INTEGRITY, Vendetta, Blackmail
10.02.2012 - The Box, Sofia
words by Stefan Topuzov, photo: (TBA)

INTEGRITY is a band about which whatever you say would be too little – and probably wrong. But they obviously do have enough fans in Bulgaria that would drag themselves to the new location of 'The Box' club in one of Sofia's uglier districts, and fill the venue pretty much to the max. There's also people who traveled to Sofia from various parts of the country, which is an act of true heroism in these dreadful weather conditions. But that's also why we call ourselves hardcore, isn't it?

Blackmail who open the show are a new band that features some familiar faces from the scene. The band plays a more musically challenging type of hardcore that is also fueled with the proper punk attitude: a song of theirs called 'In the Mud' is played with its working title and lyrics, 'Eat Shit', and is dedicated to all those against whom Bulgarians are protesting today.

The Belgrade scene's elite that forms the brand new band The Bridge, obviously doesn't own a snow plow truck, as the dudes fail reaching Sofia for the show. We'll have to watch them some other time.

But this way Vendetta's turn comes sooner. Vocalist Delyan Stefanov explains how exciting it is for him to open for his favorite band. (Vendetta did also open for Integrity in 2003 but I think Stefanov was in the USA at that exact moment.) As it is the tradition recently, the band starts with 'Lets Embrace the End', but the performance is interrupted early on by Stefanov because what is happening in front of the stage (an that is exactly nothing) is just not serious for a hardcore show. That does the trick and from there on till the end of the band's set the pit is the insanity we're familiar with in Sofia.

The list of reasons INTEGRITY is one of the strangest bands on the planet is quite long. You can add the production of their shows to it, because despite their legendary status, what they do stays on a completely underground level. At one point Dwid Hellion simply walks from the merch stand to the stage where his band does soundcheck in front of the audience. It is comforting to know that the American band that gave birth to the whole metalcore wave still does things the same way a punk band from Kystendil, Bulgaria, would.

Their set starts without any extras like special lights or an intro or whatever – simply 'Incarnate 365' that flows directly into 'Rise' without a pause. Actually INTEGRITY don't fuck around talking to the audience at all – besides pointing out a couple of times how good it feels to be back, 9 years later – and simply play their evil, metalised hardcore songs. Dwid stands in the middle simply shouting the lyrics, while the rest of his band – whose current incarnation revolves around guitarist Rob Orr, who looks like a metal kid from the 80's – headbangs way more enthusiastically, jumps around, changes places ad simply does everything you would expect a hardcore band to do on stage.

'Those Who Fear Tomorrow' is the equally sudden end of the show – the band simply plays the song and walks off the stage. People seem rather confused – there's the ones who are pleased they aren't taken for fools; there's also those who feel like they have received less than expected; and then those who are totally clueless about what had just happened and what kind of a band they just saw. In a certain sense – a quite suiting result from an INTEGRITY show.