Abattoir’s Concert Hunt – The March Madness (2024)

CRYPTOPSY, ATHEIST – Live In Zagreb / Klub Močvara (05.03.2024)

To revive the senses with pure death metal, loud and clear, a visit from two experienced groups made it possible: Atheist and Cryptopsy. This North American double-headliner gig was not something I was extremely excited for, as I’m neither a fan nor even a sympathizer of either of these two bands. However, as a proper opportunity to get things going with a strong basis for future concert endeavors, I grabbed this chance without any hesitation. The even took place at an almost sold-out venue, Klub Močvara, which is also one of my favorite ones as well as my most-visited in regard to metal concert attendance.

Floridians Atheist took over the stage first. They played a 14-song setlist that featured songs from all of their early-’90s albums: Piece Of Time, Unquestionable Presence, and Elements. It was a treat for fans of early tech death metal. Almost 14 years have now passed since the release of their last record, Jupiter, but the band’s frontman, Kelly Shaefer, utilized this occasion to promise the release of new music soon. Well, we’ll see about that. This year does also mark the band’s 40th anniversary, which I guess could give them some additional drive to create new tunes.

With the performers who followed, the Canadian death metal veterans Cryptopsy, the level of intensity shifted up a gear. Matt McGachy led the way with his robust appearance in the forefront and sovereign vocal delivery. Of course I cannot overlook the impeccable performance behind the drums, provided by the band’s sole original member, Florent “Flo” Mounier. Cryptopsy‘s setlist was a bit more diverse compared to Atheist‘s, encompassing mostly songs from their most recognizable and groundbreaking record, None So Vile, and their latest, 2023’s As Gomorrah Burns. With a couple of other tracks, this turned out to be an exhilarating mixture. At the end of the day, I was glad that I could finally see some proper live action.

DECAPITATED, INCANTATION, NERVOSA – Live In Zagreb / Klub Močvara (16.03.2024)

Soon after attending the Cryptopsy/Atheist gig, I was onto the next live music venture. Returning to the same venue, with a bit more diverse a package of bands, it was time for a death/thrash/groove metal combo featuring Nervosa, Incantation, and Polish headliners Decapitated. After first letting through two opening acts, it was time for the fiery Brazilian thrashers Nervosa. As one of the most recognizable female metal groups around the globe presently, they were ready to show their relentless performance to the crowd within the sold-out event. Last year, Nervosa not only put out a brand new record, Jailbreak, but also parted ways with vocalist Diva Satanica. Consequently, bandleader and guitarist Prika Amaral took over vocal duties instead of searching for a replacement. Well, the line-up changes are quite constant in this band. The tour offered an opportunity to promote fresh material from their 2023 output, and although they were quite limited with a 45-minute-long set, it was a solid-strong presentation of what Nervosa are capable of. Also, Prika’s new occupation on the stage as a vocal force left a positive impression.

The New York death metal scene is coming up next. Suffocation, Immolation… ah, here they are: Incantation. They’re probably a bit less popular than these other legendary veteran bands, yet for me, no less important not only to the American death metal scene but also worldwide. Led by frontman John McEntee, who is also the only original member in the band who started its journey in the late ’80s, the band has produced a fair portion of quality music, especially in the early ’90s. Despite having a new record out (2023’s Unholy Deification), throughout this gig, Incantation offered a diverse spectrum of songs from their rich discography.

The highlight of the evening and the headline spot belonged to one of the most prominent Polish metal bands, Decapitated. The distinctive sound provided by their striking groovy death metal is certainly something that made me quite curious prior to this performance about how they would do it live. Like a fucking blast, that’s how! The strong stage presence of vocalist Rasta, stellar drumming by James Stewart (ex-Vader, who joined the ranks in 2019) – definitely a great choice. And of course the indispensable bandleader/guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka. The majority of their setlist presented songs from their classic 2002 record Nihility. Their performance certainly justified the position of headliner.

TAAKE, NORDJEVEL, THEOTOXIN – Live In Zagreb / Boogaloo Club (19.03.2024)

Now here comes a turn from the mostly death metal-oriented performers of the last two gigs to purveyors of black metal. Three days after the aural violation from Polish death metal masters Decapitated, a double-Norwegian assault was on the menu, delivered by Taake and Nordjevel, as well as Theotoxin, a black/death metal formation from Austria. I was a bit late to the party, consequently missing a couple of tracks from Theotoxin‘s opening set. Honestly, they were not the band I was particularly interested in at this event. Nonetheless, I did check out the rest of their set, since I was seeing them live for the first time.

Their successors, Nordjevel, already proved a more intensive act onstage. After 2019, this was my second time seeing them live, and I guess I’ve kind of forgotten how they performed back then, but this was quite a positive experience. I mean, here you have a band of experienced black metal musicians that will suck you into the world of pure Norsk black metal. Doedsadmiral (Anders Olav Hansen) on vocals is a fucking beast. Destructhor (Myrkskog, ex-Morbid Angel) is also a well-known shredding monster, and on top of that, the band tapped Nils “Dominator” Fjellström for this tour to tear down the walls with his insane drumming performance. This anti-Christian festival from the “North Devil” really exceeded my expectations.

The foundations for the headliners were built extremely well. Nordjevel‘s countrymen, Taake, were up next to capitalize on and effectuate this ordeal of Norwegian black metal. With their impactful and quality releases, Taake have been an important actor in the world of black metal music for a while now. Last year they put out their first record in 6 years, Et Hav Av Avstand, so understandably there was a strong emphasis on that album throughout this show. A fair portion of songs were also included from their 2011 release, Noregs Vaapen, and a couple came from their debut, Nattestid…, which was a more than welcome addition. The selection of songs was covered pretty well. However, to exceed the stage performance of their forerunners, at least to my aural and visual perception, they would have to operate on quite a high level, They most certainly did. I was especially mesmerized by the strong stage presence and performance that was reflected by the band’s mastermind and frontman, Hoest. Unfortunately the audience attendance at this event was surprisingly within average numbers. However, it became crystal clear that this venue possesses an ability to provide some of the best sound of the many I’ve been to so far, regardless of the performing act.

ELVIS JACKSON – Live In Ljubljana / Orto Bar (30.03.2024)

The last gig that I attended that month was actually not a metal one, but still, I took the liberty of including it in this article to make it a bit more diverse and colorful. This one’s about Elvis Jackson, a Slovene punk rock/ska quartet that has been active for more than 25 years. They are also one of my favorite live performers from our country, which is an obvious reason why they are currently the holders of the title of music group that I’ve seen the most times since I started attending all sorts of concerts almost 20 years ago. It’s not really a big mystery that punk rock/ska bands are commonly known to provide quite a special atmosphere. And with certain unique perks and moves to involve the majority of the crowd between certain songs, it really uplifts the whole experience and gets things going wild. Despite the lack of surprises (for me personally), I always leave their gigs in high spirits.