'Metal in Bulgaria' is a sideshow !'

They areВ one of the most hardworking Bulgarian metal bands these years.В EUFOBIA are nowВ releasing 'Insemination' after a pause of almost five years since their debut material 'Cup of Mud'.

The new record is out through Romanian underground label Axa Valaha and a big tour to follow. We have EUFOBIA frontman Nick and drummer Blago in our studios.

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

IS THERE ANY DEEP MEANING BEHIND YOUR BAND'S NAME, LIKE A PHOBIA OF THE EU OR SOMETHING?
Well, a lot of people seem to think that's where it comes from, but actually it means "having a fear of the good". As far as I know psychologists use it to describe a fear of good news.

WELL, WHAT A FITTING NAME FOR A COUNTRY LIKE BULGARIA, WHERE WE'RE POSITIVWELY GETTING SHOWERED WITH GOOD NEWS EVERY SINGLE DAY HAHA! TELL US WHO'S IN THE BAND.
Well, I sing and play guitar. There's Blago, our drummer, here in the studio with me. The only one missing is our bass player Stefan.

WELL, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU'RE RELEASING YOUR FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS.
True, but this one is way more serious, it's the real deal. It's our proper international debut too.

IT'S BEING RELEASED BY A ROMANIAN RECORD LABEL - HOW COME?
The metal scene there is bigger and better developed, it's a proper industry and a business. Also, we've played a lot of shows in Romania and it's probably the only place where we're actually popular and there's real interest in the band.В 

from left to right: Blago,В NickВ and Stefan

WHY DO YOU THINK THEIR SCENE IS IN BETTER SHAPE THAN OURS - IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S 18 MILLION OF THEM AS OPPOSED TO 7 MILLION OF US, OR MAYBE IT'S A NORTH VS SOUTH THING?
Maybe that's just the way it happened, it could be down to the nation's mentality. They take their metal way more seriously and it's not just a sideshow - there are plenty of fans, who are also more prone to supporting their homegrown talent. I think part of our success over there is due to the fact that they now perceive us almost as a local band.

I BET YOU KNOW PLENTY OF ROMANIAN SWEAR WORDS.
Oh, you bet.

WHAT ROMANIAN BANDS ARE YOU CHUMMY WITH THEN?
Well, Gothic are our closest friends, we've done tons of shows with them. They've been going since the early 90s, but are mostly known in Romania. They're now trying to gain more popularity worldwide, just as we are. We're also friends with Kratos.

YOUR ALBUM'S TITLED 'INSEMINATION' AND IT'S BEING RELEASED BY THE AXA VALAHA LABEL. HOW MANY TRACKS DOES IT CONSIST OF AND WHERE DID YOU RECORD IT?
We recorded it at Stain Studios, with Desso Velchev. The main guy there - Geppy - was also present most of the time, giving us advice here and there.

WHO MIXED AND MASTERED THE ALBUM?
It was Desso, he did the lot.

В 

DID YOU FINANCE THE RECORDING AND THEN SIGN TO AXA VALAHA OR DID THEY FRONT THE CASH?
No, when we started they didn’t even have a clue they’d be signing us. We recorded the entire album with our own money and we were looking for a Bulgarian label, but after a while we realized that all the promises certain people had given us were bullshit.

So one day we just decided to call Coro from Axa Valaha. He’d been promoting lots of our shows in Romania and we’d also met up at a few festivals. We told him we had some new material and asked if he was interested in hearing it. We went over to meet him, he took the CD and said: “I won’t listen to it tonight, I’ll call you when I’ve had the chance to hear it properly.” A week or so later he just emailed us the contracts.

I HEAR CERTAIN BULGARIAN FOLK INFLUENCES IN TRACKS LIKE THE TITLE ONE – OR AM I MISTAKEN?
No, you’re not. It’s a rhythm that flows in our veins and we often make use of it.

IT’S GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED BY WIZARD RECORDS IN BULGARIA. USUALLY AFTER A BAND RELEASE AN ALBUM, THEY FOLLOW IT UP WITH A PROMOTIONAL TOUR. WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS GOT PLANNED?
There’s some serious touring in the pipeline. We’re going to be touring the Balkans. We’ve already got 16 dates confirmed in the region, initially with Negura Bunget, who are the most popular Romanian band and are well known worldwide.

