Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Kompleks / Ravne na Koroškem / Slovenia
Concert date: January 29, 2010
Attendance: 130
Ticket price: €9.00 / €12.00
Last Saturday, up in Carinthia, in Ravne to be exact, the now-traditional Winterstrike took place, with the hottest names on the Slovenian metal scene playing for the third year running. Sadly, the weather called the shots at the cozy Kompleks club: heavy snowfall all over the country scared off plenty of would-be visitors from making the trip to a town way out beneath the Karavanke. A real shame, especially considering that Ravne hosted a black metal night in the second half of last December, and attendance was just as miserable then thanks to the extreme weather that evening. This time, winter conditions notwithstanding, the turnout was solid. A good hundred fans of heavy metal riffing gathered and hung out through sets by Scepsis, Gonoba, Vulvathrone and Lene kosti. Unfortunately, Ljubljana thrash metallers Eruption had to cancel at the last minute, again because of the awful weather.
SCEPSIS
The night was opened by Scepsis, a lineup that joins forces between members of local bands Thraw and Wartune. Scepsis is a project dedicated exclusively to playing covers, a.k.a. heavy metal classics. And what a show they put on! The band is made up of four excellent musicians: Tilen on bass/vocals, Gašper and Domen as the guitar duo, and Bojan behind the drums. Despite the project’s rare gigs, the guys go all in and squeeze out everything they’ve got. They know how to dedicate themselves to every song and play it dead accurate, just like the original. Vocalist Tilen switches constantly between different flavors of aggressive vocals and growls, and Bojan did a great job too, despite his youth one of the standout drummers on our scene. He pounds his kit like it’s a joke, fills are no challenge at all, he’s got every song written in his little finger. Scepsis surprised with a cover of the instrumental Transylvania (Iron Maiden), since it’s a departure from the shades of metal they usually play. The guys shone, taking on technically tougher Death songs too (Spirit Crusher, Zombie Ritual), and fans of Testament, Slayer and Sepultura got their money’s worth as well. In the band’s favor, Scepsis changed up the set list somewhat compared to last August’s gig at Metelkova in Ljubljana, where I saw them for the first time. Without a doubt a set tailor-made for fans of more extreme metal, and one that, as it later turned out, may have pulled in the biggest crowd of souls in the Kompleks hall.
GONOBA
Next up on stage were the guys from Domžale band Gonoba, who recently released their studio debut “Chains of Ignorance” and came to Carinthia precisely to present it. In a set just under an hour long, they showed why they’re among the best metal bands we’ve got right now. Gonoba is a well-oiled machine that knows how to light a fire under the crowd’s feet! They presented their death/thrash vision of metal, with elements of both genres woven tightly together: thrashy riffing, Hopsi’s often aggressive growl, and a crushing rhythm section with Koki on drums and Brane on bass carry it off into death metal waters, while both guitars provide the melody that makes their music interesting. A kind of melodic death metal with thrash elements, then. But why pigeonhole it? There was no time for that during the gig, since the Domžale crew pounded away at light speed and took us through the album Chains of Ignorance, while the Exodus cover War is My Shepherd proved their thrash roots. Their songs are built on fast tempos, but many of the transitions bring in a touch of slower parts, where Gonoba hit the brakes and force the audience into a different rhythm of “headbanging”. Guitarist Grega deserves a special mention: his tricks up and down the neck of his guitar added an extra element to Gonoba’s sound and no doubt lifted their music to a higher level. A confident set that also convinced me to buy the album “Chains of Ignorance”.
VULVATHRONE
Third on the bill were Vulvathrone, champions of the Slovenian porn grind scene and hands down the most extreme band of the night. The Prekmurje boys played Carinthia as a trio, without Ozy on bass. I don’t know why Ozy was missing, but it definitely showed in the music itself, since communication between the rhythm section (this time just Matko on the drum stool) and guitarist Herman wasn’t up to scratch, which led to a few minor slip-ups and mismatches in the songs. Frontman Jure, a young guy, has settled into the band pretty well thanks to all the gigging, but he still lacks a pinch more confidence and stage presence, especially when it comes to communication between band and audience. It seems like Vulvathrone bet all their cards purely on the music, while the stage show takes far too much of a back seat. Which doesn’t mean Vulvathrone are slouches! Matko behind the kit delivered an extreme tempo and gave a beat to Herman’s twitchy guitar work, while a colorful palette of vocals brings the dynamics to Vulvathrone. Both Jure and Herman, who swaps in for him now and then, have a whole arsenal of vocals up their sleeves, a thousand and one kinds of growl, including every possible variety of croaking. Vulvathrone walked through the newly released album “Passion of Perversity” and didn’t forget their debut Bukkake either. Judging by the dancing front two rows at Kompleks, Vulvathrone definitely delivered orgasms for all the grind devotees, although, let’s be honest, the Vulvathrone mindset only makes sense to a select few.
