Mad About Rock

  A young, fresh touch to progressive metal from the heart of Slovenia: Hei’An sets the mood for sensitive post rock, mixed with strong metal elements. Following the lead of the band’s mastermind Matic Blagonič, Hei’An released their dreamy album imago in November 2022. This philosophical full-length revolves around traumas, inner hell and toxic states of mind. As turbulent as these sad stories are, the melodies also maneuver the listener towards dark and deep worlds. On top of performing successfully at 2023’s 70000TONS OF METAL Cruise in the Caribbean, recent Metaldays and looking forward to this year’s ProgPower, Hei’An continue to move their musical genius forward: The Slovenians stopped by in the halls of legends, the renowned EastWest Studios in Hollywood. The recording facility has produced some of the most celebrated music of the last fifty years, ranging from Frank Sinatra to The Rolling Stones. Hei’An’s adventure in LA gave birth to four smashing tracks with magnificent o...

  The wait is over: Hei’An are finally releasing their monumental post-progressive album imago, and the trailing piece in the band’s pentalogy of carefully crafted video singles, titled noises. Contradicting said title in an unexpected way, noises starts off slow and in a dignified manner, adding layers piece by piece until it all erupts in a festive crescendo with a positive message hidden deep inside: “Probably our favorite song off the record, it’s our most 'modern-sounding' song, with a lot of synths and pads, beautiful orchestrations and catchy melodies, with some progressive elements hidden in there, but really elegantly, so if you are not paying attention, it comes off as rather ‘simple’. It sounds huge, though – the whole song is a big buildup towards a majestic resolution for the end of the song. We are really looking forward to this one, it’s essentially about finding peace within yourself.” The official animated video for noises creates the perfect atmosphere for thi...

  Progressive Slovenian metal quartet originally started out as a one-man project by Slovenian musician Matic Blagonič but has now evolved into a collective group of musicians keen to thrive in the Slovenian metal scene. They describe their sound as post-progressive-metal, effectively balancing heavy moments with tranquil sections. This is evident in their upcoming debut album 'imago' which will take you to dreamy and enthralling metal soundscapes. The concept album is about a journey through a man's inner hell and the challenge of overcoming inner demons and trauma, so it touches on themes such as depression, loss, and addiction and takes the listener through the circle of trials but endeavours to emerge with a hopeful and positive message through its lyrics and sounds. The opening atmospheric track 'semita tenebrarum' sets the scene and concept with a dramatic despairing spoken voice intro that starts out in a normal voice and then gets more sinister before instru...

  After the two successful and well received singles inferno and in the cold it’s time to hear more tunes from the progressive, Slovenian metal quartet Hei’An – their third single can’t get out of my skin is a dreamy combination of gracefully captured clean vocals and solidly put-together-screams. The simplicity in the cinematically melodic sound is mesmerizing as the band is delivering their flawless instrumentals. The video for "can’t get out of my skin" is full of beautiful misty effects and the well established display of despair in the execution of the vocals gives you the chills: The song’s important message is represented with vigorous screams and huge-sounding choruses, which the band describes as their heaviest segment on the album with metalcore-esque breakdowns. Lead singer Matic Blagonič explains the story behind can’t get out of my skin more closely: “(It’s) a very emotional song about battling with addiction – addiction to being around the wrong kinds of people,...