TRUE. THEY’RE OFTEN MENTIONED IN MAGAZINES LIKE METAL HAMMER.
Also on this tour will be Swedish band Daemonicus. The Sofia and Bucharest gigs in particular will be a major showcase for our new album. The Bucharest gig will be attended by journalists from magazines like Metal Hammer, Terrorizer etc.

SO HOW MANY TRACKS ARE THERE ON 'INSEMINATION'?
Eight altogether. They’re all relatively short, because the general idea was to make a very dynamic and in-your-face album.

THE PRESS RELEASE I RECEIVED SAYS IT’S ACTUALLY AN EP…
For me it’s a complete album, but because of its short duration, it’s being promoted as an EP. That’s fine with us, as it means the price will be lower and more fans can hear the band.

WHAT WAS THE TIME SPAN BETWEEN WRITING THE MUSIC AND ACTUALLY GOING IN TO RECORD IT, BECAUSE WE KNOW OF PLENTY OF CASES HERE IN BULGARIA WHEN BANDS TAKE 4-5 YEARS TO GET THEIR STUFF ON A RECORD.
Our stuff is relatively fresher. The songs are maybe two years old and we would have recorded them earlier had we not wasted a whole year looking for a label.

SEEING AS THE TRACKS ON THE EP ARE ALL RATHER SHORT, WHAT ELSE DO YOU PLAY AT GIGS  - OLDER STUFF OR MAYBE SOME NEW MATERIAL YOU’VE YET TO RECORD?
All of the above. We play some songs from our old album, which we’ve rearranged. We’re actually planning to rearrange most of the old stuff and record it anew, so as to present it in an entirely new way. We’ve also got some new material that we hope record for maybe a 12-track album at the end of the year.

YOU’VE GOT A TOUR OF THE BALKANS COMING UP. APART FROM BULGARIA AND ROMANIA, HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY PLAYED ANY OF THE OTHER BALKAN COUNTRIES?
We’ve only played in Serbia, Macedonia and Romania. We won’t be able to go to Albania, but we’ll be playing Moldova. The Balkan tour is only one part of the promo campaign. In April we’ll be going on a tour of Western Europe with the Brazilian band Krow, some of whom were founding members of Sarcofago and they kick some serious ass.

GREECE IS ALSO RENOWNED FOR ITS LOVE OF METAL, WILL YOU BE PLAYING THERE?
Yes, we’ll be doing Thessaloniki twice actually – once with Negura and then with Parricide from Poland.

В 

DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS ABOUT YOUR CAREER UP TO NOW?
Yes we do, but let’s not piss on our own parade. Mostly we regret the fact that we lost about a year or two, when we could have done a lot more for the band during that period.

ANY PLANS FOR THE SUMMER?  THAT’S USUALLY A BUSY PERIOD FOR TOURING BANDS.
Only the odd date here and there. When we return from our tour in May we probably won’t be in a fit state to tour extensively throughout the Summer, so we’ll leave all that for the coming Fall. There’s been talk of doing a few festivals, but we’re yet to find out.

YOU MUST HAVE SOME MATES FROM THE BULGARIAN SCENE AS WELL THOUGH?
Of course we do. I mean, I, myself, am involved in four other bands.

QUITE OFTEN WHEN A BULGARIAN BAND SEEMS TO BE DOING WELL, ALL THEIR COLLEAGUES ARE QUICK TO START TALKING SHIT ABOUT THEM.
Yes, there is that. It’s a national characteristic. We’ve never dissed anyone, we’re open to all and very friendly towards any bands from the local scene. Unfortunately some of them seem to have a different outlook on life, I guess it comes from where they were born.

MAYBE YOU SHOULD START OPENING YOUR GIGS WITH THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
Well, we opened one with the national flag. Our first ever gig in Romania happened to be on 3rd March, so we spread the flag on the drum kit as we walked out onstage. Then we asked the crowd if they knew why we were doing this and when they said they didn’t, we explained to them that this was because of our national day and they proceeded to applaud us. We got a very good response.

SO, WHO’S JUSTINE?
She’s from a Marquis de Sade book of the same name. After I read it, the concept of Eufobia started to take shape in my mind. That’s probably our signature song.

SO WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO RECORD IT?
We only wrote it recently haha.В В 

rights Tangra Mega Rock