Bulgaria 4

Bulgaria 3

"Expectations - We've made almost as many shows (~20) as rehearsals (~30) and despite the fact that, according to our 'local standards' we're considered a quite active band, we surely could have done better. In January we went to Romania to record seven of our songs with our great friend Marius Costache who also shot the video.



And boy he did great job recording our debut. After designing/printing/recording in a crazy rush this is the result.


This beautiful image is the front cover of our self-released digipack and the super cool artwork was shot and designed by our mates at Rubber Gallery. So quit reading this and go to Bandcamp to hear our cursed music. If you like the two songs uploaded there go get the album for 5 bucks. Bigcartel

We're playing Belgrade, Serbia soon and in the middle of April we'll be in Varna and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Our second mini Balkan tour got cancelled so if you want to see us around don't be a stranger and drop us a line as we'll be surely booking a new one.

Trysth - Four guys playing sludge-metal with lots of post elements. Just had their first show in March. Check their bandpage for some heavy tunes. Actually they started playing a few years ago as a blackmetal band. Music from this period can be heard in their abandoned myspace page.


Them Frequencies - a four-piece progressive influenced post hardcore band formed in 2010 with a debut EP to be released in early 2012. They also had their first show in March.


For The Kids Booking Bulgaria - a small DIY booking agency based in Sofia, Bulgaria. We've got the idea from our friends from Budapest - For The Kids. There is a small possibility to be misled by the same names and which FTK to contact.
If you are interested in playing a show in Sofia - contact: dancho (at) ftkbooking (dot) net


Young Blood Booking - another small DIY booking agency which is run by a lovely couple from Plovdiv. They started doing shows a few months ago but their shows are happening three times faster than FTK. So if you're a band interested in playing a show in Plovdiv - get in touch... youngxblood@abv.bg

Tour - Beartrap/Witch Cult - Bulgaria and Romania

Day 32/Show 26/Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Woke up today and went to the grocery store. Then we drove out of Istanbul. The traffic there rivals rush hour New York City traffic. It took awhile to get out. Then crossing the border took awhile also. We didn’t really get hassled at all tho so that’s a plus. On this ride I finished a book called The Ethics Of What We Eat. Vegan or not, I suggest you read it. We got to the show and it is in a pretty nice bar called Beriozka. Danail and Nevelina booked the show and they are very nice.


I was particularly tired at this show for some reason so I slept thru the 3 opening bands behind the merch. My in and out of sleep memory reminds me of a death metal band that yelled the song name before every song. The other 2 were kinda grindcore/metal from what I remember. Playing with bands like these reminds me that Hardcore/Punk Rock isn’t everywhere in the world. When we toured in Central America 2 years ago it was like that in Honduras. We were told we were the fastest band to ever tour/play in most of Central America. We both played and everyone moshed and circle pitted. The lights in the place made me sweat a lot and now I feel like shit but it was a good show so it was a good night. After the show we drove to Danial’s house to sleep. We got here at 12 and are ready for sleep. Most of the shows we have played recently wouldn’t have started yet. This is awesome. We have to wake up early for a long drive tomorrow but other than that today was alright.

Day 33/Show 27/Sibiu, Romania

This is the half way point of the trip for BearTrap. 65 days total and we have hit the half way point. Today we woke up early to drive to Sibiu. It was a 9 hour drive thru mountains, across borders, on ill-paved back roads. The amount of dead dogs we saw on the side of the road was disgusting. Finally we make it to the show. We eat some fake chicken, vegetable mix kinda thing and some rice. It was awesome.


The club we are playing tonight is called Bohemian Flow and it is 2 rooms shaped like tunnels underground. There is absolutely no ventilation and every one is smoking. It will be hard to breathe tonight. The first band, Stuck in a Rut plays. They are a fastcore band and the kids go wild for them. After them it’s Witch Cult and kids also go wild. The same for BearTrap. I like the room the show was in a lot. I liked the people also. It was a good show. After the show we drove to the apartment we are sleeping at. I was told that Stuck In A Rut is playing with us in Timisoara tomorrow as well. I was also told the show will be really good tomorrow. Most of the time when people say the show will be bad, it’s good, and when it will be good it’s real good. So hopefully it all works out tomorrow.

