Written by:	Abattoir
Published:	March 15, 2019

Round 09 : Weedpecker, Sunnata (28.02.2019 - Zagreb/Croatia) --> Venue: Klub Mocvara

CONCERT REVIEW:

This round led me back to Zagreb, the closest "big" city in my concert hunting calendar, for some double Poland-based psychedelic/stoner/sludge (I think I've mentioned all of it ) action. Weedpecker and Sunnata were the ones on the bill, causing in me some more excitement prior this gig. This was actually a "smaller" version of European tour, with eight dates on the list and a more Eastern touch.




To warm up and engage the audience, Sunnata marched on the scene first. Knowing their music to some degree, as expected, Sunnata expressed themselves with a variety of stoner/sludgy harsh parts, building up the intensity to higher level. Then again, on the other side, there was a simplified, relaxed ambiance, emphasizing a more hypnotic, "out-of-place" feeling. Speaking of performance and attitude itself, the band didn't make any special fuss or grandiose appearance on the scene. They just did their thing, execution on a high level, did their 50-minute set, and that was about it. I'm pleased, but not overwhelmed.




Weedpecker followed 15 minutes later. The crowd attendance was a bit higher for this one compared to Sunnata. In general, there isn't such a grand change or improvement in what to offer in a musical sense (except for more psychedelia and weed infusion), but Weedpecker still seemed (at least to me) a bit more intriguing an act on the stage; they gave off a feeling of not being that "serious," but it was still a very enjoyable approach (not that this would be the main criterion here). Lots of fuzzy riffs, instrumental parts, rhythm shifting, and so on. Yeah, Weedpecker did make a bigger impression, not only on me, but on the rest of the audience as well.




As far as genre/subgenre tastes are concerned, the music perceived at this gig was far from unacceptable, though I have to admit that the overall impression of not being completely satisfied with this gig clung to me at the end. Nevertheless, I still had a good time.

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Round 10 : Shadow Universe, Monstrumental (01.03.2019 - Ljubljana/Slovenia) --> Venue: Orto Bar (hall)

CONCERT REVIEW:

The tenth round (already?!) was reserved for an evening of Slovenian nonmetal artists. Even though it was a last-minute decision, because of some additional changes in my event-attending plans, it turned out to be a very good one, with a surprising outcome. So, who were the performers?

The prologue belonged to Monstrumental, a trio that provided some kind of psychedelic post-rock/post-metal mixture, floating nicely in predominantly tender ambiance. More or less instrumentally based music, with occasional vocals interspersed, Monstrumental presented themselves as a very serious act on the stage. Their appearance grabbed my full attention right from the beginning, with a colourful collage of various distorted riffs executed by a very skillful frontman, supported with kind of grunge-sounding vocals. Even though I mentioned "tender ambiance" in couple words above, don't take it to be 100% black-and-white; there was some heavily supportive drum beating by another very talented musician (in parts of certain tracks). Well, they definitely deserved my applause at the end, and I will certainly be more attentive to them and their music in the future.




Next on the stage, after the more than decent performance of Monstrumental, was a post-rock duo, Shadow Universe. Believe it or not, this was the official debut live appearance by this band, even though they have existed for some time now and have two full-lengths out (the latest, Speaking For Cluds, was released in September, 2018). Instrumental, atmospheric music, conceived by the drummer and guitarist, who also handled keyboards from time to time, with samples accompanied. Kind of awkward, but he pulled it through. With their "in-trance" audio-visual performance, Shadow Universe created a mesmerizing, dark atmosphere. They portrayed several contrasts of nature-inspiring soundscapes, combining all sorts of guitar/keys elements with sometimes barely present and sometimes full-on explosive drums. I must say, it was another positive response and successful performance. However, I would recommend to them one additional member, at least for live appearances.




As I mentioned briefly at the beginning of this review, sometimes the "last-minute decisions" bring lots of excitement and pleasure, despite me not being familiar with the work of the performers/artists at all or barely, in this case. And that is also one of the reasons that makes attending (all sorts of) concerts so special and unpredictable.

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Round 11 : Mike Shinoda (15.03.2019 - Padua/Italy) --> Venue: Gran Teatro Geox

CONCERT PREFACE:

As was said in my introductory issue, some of the events that I shall attend will also come from the nonmetal field. One of those (the first time in this project) will be attending Mike Shinoda in Padua, as part of his solo 'Post-Traumatic European Tour'. Shinoda is a well-known artist in the music world, co-founder of mainstream outfit Linkin Park, vocalist, rapper, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and much more - a very talented, creative, and humble person. Regarding the set list of the previous gigs on the tour, I can expect a mixture of Linkin Park, Fort Minor (Shinoda's hip-hop side project), and of course a share from his own solo debut, Post-Traumatic, released in 2018.

Entrance fee: 95? (including travel costs)



Round 12 : Sólstafir (21.03.2019 - Slovenia/Ljubljana) --> Venue: Kino Siska

CONCERT PREFACE:

Sólstafir are bringing with this tour kind of "not-so-metal" live performances, presenting themselves and their music in more tender, mellow ambiance. As they mentioned in their announcement, there will be nine members on the stage, also including live strings and piano. Sólstafir shall provide a set list of tracks with a package from their whole discography, not focusing only on their latest effort, Berdreyminn, like on their previous tours in last two years. It will be the first time seeing them live for me. However, it will be a good comparison to their next one (on my bill), when I'll be seeing them again as part of Vienna Metal Meeting festival in May.

Entrance fee: 20?