’t quite as big as last year at Gala Hala, Ljubljana was once again greeted by the epic riffs of the anthemic Åpenbaring and the wild frontman Erlend Hjelvik, once again with the owl, the band’s symbol, on his head. Hjelvik was again the central icon, winning everyone over with a raw performance and plenty of “Ugh!” shouts. Kvelertak dropped by Ljubljana on a day off from their tour with Slayer and Anthrax, and the band once again proved they’re in killer live form and simply one of the best live bands around right now. The Norwegians are known for their potent mix of hard rock, heavy metal, punk and the occasional black metal element, and this time too that mix went up like a bonfire doused in gasoline. And just as flammable as their songs are the band members onstage, who don’t stand still for a second. Erland takes up the whole stage all the time anyway, with a mop of hair covering his face practically at every moment, while the guitar trio, the bassist and the drummer go wild every single minute of the show. Even though Erland sings exclusively in Norwegian and it’s mostly completely incomprehensible to our ears, the whole thing is so infectious and so convincing live that you end up at least humming the Norwegian lyrics the whole time, if nothing else. In a good hour and a half, Kvelertak burned through both albums almost in full, with crushing hits like Bruane Brenn, Mjød and Kvelertak ruling the night, and they played a few new songs too. They’re a bomb, and we can hardly wait for the new album coming out next year. And since I started with Norwegian stereotypes, let me finish with a Norwegian joke. What do you call a Norwegian prostitute? Fjord Escort.
author: Rok Klemše
photos: Nina Grad