LENE KOSTI
After three more extreme bands, it was time for those who swear by tradition in metal. Time for Lene Kosti, the first Slovenian heavy metal band, whose roots reach back to 1978. Lene kosti are a band from head to toe, a band that takes care of its whole image. They look after their fans, they have a clearly drawn vision aimed at the future, and if they’ve already conquered the throne of Slovenian heavy metal, the flirtation with audiences abroad is now slowly beginning. And they’ve got something else: great showmen, led by Milan Krušič, whose performance turns ninety minutes into a play, a show telling a story in the style of Alice Cooper. He tops his previous gig with every new one, so the audience never knows what “Dr. Evil” will cook up this time. But let’s take it from the top.
As headliners of the night, Lene kosti got the longest slot, and in a set of about an hour and a half they showed you don’t mess with them! They presented the core of the songs from their upcoming album Do or Die (out at the end of February) and, with their crushing old-school approach to heavy metal, blasted off everyone caught between the four walls of Kompleks at that moment. They didn’t forget to tip their hat to two of their idols, to whom they owe thanks for inspiration in the band’s first steps long ago. I’m talking, of course, about ZZ Top (Tube Snake Boogie) and Judas Priest (Diamonds and Rust). The solid core of the band is the two Kavaš brothers on guitar, who oversee the show with experienced, calm eyes, but on the other side lay down razor-sharp guitar riffs as the foundation for the story Krušič plays out. Then there’s bassist Grega Benko, who since his gig at Orto bar last May, his first as bassist, has gotten to know the band and how it works really well, and has settled into the group to the point that on stage he breathes as one with the Kavaš duo. The action on stage is built on frontman Krušič’s moves, whose charisma is bigger than Triglav, so it’s no surprise he confidently loves to experiment with something new. He started the show in his already familiar psychopathic surgeon’s gear as the mad doctor (Dr. Evil, naturally!), and nearly shocked everyone mid-set when, dressed as an old woman with a scythe, he sang the song “Uninvited Guest”. Krušič has a knack for choosing his stage costumes, he knows no limits, and that’s exactly the card Lene kosti are betting on, one that could take them a devilishly long way. Still, Lene kosti aren’t just Krušič. They’re a combination of experience and refinement in the Kavaš brothers and Krušič, and on the other side the youth, playfulness and hunger to prove themselves of drummer Miha Nedoh and the aforementioned bassist Brenko. In short, Lene kosti are a well-coordinated crew where everyone knows their role and fills it down to the last detail.
Toward the end of the set a bit of fatigue started to show, there were a few minor guitar slip-ups, and after such a long gig Krušič’s vocals also made it clear he’s no Rob Halford at twenty-five, but looking at the whole picture, Lene kosti proved once again that night why they’re the godfathers of Slovenian heavy metal. Lene kosti, I can hardly wait for the record! Who knows how far it can take them!
Everyone has their own taste and every opinion is subjective, so it’s hard to talk about a winner of the night. But the fact is that Lene kosti, at least for me, left the deepest impression, and their show really isn’t the same as what you get from many other bands. The night was a lovely experience, and the lineup itself speaks to the current big popularity of the thrash and death genres in metal circles, and the scene is developing in that direction as a result. If we just look at last year’s new metal releases in Slovenia, it’s easy to see that those two subgenres are leading the pack. We can be sorry about the dropped Eruption, but the night was top-notch without a shadow of a doubt. It’s also great that in faraway Ravne you could spot more or less familiar metal faces from all over Slovenia, from central Slovenia as well as Upper and Lower Carniola. As long as we stay this connected, we’ll definitely have a “blast”!
photos (Scepsis, Gonoba): Aleš Podbrežnik
photos (Vulvathrone, Lene kosti): Urban Bolta
photos (Lene kosti): Andreja Krušič
Setlist
SCEPSIS 1. Redneck Stomp 2. Territory 3. Refuse/Resist 4. Into the Pit 5. A New Level 6. Criminally Insane 7. Transylvania 8. Zombie Ritual 10. Spirit Crusher 11. The Philosopher GONOBA 1. Procreation 2. Violent Solutions 3. Sickness 4. Constucting Deconstruction 5. In Vain 6. War Is My Shepherd 7. Chains of Ignorance 8. Wictim Of Myself VULVATHRONE 1. The Allure Of Domination 2. Psychopathia Sexualis 3. Bleed For Me 4. Kurbovje 5. Cum Socket 6. Toilet Slut 7. Reduced To a Sexual Object 8. Kurva 9. Metaphysic Of Torture 10. The Cult Of Vulva 11. Bitch Hunt 12. Maxxed Out LENE KOSTI: 1. I Got The… 2. Stones Of Death 3. Diamonds And Rust 4. Nightmare 5. Sunrise 6. Tube Snake Boogie 7. Iron Dragon 8. Play With Fire 9. The Sting 10. Uninvited Guest 11. Time For Love 12. Warrior 13. Russian Girl 14. Rock Power 15. Do Or Die ———————— 16. Russian Girl
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