10 SLOVENIAN BANDS TO LOOK INTO

I've been writing mostly New Band and Old Band entries for a while now, and it can be a bit much sometimes. Researching each band every week takes quite a lot of time, and lately I've barely had enough time to keep up with it. So, for a change, I decided to do something a little different.

Slovenia seemed like the perfect place to start. The country - particularly the Nova Gorica, Ajdovščina and Ljubljana scenes - has played an important role in the development of emo, screamo and related hardcore styles in the ex-Yugoslav region. From the late-'90s emocore of Man in the Shadow and Entreat. to the DIY screamo of Zbrucz and the shoegaze-tinged emo of Lars From Norway, here's a selection of ten Slovenian bands worth looking into.

1. ALL FOR NOTHING

Active: late 90's

Location: Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Genres: emocore

Essential release: Nova Gorica Vol. 1

A very obscure Nova Gorica project whose surviving recordings appear to be limited to compilation material. They were part of the city's late-1990s hardcore underground, although little information about the band itself appears to have survived.

2. MAN IN THE SHADOW

Active: 1997–2000

Location: Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Genres: emocore

Essential release: Discography

One of the earliest and most important documented starting points for emo/emocore in the ex-Yugoslav underground. During their short-lived activity, they released two 7” records and a demo tape, along with appearances on several compilations, before breaking up in 2000. The records were all packaged into the Discography release, which is available on Bandcamp. After the split, members went on to play in bands such as Analena, Elodea, Entreat., and Iamdisease, among others. A full discography was released by Choose Life Records in 2001. The band reunited once more to play their final show at Mostovna in 2005.

3. ENTREAT.

Active: 1997–2009

Location: Nova Gorica, Slovenia

Genres: emo / metalcore

Essential release: Demo (1999)

Also from Nova Gorica, Entreat. infused emocore with old-school metalcore on their early releases, describing themselves at the time as an “emo-metal” band. Their sound later moved further toward melodic death metal.

4. DREAMWALK

Active: 1999 - 2015, 2020

Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Genres: emo-pop / post-hardcore

Essential release: Three Days Later (2004)

One of the Slovenian emo-adjacent bands that achieved significant mainstream and international exposure during the Y2K era. Formed in 1999, Dreamwalk combined emocore, pop punk, neo-grunge and alternative rock, signing with Multimedia Records in 2000 and releasing their debut album through a label licensed by Universal Music Group. Their second album, Three Days Later, later circulated widely online, reportedly reaching around 200,000 downloads through Download.com.

5. THE LOVE TYPEWRITER

Active: 2001-2003

Location: Ajdovščina, Slovenia

Genres: midwest emo

Essential release: S/T (2001)

Founded by members of UpJohn and Cloudland, this short-lived Ajdovščina band released their only self-titled album in 2001 before breaking up soon afterward. Their eight tracks combine raw emocore with indie rock, moving between slower passages and more punk-oriented material.

6. STEPA

Active: 2020

Location: Novo Mesto, Slovenia

Genres: emoviolence / mathcore / grind

Essential release: Stepa (2020)

Although they were active only briefly, Stepa's output is remarkable for how much intensity they managed to compress into such a short runtime. Their self-titled release contains a series of short, unpredictable tracks drawing from emoviolence, mathcore and grindcore, with a total runtime of around 15 minutes.

 

7. MELETE

Active: 2008-2011

Location: Slovenia

Genres: neocrust / screamo / atmospheric sludge metal

Essential release: Melete 7" (2009)

Formed out of the remnants of Akedeia, Melete played a raw, dark and atmospheric form of neo-crust, incorporating melodic and dynamic tensions borrowed from screamo, sudden bursts of grindcore, and an atmospheric tinge of post-metal. 

For two years, they toured extensively, sharing the stage with bands such as Reflections of Internal Rain, Shades of Grey, Kansky and The Plague Mass. During that time, they released a three-track 7" EP and a Tour EP. Then they broke up in 2011.