Day 34/Show 28/ Timisoara,Romania

Today we woke up and drove to Timisoara after we stopped at a grocery store. Outside of the gas station across the street is a dude in a Municipal Waste shirt who was at the show the night before. I see he has a sign that has a different town on it and imagine he is hitchhiking home. It’s a 5 hour drive to Timisoara. When I got to the show this dude was there. This speaks volumes to me. I have friends in America that won’t be bothered to drive more than a half hour for a show and this dude hitchhiked 5 hours, and not even to his home. I forgot to thank him and now I feel like an asshole. Anyway when we got to town we met up with the promoter, Ionut. We went to his apartment and he gave us ample fruit and made us a shitload of pizza. It was awesome. Then we went to the venue.


It’s called Atelier DIY and I was told it’s the only diy spot in all of Romania. It’s a room in the 2nd floor of a factory that used to produce cloth for shirts and stuff. This room was pretty small and again everyone is smoking, I’ll never get used to this. Anyway, Stuck in a Rut played again. Tonight I actually talked to their friend, Alec, who went to both shows with them. She told us that everyone thought we didn’t like the show the night before and that we seemed mad or something. I always find this funny because it’s partly true, always. I find it funny that people always think that because we aren’t a talkative group of people and that we don’t ever seem happy that we automatically hate them and their shows. It has happened all over Europe. I sing in a punk rock/ hardcore band because I am mad, and playing the songs brings that out in me. Aren’t we all there because we are mad and socially awkward? Anyway, it was awesome to clear the air to Alec and hopefully she tells the rest of Romania we aren’t huge assholes, just misunderstood. I’m waiting for questions from her for an interview for her zine called Leave Me Alone.

Stuck in a Rut was good again tonight. Then I was on merch duty. Then Witch Cult and BearTrap played. It was cool and people seemed to dig both of us. It’s our drummer, Alastair’s, birthday so I sang happy birthday after the set and the crowd joined me. It’s the most sing-singing I’ve ever done in public. After that it was back to merch duty again for the last band. After the show we headed to the place we were staying and since the drive is short tomorrow we sat around and bullshitted. Falling asleep at 6am and hopefully not waking up any time soon.

Bulgaria - Plovdiv

“The third largest city in Bulgaria is Plovdiv. There are some bands which need your attention. Actually Plovdiv hardcore scene is experiencing its Renaissance.

For example the band called Vzriv! got back together after 7 years in hiatus.


Recently there were a lot of concerts including…

melodic hardcore band Rezerven Plan


Start Today RIP which are one of our favorite bands / also ☺ /


Delate is another Plovdiv hardcore band which needs to be noticed. They’re raw and uncompromising NYHC with strong influence from Madball.


2 bands that we haven’t seen live so we know them only by name and reputation but they should be mentioned when we talk about Plovdiv hardcore…

Red Pack


Taking Hold


For sure there are a lot of bands in Bulgaria which are active and “must hear”, but they are from smaller towns that don’t have their own local scene and because of that they can’t play so often to gain wider recognition. And bands like this are…

Face the Truth


A-D All Stars (featuring members of other hc bands that we already mentioned)

Missing the Point


Garotta

Spot

Old Joe’s Anger


Twist


NFG
and so on…

I hope that this report about the hardcore scene in Bulgaria gives you a brief look about how the thing are going on here. I again want to mention that this is the scene how I see it through my eyes and that there always can be a different or deeper view about the different cities and bands.”

Bulgaria - Varna

"Travelling east from Sofia to the seaside, you can visit Varna, where there is a pretty neat hardcore scene. Annually at summer time Varna is the place where a summer hardcore festival takes place. It has changed it’s name several times: “Free mind”; “Union Fest” and now it’s called East Noise Attack. This fest usually gathers all the people and hardcore fans from Bulgaria and some guests from the neighbouring countries.


We’re going to take tour through Varna notorious hardcore bands :

Indignity
This is one of my favorite bands around. Nice oldschool hardcore-punk sound. One of the oldest bands in Bulgarian hardcore and also the first band with 7’’ release in Bulgaria. It is split with one of the other hardcore bands from Varna – Outrage.


Outrage
Typical 90’s hardcore and again one of the godfathers of hardcore in my country. With Indignity they were the driving force of the seaside hc scene.


A-moral
Very nice fast punk band with some members from Confront. Strong political and social message.

Confront
The oldest hardcore punk band in Bulgaria. For sure the most influential and respected in the whole scene. They are political oldschool hardcore in mid-tempo with strong influence from bands like MDC and Dead Kennedys. One of my favs.

