Book early, book often
Last summer Magda begged me to send her to camp. Metal Camp. That’s correct, right here in little Slovenia you can attend Metal Camp for three furious thrash-metal head-bangin’ devil-shoutin’ blood-quaffin’ days in Tolmin, in the heart of Slovenia’s peaceful Julian Alps.
Sadly, last year’s event coincided with our trip to Greece, so I had to let Magda down. (In my defense, she was four months pregnant with what she claims is my child when Metal Camp convened). This year the event is coming nice and early in the summer, so anyone who has been considering a soothing visit to Slovenia’s cool, pristine Soča Valley should waste no time in booking for 24, 25, and 26 June. As of this writing, Slayer and Anthrax have been confirmed as headliners, and the list of supporting axe acts is impressive: Bastard Peels, Bleed In Vain, Bleeding Eyes, Bloodfeast, Brutart… And that’s just the B’s.
If you are unfamiliar with this genre of music, or need to brush up on Bach’s and Pagannini’s influence on Ozzy Osbourne, go here. Some intriguing pictures from last year’s festival can be seen here.
Such a bloodfeast doesn’t come cheap, of course. Still, we salute the organizers for holding prices down to 27,400 SIT, or €74, for a three-day ticket, which includes mysterious “fees” and three nights’ free camping. In true isogloss style, you can order tickets on-line in Slovene, English, German, and Italian. Dedicated headbangers should note that these on-line entries are collectible “ORIGINAL-TICKETS,” and that “All the other Presailers can only give you a computer-generated ticket.”
Last year it wasn’t the promise of a souvenir ticket or a Metal Camp mousepad, nor a glow-in-the-dark T-shirt that held such allure for Magda. It wasn’t even the idea of “aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation.” No. Magda’s dearest wish was to take part in Metal Camp’s Bible-Throwing World Championship.
So, see you at Metal Camp! We’ll be the ones with the baby. Probably not the only ones.
