Author: Rok Klemše
Location: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Concert date: 12.11.2010
Attendance: 120
Ticket price: €4
Over the last two years it’s been a joy to watch the Slovenian metal scene grow in step with the world’s. The number of quality metal bands here easily tops the number of genuinely good foreign acts in plenty of countries with a much more metal-sounding reputation… and if just a few years ago eardrums on our turf were rattled mostly by blast beats and growling vocals – the extreme end of metal, in other words – there’s finally a slow but steady comeback of heavy metal to be spotted here too. This time the heavy metal-packed night was served up by Use Less from Kamnik, who just put out their new demo Mind Collapse, and who invited their colleagues from Postojna, the progressive/power metal outfit Divine Illusion, as the support act in charge of warming up the crowd.
Divine Illusion greeted us at the door with a superbly executed Slipstream, and you can really tell the Postojna progressive/power metal band has played a seriously healthy number of gigs this past year. Simon’s vocals wouldn’t embarrass even Mac himself, and bassist Martin surprised everyone with brutally growled parts that the great Dan Swäno handles on the original. But where Divine Illusion truly shine is with their own songs from the recently released EP Genetic (RockLine review HERE). Monumental choruses, aggressive riffing, a wrecking-ball rhythm section and nimble-fingered mastery of the black and white keys make for coherent, dynamic, wildly varied songs that, thanks to how infectious they are, come off even better live than on record. Besides Simon’s vocals, two backing vocalists – Martin and Peter – take care of that in a big way, rounding out an already full sound for Divine Illusion, and the crowd happily joins in on the epic, bombastic choruses too. Simon, in a T-shirt with a mutated Spongebob Squarepants, deftly and charmingly filled the silences between songs, and it’s obvious that the vibe among the band members is nothing but positive. Instrumentally, the band holds up exceptionally well in a live setting; the drums crack like there’s money on it, the guitar riffs cut just sharp enough, the bass rattles pleasantly, and the keys wrap up the whole thing with atmosphere. The vocals bring authority, bouncy energy and a high degree of melodicism to the music, and the original material is so good that Divine Illusion can easily be compared with bands like Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and other Scandinavian prog/power metal acts. They fared somewhat less happily with the covers; the songs that suit their genre down to the ground came off great in the band’s hands, especially the opening Slipstream and the Stratovarius anthem Hunting High and Love, which surprised with how precisely they were worked out, while purists will (and I will) grab their ears when Divine Illusion put classics like Wasted Years, Eagle Fly Free and Enter Sandman under the microscope. It’s commendable that Divine Illusion rework even these songs in their own way (i.e. with keyboards), but I still think the guys should stick to their own songs, which are more than good enough, maybe with a few covers that fit their genre better. Either way, it’s nice to hear a band here that puts a lot of stock in keyboard parts and especially strongly melodic lines and mighty choruses. I truly hope Divine Illusion keep up this high level in the studio and on stage in the future, and a proper full-length studio successor to the EP Genetic is something we can wait for only and exclusively with open arms.
After the Postojna crew Divine Illusion successfully warmed up the crowd, the stars of the night finally stepped onto the stage – the proud new fathers of baby Mind Collapse, the Kamnik heavy metallers Use Less. Right from the start the guys brought tears to the eyes of all the nostalgics who were glued to the screen back in the nineties when Cartoon Network was airing the cult cartoon series Swat Kats, about two heavy metal cat special agents, and they played the heavy metal wrecking-ball intro from the first season. Use Less then spun us into an hour-long storm of melodic, singable heavy metal and successfully presented their freshly released demo. It was great to hear that the songs from the first demo 3 Little Statements of Life have really caught on with people, since the choruses were sung together with the guys on stage. No wonder the crowd was “Grko approved”, hehe. While Seven, The Non-existing Oppurtunity and Money is the Name of the Game are already a proven heavy metal live formula, with the new songs Use Less were still feeling their way a bit shyly, wondering how Orto would react. Well, any fear was unnecessary, because from what we heard, the songs from Mind Collapse are a huge step forward in every respect compared to the first demo. First and foremost, the biggest improvement is in Rok “Tavta” Tavčar’s vocal work: the vocal lines are sung far more accurately, with fewer “off-key” lines, the transitions from lower to higher registers are much smoother, and the lines are generally more elaborate and varied, blending even better with the lyrics. This sounds best in the excellent, almost heart-wrenching ballad The Challenge of Love, which found its complete opposite in an ode to Asian ladies of the night, the surprise Asian Hooker by glam revivalists Steel Panther. Use Less pull it off for ten bucks too, hehe. “Me love you long time” said the guys from Kamnik, and they loved us for a measly €4 for a whole hour. The songs from the new demo are also easy to fall in love with, since they go straight into the ear incredibly fast, especially the “Savatage-style” crushing Mind Collapse and the scorching Burning Bridges. The new songs are more complex in structure, the riffs more thought-out, Matej’s solos polished and supersonic, and Greg’s bass lines breathtaking, especially when you see how effortlessly his fingers fly up and down the neck of the bass. The lead vocals have come on incredibly and already sound much better live than on the demo itself, and it was also great to hear Primož’s full, powerful backing vocals live, which complemented the sound beautifully. If the Divine Illusion vocalist did a good job filling the breaks between songs, Rok did an even better job of it, offering almost proper “stand-up” routines between songs. Unfortunately, a few times he overdid the length a bit and slightly spoiled the intensity and flow of the show, since by then our necks were almost rested and our eardrums unclogged. Still, the launch of Use Less’s new demo was a total success. What’s especially pleasing is that the new recording is of far higher quality than the first and that the guys are already writing new songs. Live, too, Use Less are becoming a heavy metal monster worth fearing, they just can’t play songs twice anymore, even if Mind Collapse is worth it. I hope we’ll soon get to be a “Grko approved” crowd at the release gig for a proper full-length studio record!
Photos: Nina Grad
Setlist
DIVINE ILLUSION:
1. A Nightmare to Remember + Slipstream
2. Clarity of Mind
3. Eagle Fly Free
4. Genetic
5. Hunting High and Low
6. Promised Land
7. Enter Sandman
8. Words in Motion
9. Wasted Years
10. Gray
USE LESS:
1. Intro/Swat Kats
2. Non-Existing Opportunity
3. Mind Collapse
4. Dragons & Swor(l)ds
5. Seven
6. Asian Hooker
7. The Challenge of Love
8. Money is the Name of the Game
9. Bedtime Story
10. Great Old Ones
12. Burning Bridges
13. Mind Collapse
Photo gallery