8. ZBRUCZ

Active: 2023–2026

Location: Maribor, Slovenia

Genres: screamo

Essential release: Riparia Riparia (2024)

One of the more recent additions to the Slovenian screamo scene, Zbrucz emerged from the Maribor area in the 2020s. Their 2024 EP Riparia riparia was recorded DIY in a shelter and a living room, combining late-90s/early-2000s screamo with elements of emoviolence and post-metal. Their short run included performances both in Slovenia and abroad, including an appearance at Italy's Third Impact screamo festival. The band broke up in 2026.

9. ICARUS DOWN

Active: 2004–?

Location: Trbovlje, Slovenia

Genres: emo / post-hardcore / alt-metal

Essential release: Contortions, Mood Swings And The Inevitable Decay Of Relationships (2007)

Another Y2K-era band that occupied a more accessible end of the Slovenian emo/post-hardcore spectrum. In the vein of Deftones and Glassjaw, Icarus Down is interested in something more than making it pop - adding metal, electronica and other unconventional bits to their mix. 

 

10. LARS FROM NORWAY

Active: 2024–present

Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Genres: emo / post-hardcore / shoegaze

Essential release: d(emo) tejp (2025)

Lars from Norway is an emocore/shoegaze band formed in Ljubljana, Slovenia. They released their first demo single in November 2024, followed by a demo tape (stylized as D(emo) Tejp) months later - notably recorded on a phone. 

Previously played post-hardcore, the band transitions into the shoegaze territory. D(emo) Tejp, for instance, shows the blurry, reverb-soaked fuzz gives the songs a dreamy, ethereal mood - complete with alternating dual vocals and the occasional harsh shout. It’s raw, lo-fi, and imperfect, but it’s also the first glimpse of the identity the band seems to be carving out for themselves.

MELETE

Location: Slovenia

Year active: 2008 - 2011

Members: Jaka (guitar, vocals), Luka (bass, vocals), Andrej (drums, vocals)

Related bands: Akedeia, Bogdan, Elodea, Human Host Body, Kripl, Leechfeast, Paperplanecrash

FFO: Ekkaia, Fall of Efrafa, His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy, Supine, Reflections of Internal Rain, One Eyed God Prophecy

It's been a while since I've covered Paperplanecrash and Akedeia for this blog. After getting in touch with their members, I've ended up with a lot more material where that came from, and Melete has been on my queue for a while.

Melete was formed in Slovenia, bringing together members from different places. For two years, they toured extensively, sharing the stage with bands such as Reflections of Internal Rain, Shades of Grey, Kansky and The Plague Mass. During that time, they released a three-track 7" EP and a Tour EP, the latter made specifically for a four-day mini-tour in 2009. In 2011, they announced their breakup after playing their final show alongside Baka Yaro and Tragedy at Gromka in Metelkova.

Across seven complete tracks and roughly 23 minutes of material, Melete played a raw, dark and atmospheric form of neo-crust, incorporating melodic and dynamic tensions borrowed from screamo (Bizniscore, Sungaze), sudden bursts of grindcore (New Kids, Old Guards) and an atmospheric tinge of post-metal.

What stood out to me is that Melete weren't afraid to step outside their usual punk formula and showed a real willingness to experiment. A few tracks particularly deserve a mention. “Failure Is A Design” opens with quiet guitars and somber violin before crashing down into distorted thunder and growling vocals. Another five-minute track, “Rhodonea,” begins with warming-up drums that eventually strike into another crust ambush, only to settle into group chants midway through, fading into silence. After roughly thirty seconds, glitchy ambient sounds emerge before the band resumes its chanting over a lone guitar, eventually ending in silence once again.

For such a short-lived project, Melete managed to pack a surprising amount of ideas into a relatively small discography. Their songs rarely stay confined to one particular formula, instead shifting between aggression, atmosphere, melody and experimentation without losing the rawness at the core of their sound.

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Prošlo je neko vreme otkako sam za ovaj blog pisao o bendovima Paperplanecrash i Akedeia. Nakon što sam stupio u kontakt sa njihovim članovima, ispostavilo se da odatle imam još mnogo materijala, a Melete su već neko vreme na mojoj listi za obradu.

