Yes, the event was definitely scheduled for 5 p.m. and for sure at quarter past 7 p.m. the gates of the former movie theatre “Osvobozhdenie” were overcrowded and nearly a hundred fans were pressing to the barriers crying “C’mon! Let us in already!” And the rest of the 800 people around the building anxiously stood aside in position. So another concert was severely delayed for reasons far beyond comprehension. I guess we are getting used to it.

Nevertheless, this nuisance did not kill the fans’ enthusiasm and a few minutes later when the waiting was over, the hall started to fill with loud clappers. And I was thankful to the Gods that no other trouble tried to ruin the night. Everything else that night was more than astonishing! I do not know whose idea was that to bring together these bands but I am sure that he is now rubbing his hands somewhere in delight.

At about 7:30, after a quick sound check, from the decent spacious stage of the hall rose the Bulgarian band The Revenge Project. Truly enthusiastic, fast and communicating with the audience. Although it was no more than fifty people gathered right before the stage, they all rushed to move and sing with the band. What impressed me most was that the guys somehow tried to sound harder and more abrupt than usual as if in the mood of the following, technical bands.

The Revenge Project played just a twenty minute show but the results were obvious. The people were warmed up. After a short wait Amon Din, a Serbian act, showed up. Well, there the first surprise was born. Obviously no one expected anythingВ  in particular form this band but they surprisingly started with some traditional, old school death metal, very keen and really fast. At first people were trying to comprehend what was happening before them but after the end of the first bit of sincere death, the hall heated up and the air thickened. There were such amounts of energy overflowing around that the Amon Din musicians were apparently astonished themselves. To top it all the band finished with some melodeath/trash rhythms demonstrating guitar harmonies and atmospheric solos. At that point I was sure the audience would lift a skeptical brow but I was wrong. People were even more enthusiastic!

The Serbian musicians were short, too, to give up their place to the Austrian black/death militants Belphegor. I do not know what to say here. I was little skeptical even about this blend of styles and the way it will influence the death-ers but I was totally wrong again. The band simply blew it all up rising as heralds of Satan making up a great show posing not and using no effects. They were just running and turning their instruments but that was more than enough to make the fans go mad. Again everything was like one o’clock! Not one disappointed.

It was close to 10. People were tired of waiting half an hour for instrument preparations. But that was it. Once the Swedish legends Grave struck their first abomination the tired faces turned to the enthusiasm itself. Without being that technical or fast as Belphegor were, Grave somehow drove their fans crazy and crated an indescribable mood of aggression and delight. The hall was trembling and tilting, the pogo transformed to a circle pit and in moment like that one I always say to myself: “Hell, who the heck created this ugly, great music?!”

The Swedish performance was not longer than 30 minutes but it sounded hell of a long and tiring. Those who had sworn to death metal were really exhausted, this time for real. In a hall with five big air conditioners it was for sure around 30 C degrees and no oxygen had left. At that rough moment, without any delay that “death-evening” was granted the presence of the headliners – the American wonder Nile! In an instant there were no sign, no signs at all that someone was tired even a little. People gathered again in a second after the first blast beats of the insane Kollias.

From that moment on, the real meat grinder took positions. The Americans started killing with their terribly fast and abrupt technical weaponry often shifted by the trademark ultra-slow Egyptian melodies. Nothing can be compared to what these musicians are crating on the stage. They teleport you somewhere far. Without moving very much, without posing or using effects or some sceneries they bring a unique mood. Karl is counting how many hundreds notes he could do on his strings, Dallas is trying to sound like an unbelievably low-pitched beast and Kollias is drumming as if it would mean death if he does not manage to beat all his drums simultaneously. These people are unmatched. They demonstrate some weird power which makes them a cult.

To me, that show was formidable. With the exception of the organization tragedy at the beginning that concert was brilliant. Four hours and a half of pure death metal at its best, just in the centre of the City, at a low price. Many thanks to Most Of Evil Music. They gifted us with something powerful which is ours and which we have waiting for a long time!

As Dallas said at one point: “You’re brutal!”

Report: Kiril Gyudurov