Monthly Archives: October 2025

Gig reports

(gig report) Bednja(Vž)/Sworn To Death(Zg)/Kalež(Zg) – Prostor Čakovec – 25.10.2025.

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Time has come for another gig in our hometown, Autumn came and gig season moved back into clubs. This time there was more metal night with three bands. Two of them I never listened prior to this gig, I let my self be surprised and the surprise was more than pleasant. When I came to Prostor there were very little people there, but as evening went on the place filled with not too many, but okay number of people. It was nice to see those young people coming to gigs, not only us old lifers hehe. First band to be on stage were KALEŽ from Zagreb. Trio in which drummer sings plays some kind of mix between old school and more modern black metal, raw and atmospheric, but with some melody hiding underneath here and there. I was so impressed to see drummer pulling those blast beats, tempo changes and screaming at the same time. Lyrics are in Croatian which is another plus for me, they kinda reminded me of another band from Zagreb, called Muka. To me their set was more conceptual ritual and I enjoyed every minute. They played just enough, in fact all of the bands did so. Second band were also from Zagreb, called SWORN TO DEATH and boy, did those four guys and one girl deliver. They play a mixture of metalcore and deathcore with some groove metal thrown in and great frontman who caught on with the crowd immediately. Crowd loved their set, headbanging and cheering on. Communication with the crowd was great and the band is musically so tight. The frontman is awesome, he changes his growls into screams with such ease. BEDNJA from Varaždin were unofficial headliners of this gig and some time passed since I last watched them live. I enjoyed every second of their set, progressive black metal with hardcore breaks, also some d-beat thrown in for good measure, and dual vocals, growling and screaming. These three guys made my skin crawl with goosebumps how great their music was. They also use some samples which is great in my opinion. They played couple of new songs and old material including Satan Panonski cover, communication between band and the crowd was just great, almost intimate in atmosphere.

So, another great evening with superb extreme music. I love it!

Reviews

(review) Dead Dog Summer – Building Again

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Dead Dog Summer from my hometown of Čakovec have been active from around 2020 if I am not mistaken, but members of the band have decades of activity playing in various hardcore punk bands in Croatian underground scene. The new DDS album is out now and I thought that it will be hard to top the debut A Place Of Someday, but the guys did it again! This new album is even better than the first one and I think the new material will go great at gigs. I immediately noticed two things. The album is a bit rawer in guitar work, some drum parts are faster making the new songs closer to hardcore punk side of things. But, the new album is also more melodic than the first one, Igor’s singing is more clean and melodic, he gave up from screaming parts which were featured on the first album. I love the mix between hardcore energy and melancholic melody. Lyrics are again on the spot, personal but hit you right in your face with something you can relate to in your life. Besides already known songs Bridges, Scars and Believe It, my personal favorites on this record are Screens Of Hope and Paint The Sky having such beautiful atmosphere and melody. But, you must find your own listening to this superb record. 10/10

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Gig reports

(gig report) Hellcrash/Vipera/Kostik – 03 10 2025 – Prostor Čakovec

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It’s Electric Booking are working hard organizing great underground gigs, so this time they did one in our hometown at Prostor Čakovec. Package included Italian Hellcrash who are on a European tour, and as support there were added Vipera and Kostik from Croatia.

When I came to Prostor, there were some people already there and as the hours and minutes passed by more and more people came, from punks to metalheads and Prostor was decently full when it was time for KOSTIK to step on the stage. These guys are very young, spawn of Zagreb underground and boy, they delivered the goods on stage. They gave us about 40 minutes of old school fast thrash metal, playing their material and also covers by Suicidal Tendencies and a cover which surprised me the most, Letva by almost forgotten punk band from Split, namely SPK. The singer tried to make contact with the crowd but sadly people responded only in the second half of their set and started headbanging and fistpumping in the air. In all, these guys were great reveleation.

VIPERA are no strangers to the pages of this webzine and I never witnessed them live, so I was eager to see the power and energy they delivered from stage. This trio is comprised of Croatian/Slovenian veterans from many underground bands and projects. They gave us about 30 minutes of hellish dirty punk n roll reminding a lot of Motorhead but also having something apocalyptic kinda Mad Max vibe to it, at least for me. These guys are fantastic musicians, especially guitarist Atlija, who is a guitar player par excellence. Stage presence, energy, great songs, VIPERA has it all!

Now, the time has come for headliners, Italian HELLCRASH. Judging by their studio releases they play kinda metal that I like, a mixute of dirty Venom -like punkish metal and old school European thrash metal, with fast songs and great guitar riffs coupled with hidden melodies here and there. These guys are also trio and they had everything on stage, three banners, skulls, candles and some kind of iron fence in front of the drummer who we barely saw. First third of their set was marked with technical issues and this being first show of their European tour, I hope rest of the shows will be without such problems. The sound was also too murky, vocals at moments louder, at moments more silent and guitar was somehow murky too. They gave us about one hour of hellish fast and energetic songs with also couple of covers like Die Hard of mighty Venom and Iron Maiden’s Be Quick Or Be Dead. The crowd enjoyed although technical problems and sound problems kind of lessened the show itself which could be a lot better without these problems.

In all, great start to the Autumn concert season in Prostor Čakovec, see you soon at more gigs here!