After more than a year of “fasting”, I’m finally back to visiting gigs. I broke my fasting period with a fatty feast of 4 bands full of cholesterol.
The gig started around 19:00, when our neighbors from Macedonia, Primitive Dread, took the stage. It is a younger band that has been around for 4 years and they have 2 EPs behind them. Through about half an hour of performance, the guys presented us their vision of metal inspired by thrash, crossover and HC sound. Primitive Dread decently warmed up the then still small audience and showed that they did not fall into this tour by chance, side by side with other “heavies”. A very good and energetic performance, and I believe that this tour will give them a boost in their further work. I’m looking forward to their debut album, and you should pay attention to these guys from Ohrid.
Next up on the stage are Born From Pain, a band that I really wanted to see tonight, besides Madball of course.
Fast, energetic, heavy – that’s how I would describe the performance of these Dutch masters in 3 words. In about 40 minutes, the guys went through their discography and honestly shook the walls of Zappa Baza club.
Singer Rob Franssen tried his hardest to animate the crowd, but it was clear that the crew was saving their energy for the stars of this night – Madball . I hope that there will be an opportunity for Born From Pain to perform independently in Belgrade in the future, because guys definitely deserve more support.
After Born From Pain, Nasty took the stage. Honestly, before this performance, I listened to Nasty and they didn’t like it, so I didn’t have any excessive desire to check them. But live…these guys changed my opinion for 180 degrees. What a performance, what a band! I’m really not sure where my ears were when I listened to Nasty. During their performance, I felt like I was in a cage fighting with 10 top MMA fighters, with my hands tied. During 40 minutes guys from Nasty beat with all their might without any mercy. A real explosion of energy and power. I came to the concert not wanting to see Nasty, and finished the concert as their new fan.
And finally, a Bible for every HC music fan from Anchorage(Canada) in the west to Vladivostok(Russia) in the East. Teachers, leaders, founders, masters…Madball. From the very first bars of “Set it off”, delirium arises in the audience, accompanied by moshpits, stage divings and choral singing.
“We are Madball! What’s up Serbia?” – those words spoken by the singer Freddie, were enough to ignite the omnipresent. And while the anthems “Smell The Bacon”, “It’s my life”, “Pride”, “New York city” were being sung, I admired not only the band Madball, but also the architects and craftsmen who built the space, where the Zappa Baza club is located. I really don’t know how the walls of the club withstood the eruption that Madball and the crowd created together. During a 60-minute session, the dads from Madball showed what hard core music is and how to play it. It may seem too short, but I really don’t know who could withstand the barrage of fire that this New York crew gave us.
If I, as a fan of metal music, came out of this gig very happy, I can’t even imagine how the people with hardcore running through their veins must have felt. Yes, I haven’t been to a concert in a long time, but I honestly can’t remember the last time both the opening bands and the headliner were equally good. It was great to reconnect with old friends and enjoy an amazing concert. This evening was a true celebration of hardcore spirit and unity.
Photos by: Ivan Veselinovic