Coldbreath
Dark metalcore band.


Contradiction
Brutal grind-death-crust band with the members from Outrage and Indignity.


Bombshelter
Young hardcore-d-beat band.


B.F.H.
Oldschool hardcore band.


Varna is not so near to Sofia, so obviously we cannot travel very often and see local shows of younger bands. Varna has a strong and dedicated local scene but only few bands came to Sofia for shows. Still we enjoy every time when we can see these bands and I hope somebody from Varna would like to write detailed report about this intriguing scene. It definitely deserves a closer look."

Bulgaria - Sofia 2

Bulgaria - Sofia 1

“The guys before me have done a pretty good job but still I’ll try to give you a different look at Bulgarian hardcore.
I’m from Sofia Rebel Station which is an e-zine about hardcore, punk, crust and so on in the underground music that we all love.


As you can see from the title of our zine, I’m from Sofia which is the capital of Bulgaria and one of biggest scenes in our country.

Last Hope
This is the most famous, loved and successful hardcore band from Bulgaria with a solid reputation around Europe and Russia via few very successful tours. They play raging hardcore with profound lyrics in English and have one of the best stage appearance. They’re often described as the godfathers of Bulgarian hardcore proving that statement throughout the years and also working hard for the developing the hardcore scene, establishing “RE-ACT” booking agency together with the guys from Vendetta.



Vendetta
They are one of the oldest hardcore bands in Bulgaria starting in the mid-90’s under the name “Face Up” and playing furious oldschool hardcore, creating one of the most glorious days in the Sofia-Hardcore-Scene. Later after a few changes in the crew they named themselves Vendetta and start playing a great mixture of metalcore and hardcore. Their lyrics are mostly about of the life on the streets, the scene and presenting the “tough guy attitude”. At some point in the mid-00’s they renamed themselves ADIM, which stand for the latin “Amici Dei Inemici Mundi”. / The name of their album as Vendetta /. Recently Vendetta was resurrected and now they continue to enjoy their fans with tremendous shows.



T.V.U.
By far this is my favourite band which I have the utmost pleasure to have seen countless times live. They play streetpunk and oldschool hardcore punk with social lyrics in Bulgarian. I’m not sure that I can explain with words how I feel about this band so I’ll just ask you to try getting in my shoes and understand that it’s not easy to write about your favourite band. Unfortunately they don’t play anymore and the fans just remember and still speak of their great shows.


C4
A side project of Last Hope guys playing oldschool hardcore/punk and creating a huge following from the football terraces because of their catchy football sing-a-longs.


Switchstance
Nice piece of Bulgarian skacore with some brass section. Unfortunately they don’t exist anymore.


Skinflick
Oldschool hardcore from the end of the 90’s unfortunately I don’t have clear memories of their shows. They have participated in the famous 3-way split of Sofia hardcore bands together with Vendetta and Last Hope.


Omerta/Rejection
Omerta also was created at the strongest years of Sofia hardcore playing a furious style hardcore. After some years of silence the band resurrected with a few changes in the line up under the name “Rejection”. Rejection project is one of the most promising, “young” bands, playing hardcore with some thrash and crust influences. Their lyrics are also political, environmental and social pointed. Great to be seen in live performance.



B.F.D.M.
The name stands for “Brothers from different mothers”. They’re also one of my favourite hardcore bands from the local scene, because of the atmosphere that they create when they’re on stage.


Brothers In Blood
Oldschool hardcore with one of the most memorable lead singers /also in Vendetta/ in the Bulgarian scene. Created a huge following among the skater society.


Death Squad
hardcore/metalcore band singing about unity and respect. Their CD “Commitment Punishment” is one of my favourite hardcore records presenting positive message and feeling.


Redound/Envy
Hardcore band which started under the name “Envy” and after some line up changes they changed their style also becoming the flagmen of beatdown hardcore in Bulgaria.


Melekh
Melodic hardcore band with dark and emotional lyrics. I have no idea if they are still playing but I haven’t seen them live for some time so I guess they’ve broken up.


Under Siege
Radical antifascist hardcore. After few shows here in Sofia they split up.


Living Dead
Crust influenced hardcore band with strong environmental message. They don’t play often but still one of the active bands around.


Breakaway
Oldschool hardcore band which doesn’t exist anymore and although I have their demo CD I can’t tell much more about the band. Some of the older guys in the scene talk with praise about them, so I assume that they worth mentioning.