Melete su osnovani u Sloveniji, okupivši članove iz različitih mesta. Tokom dve godine aktivnog rada intenzivno su koncertirali, deleći binu sa bendovima kao što su Reflections of Internal Rain, Shades of Grey, Kansky i The Plague Mass. Za to vreme objavili su 7" EP sa tri pesme i Tour EP, koji je napravljen posebno za četvorodnevnu mini-turneju 2009. godine. Godine 2011. najavili su raspad nakon što su odsvirali poslednji koncert zajedno sa bendovima Baka Yaro i Tragedy u Gromki, u Metelkovi.

Kroz sedam kompletnih pesama i oko 23 minuta materijala, Melete su svirali sirovu, mračnu i atmosferičnu formu neocrusta, uključujući melodične i dinamične tenzije preuzete iz screama (Bizniscore, Sungaze), iznenadne nalete grindcorea (New Kids, Old Guards) i atmosferični prizvuk post-metala.

Ono što mi je posebno zapalo za oko jeste to što Melete nisu imali problem da izađu iz svoje uobičajene punk formule i pokazali su iskrenu spremnost za eksperimentisanje. Nekoliko pesama posebno vredi pomenuti. „Failure Is A Design“ počinje tihim gitarama i setnom violinom, pre nego što se obruši u distorziran grom i režeće vokale. Još jedna petominutna pesma, „Rhodonea“, počinje bubnjevima koji deluju kao zagrevanje, da bi se na kraju pretvorili u novi crust napad, nakon čega se na polovini pesme sve smiruje uz grupno skandiranje koje postepeno nestaje u tišini. Posle otprilike trideset sekundi pojavljuju se glitchy ambijentalni zvuci, nakon čega bend ponovo nastavlja sa skandiranjem preko usamljene gitare, da bi se pesma na kraju još jednom završila u tišini.

Za tako kratkotrajan projekat, Melete su uspeli da upakuju iznenađujuću količinu ideja u relativno malu diskografiju. Njihove pesme se retko zadržavaju u okviru jedne određene formule, već prelaze između agresije, atmosfere, melodije i eksperimentisanja, a da pritom ne gube sirovost koja je u srži njihovog zvuka.

FULL DISCOGRAPHY HERE

ANITA

Location: Split, Croatia   

Year active: 2003 - 2008

Members: Joško Žižić (bass, guitar), Luka Krstulović (guitar), Mišo Popović (drums), Igor Mihovilović (vocals)

Related bands: BIZON, Breed, Essence, Giht Shasie, Kastritis, Leut Magnetik, Pale, Tihi Sadist, TO, Wizard of Stone Mountain

FFO: Funeral Diner, Inkwell, Indian Summer, With Love, The Birds Are Spies, They Report The Trees

Anita

Anita was a Split-based screamo band active from 2003 to 2008. Formed as a quartet, the band shared members with several other related acts from the scene, including Breed and Pale.

Anita's discography currently consists of a 2003 split release with Breed, with a track by Pale included as a bonus, available through Carpe Diem Records' Bandcamp. Their final release came in 2008, a split with experimental rock band To, showcasing a considerable departure from the sound of their earlier material.

Anita's music can largely be described as raw, screaming anguish, steeped in melancholy and utter despair. The lo-fi, demo-like production only adds to that feeling, giving the recordings an intimate and almost suffocating quality. Highlights such as “Twin Brother” and “Fishfield” reveal a strong affection for the classic emocore sound, particularly in the way their songwriting balances abrasive screaming with more melodic and melancholic passages.

For their time, Anita were among the few screamo bands to emerge from Split, making them a notable part of the city's early contribution to the genre. Their presence helped put the Croatian screamo scene on the map, while their relatively short run left behind a small but distinctive body of work that remains worth digging up today.

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Anita su bili screamo bend iz Splita, aktivan od 2003. do 2008. godine. Bend je formiran kao kvartet, a njegovi članovi su istovremeno svirali i u nekoliko drugih povezanih bendova sa scene, uključujući Breed i Pale.

