After 3 subsequent Soulfly gigs in Bulgaria, on August 15 we were able to finally see what we all know is the other side of the same coin - Sepultura. The place was the Kaliakra Stadium in Kavarna.

Unlike the recent heavy metal fest in this seaside town, now it didn't seem to be so full of fans. There were plenty of people who'd rather eat and drink outside the venue, but at the show itself there were hardly 2000. However, I'd like to concentrate on the rather nihilistic attitude towards one of the greatest bands ever in metal history later...

The show started with a performance by the Romanian death metallers Necrovile. They didn't impress so much with originality, but their playing was quite tight. Necrovile's set lasted like half an hour; then they stepped down the stage for the co-headliners of Thrash 'till Death 2007, Dark Funeral, to come up.

In Bulgaria, when it comes to talking on Internet forums or while drunk in the park, everyone is "trve"-er than the "trve"-est. But when it comes to going to a concert of a classic (and totally TRVE) black metal band, drinking is still the priority. There were hardly any black metal maniacs at the show - just like one or two guys with improvised corpsepaint on the front row and maybe some more casual "hidden" fans. Despite that, Dark Funeral's performance was quite decent. The "satan-this, satan-that" lyrics could've been quite funny for someone who isn't a fan, but the instrumental part was a total massacre. Super tight rhythm section, heavy stinging riffs and of course the frontman's hellish shrieks. After nearly an hour of singing for the glory of Satan, the Swedes left the stage. They weren't too shy to thank the "trv-est crowd" and promise they'll be "fuckin' back, Bulgariaaaaa"… Who knows? They might have been honestly enjoying the gig…

In the half-hour break between Dark Funeral and Sepultura there were some people who thought show was over (and that they had just seen Sepultura?). That was funny by itself… Meanwhile there was a separate soundcheck especially for the headliners, that's why they sounded so good afterwards.

Somewhere around 11 p.m. we heard the intro from "Dante XXI", followed by the album's opener "Dark Wood of Error" and its drum solo. As soon as this song started, a pretty decent moshpit also began, which was bigger than what you'd expect from such a rather small audience. Without many pauses and talks, "Refuse/Resist", "Convicted in Life" and "False" followed. As a whole, the songs from the last album dominated the first half of the show.

New drummer Jean Dolabella left quite a good impression as Igor Cavalera's replacement. If you could swallow the fact that someone else if playing your favourite classics for a moment, you'd have no reason not to enjoy the show. There were enough classics like "Dead Embryonic Cells", "Beneath the Remains" and "Arise". At least these were performed in their entirety, as most of the old-school stuff was merged into one long medley with "Inner Self", "Escape to the Void" and "Desperate Cry" in it. And "Troops of Doom" for the most old-school fans.

The electric guitar performance of "Kaiowas" was the first encore, followed by "Biotech Is Godzilla", "Territory" and the last, logical and expected final nail - "Roots Bloody Roots". Then there were drumsticks and guitar picks thrown in the crowd, bows, thankyous and the routine "We'll be fuckin' back, Bulgariaaaaa!" Some of the most loyal fans kept chanting the band's name for a few minutes after that…

…while retarded stuff like, "Go home, losers!" could be heard from other parts of the crowd. I honestly don't know where did this come from, especially after this super strong setlist, good sound, good performance, non stop moshing, and as a whole - one hell of a good show! I didn't fail noticing that these yells were in some of the most redneck dialects, though… For everyone else (and me personally) this night will remain in my memory with one of the best concerts I've ever attended! By one of the best bands ever! I hope they visit us again! No matter the line-up!

Written by Stefan Topuzov for Tangra Mega Rock