Santeria
Metalcore band with two female vocals ( screaming from the depths of hell haha \m/ ) which existed for a very short time but left a memorable track in the male dominated scene.


Fight to Win
Again female led hardcore band with strong stage attitude, but they don't exist anymore.


Remont
A drunk punk band from Sofia since 2006. Ex-TVU members in the line up. Existed for a short time, leaving the scene with a memorable shows and songs which have become a legendary hits.

Toxic Hate Alive Inside / Seven Ate Nine
Screamo band but not my cup of tea, so I cannot tell you much about them.

Expectations
New melodic hardcore band based in Sofia with members from the cities of Plovdiv and Yambol. They play atmospheric hardcore with touchy lyrics, screamed with passion.


Avril In Blood
Sofia hardcore/metal band with very heavy guitar riffs. Standard guttural screams.

F.A.Y.D.
It’s hard to type for a band in which I am involved, so let me just say that we play oldschool thrashy hardcore punk.


Painstate
Experimental hardcore band. Very low, but fast guitar riffs.


Bright Sight
Very nice young melodic hardcore punk band with new school sound.

I would like to make some resume of the scene here in Sofia. Maybe we’re missing bands and I’m sure about this, but at the moment they’re not active, or just existed for too short.

The hardcore scene in Sofia remained underground with some exceptions. And during this glorious 15 years there were peaks and drops and maybe the greatest times were in the beginning of the 00’s. Recently we can notice another wave of young kids, getting involved in the scene and who are starting bands, going to shows and just listening to hardcore music.


We have already mentioned the great impact that Last Hope and their booking agency RE-ACT had for the Bulgarian scene, which during their tours in Europe established valuable contacts and that gave a chance for them to invite some of the biggest names in the world scene. RE-ACT also puts and annual hardcore festival around Christmas, which features the most hard working bands through the year. However, not all shows were booked by RE-ACT, but also by Ugly and Proud, For the Kids, Hardcore Spirit, I Hate Mondays Radio and random enthusiasts.

The biggest problem in the Bulgarian scene are the venues. There were different small venues throughout the years, but never one dedicated mostly for hardcore and punk shows. Some were closed and others just decide to seek another audience, because of violence, low profit or just plain absence of enthusiasm among the people. The bigger concerts were held at rented halls which are very expensive for the promoters who are booking shows only on enthusiasm and almost every time they have to pay the losses from their pocket which is very hard considering the low wages in Bulgaria /av. 200 euros per month/.”

Bulgaria 3

The fact is I actually am from a town in Bulgaria with no scene at all, not just hardcore but not really a single active band. So currently I live in Sofia and my mates are from the scene there and Plovdiv. I can only add the band I currently sing in which is called Everybody Hates This. It is formed by members of Redound and Melekh.

There are two straight edge bands which I think are not mentioned...

Strategy X

Meanstream

They are actually the only sxe bands in Bulgaria (they don't exist anymore actually) but it's hard to find some info. The guy that runs the DIY zine Straight From The Inside knows stuff about them.


I saw you've got a post including Santeria, one of the vocalists of this band which is no longer playing is in another band now. It is called Dan Koloff and it is one of the few female fronted beatdown bands.


And btw Vendetta are reunited and are playing again and working on new songs.

Bulgaria - Sofia

I've been involved in the scene since 2001. The scene was pretty cool back then. There were 3 major acts:
Face Up

Last Hope
Skinflick

These 3 bands and some of their friends formed SCT crew (which stands for Sofia City Thugs:) )
Just the same year Face Up broke up and Vendetta were formed. It was also the year when the first band from the second wave of bands played.
This band is Breakaway (later Omerta).

After them a lot of new bands showed up:
Point-a-view
Hidden
Start Today (not the band from Plovdiv)
Switchstance
to name a few...

They formed the SYC crew (Sofia Youth Crew). It is funny...despite the name we (I took part of it) weren't mainly straight edge. In fact very few of us were but the name stayed because it was meant mainly to emphasize we were the new blood in the scene. During this period the scene was great. All the people knew each other and there was a great sense of friendship, unity and respect.

Then the third wave of bands spawned. The first were Death Squad, later Envy (now Redound) and Melekh. Personally for me it was the beginning of the end - new people, fashion, trends. Most of the new people are in it for the social scene and to be part of something "cool". The scene is now divided in small crews who hate each other and who are hypocritical at shows.

It is something that I've decided I don't want to be part of...