Diskografija Anite trenutno se sastoji od split izdanja sa bendom Breed iz 2003. godine, na kojem se kao bonus nalazi i pesma benda Pale, a izdanje je dostupno preko Bandcampa izdavačke kuće Carpe Diem Records. Njihovo poslednje izdanje pojavilo se 2008. godine, u pitanju je split sa eksperimentalnim rok bendom To, koji predstavlja značajan odmak od zvuka njihovog ranijeg materijala.

Muzika Anite se u velikoj meri može opisati kao sirov, vrišteći očaj, prožet melanholijom i potpunim beznađem. Lo-fi produkcija nalik demo snimku samo dodatno pojačava taj utisak, dajući snimcima intimnu i gotovo zagušljivu atmosferu. Numere poput „Twin Brother“ i „Fishfield“ otkrivaju snažnu naklonost prema klasičnom emocore zvuku, naročito u načinu na koji njihovo pisanje pesama balansira agresivno vrištanje sa melodičnijim i melanholičnim pasažima.

Za svoje vreme, Anita su bili jedan od malobrojnih screamo bendova koji su proizašli iz Splita, što ih čini značajnim delom ranog doprinosa ovog grada žanru. Njihovo prisustvo pomoglo je da se hrvatska screamo scena pozicionira na širem radaru, dok je njihov relativno kratak period aktivnosti iza sebe ostavio mali, ali prepoznatljiv opus koji i danas vredi iskopati.

брадикардия

Location: Vršac, Serbia

Year active: 2023

Members: Gavrilo (guitar, vocals) Filip (drums, bass, vocals)

Related bands: Art of Heartwork, Eva Ras, Sueisntfine, Tužan dečak kavr bend

FFO: Honeywell, Mohinder, Palatka

A few years after playing in Art of Heartwork, Gavrilo decided to start a project of his own, брадикардия - named after a type of heart condition. It is said to be the first project of its kind to emerge from Vršac. He self-released a short demo EP, kpaj, in 2023, although the demo was later taken down.

A year later, Filip joined the project, and the duo began recording a self-titled EP featuring five blistering emoviolence tracks, interspersed with samples from Kako je propao rokenrol. From the very beginning, the duo goes straight for the throat, propelled by turbulent urgency, panic-stricken dissonance and raw ferocity. The only real departure comes with “Vis Maior Dum Spiro Spero,” which opens with melancholic arpeggios, followed by spoken words and faint screams against a noisy backdrop before erupting into a lacerating finale during its final minute. The closing track takes a similarly anxious approach: at 0:35, the two voices begin screaming in anguish and agony over nervous guitar strumming, carrying the track through to its final seconds.

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Nekoliko godina nakon sviranja u bendu Art of Heartwork, Gavrilo je odlučio da pokrene sopstveni projekat, брадикардия - nazvan po vrsti srčanog poremećaja. Navodi se da je u pitanju prvi projekat te vrste koji je nastao u Vršcu. Godine 2023. samostalno je objavio kratki demo EP kpaj, iako je demo kasnije uklonjen.

Godinu dana kasnije, Filip se pridružio projektu, nakon čega je duo počeo da snima istoimeni EP sa pet žestokih emoviolence pesama, ispresecanih semplovima iz filma Kako je propao rokenrol. Duo od samog početka ide direktno za grlo, nošen turbulentnom urgentnošću, paničnom disonancom i sirovom žestinom.

Jedini pravi odmak predstavlja „Vis Maior Dum Spiro Spero“, koja počinje melanholičnim arpeđima, nakon čega slede izgovorene reči i prigušeni krikovi preko bučne pozadine, pre nego što tokom poslednjeg minuta eksplodira u razarajuću završnicu.

Završna pesma zauzima sličan anksiozni pristup: na 0:35, dva glasa počinju da vrište u bolu i agoniji preko nervoznog gitarskog rifovanja, noseći pesmu sve do njenih poslednjih sekundi.