„Аромат на мечти“ на прага на зимата – (November’s Doom Days – продължението)

My story will start with a short retrospection of the last warm and golden autumn days. Days, which are absolutely synchronized with the emotions and the people that fill my existence. Warm, cozy but somehow  covered in their own loneliness. Loneliness that covers you like a warm blanket and protects you from the infecting vanity that surrounds us.

The early before-noon of the 24^th of November, the day dedicated to VANHELGA. I’m on my way to the hotel, a bit worried, thoughts are racing in my head, mainly about the anti-social image of the band. “How should I act?”, “What should I talk about with them?”, “What if they really are people that I will have a difficult conversation with?!”.  I arrive at the hotel a bit late, while the boys are waiting, staring in front of them.  The moment they see me, they reach out to greet me, their sincere smiles cast away my worries.  Just few minutes are enough for me to understand that these are people much like me. Real introverts, in whose company you can endlessly stay silent and that won’t make you some twisted person. Silence becomes our common language and the emotions that these people sometimes express are the purest t hing that you can trust. The falseness and hypocrisy are thing unknown to them.

They want to look around in Sofia. We go towards the center. I explain that Sofia is nothing extremely amazing, but they say that they like the city. They take photos everywhere.  They stop in front of every monument, building or memorial and ask what they represent. They are amazed by few post-communist compositions. They even want to visit the temple “Alexander Nevski” from the inside. A bit tired and hungry we stop at a restaurant. They ask about the traditional Bulgarian food, I explain about it. Only one of them decides to try “shkembe chorba”. I tell them that this is a strong medicine against hangovers, which the Bulgarian men use.

We separate for few hours until the party in BlackLodge Bar, for which my colleague Draug already told you about. Every parting with VANHELGA saddens me, because I can be myself with them. With their silence and short conversations, these people can give me more than I could ever hope to get. And if you ever asked yourself what does VANHELGA mean, they explained that the word has 2 meanings. The literal one is “tomb stone”, the other one is the moment when our life goes in the wrong direction and we are not able to stop that.

The 25th of November is a day for a race against the clock. It is my honor to meet my beloved band THURISAZ.  A challenge, that not only killed my inner peace but also took my out of my comfort zone. While the bus was carrying me around the dark Sofia, I learn, from a Facebook post, that the sets of the bands are changed. The flight of ALBEZ DUZ is late with one hour, and the show of VANHELGA is pushed forward. A simple calculation shows me that I have just one hour to go to the airport, pick THURISAZ, to get them to the hotel and to manage to return to Live&Loud, to see the show of the Swedes. The equation becomes quite difficult. I “bless” all the airlines in my mind, and pray to all the gods to be with me. Fortunately the plane of THURISAZ lands on time, but their baggage is late. When they appear I explain them the situation and we are on our way to the hotel. We arrive at the marked street, but a little mistake in the number faces me in front of hostile, unknown doors .  I look around searching for the right one and in the end I manage to find it. I formally announce “Boys, it is here!”. They ask me about the plan for the night. I tell them that is their night ,and  that they are free to do whatever they want. They respond “We don’t know most of the bands on the festival.  We would like to meet the people with who we will be on the same stage “.  They leave the many suitcases and we go together towards the club. An really touching act for me. When we enter VANHELGA just start to play the first chords of their show. They say that complete happiness doesn’t exist but sometimes fate grants us a bit of it, in unexpected forms.

The men without faces, VANHELGA, lead is un their strange world. A world in where life is just a fragile, useless shell.  A world where society turns you in just another number, puts you in a big classifier ditched with complex terminology.  We all are a faceless crowd, in every one of there is a fragile, defenseless creature that helplessly cries, whose voice remains unheard and soundless. We all wander in search for someone who can hear that voice. To embrace with his sight and to say to us without words  “I don’t know how to help you, but I know how you feel”  and in that moment you just feel…not so lonely. Actually, live, VANHELGA sound quite more cheerily than their studio recordings. The time of their set flies, but it leaves me enough space to think and questions to seek the answer to.

The late morning of the 26^th of November.  I have enough time for a shower and a coffee, after which I go towards the Live&Loud club. A long night is ahead of us, but at least I don’t have any bands to meet and welcome and I can peacefully enjoy the shows of the bands.   I’m very happy about that because the first two bands are some of my favorites. Apart from that, a long time has passed since I was any of those bands. Our black magicians BELGARATH and “the most beautiful Bulgarian band”- OBSIDIAN SEA. But this time the article about the (as well for some of the other bands) will be in the hands of my colleague Draug, who saw those bands for the first time, so his opinion will be quite objectively made.

After I tried to express the feeling of the first festival night, it comes turn to do the same about the second one. While the 25^th was mainly ruled by the melancholy of the depressive black metal, the 26^th of November was dominated by doom metal and it’s subgenres.

It all starts with one band that I wanted to see for a long time, but I couldn’t for various reasons.  I’m talking about the Bulgarian black metallers BELGARATH, who, despite the difference from the main genre of the night, manage to do their task perfectly. Minutes before 18:00 they take the stage, in the typical for the genre look – corpse paint, stronger than ever with their new bassist Witcher (ex-Axecutor, ex-Destroyer) and ready to show us what real black metal is.  We hear the whole debut album “Wanderer”(2014), as well as new songs that will be part of their next edition. After their short performance, they leave us quite happy and I can proudly say that this is the best active Bulgarian black metal band.

After BELGARATH, another one of our bands takes the stage – OBSIDIAN SEA. They are the logical continuation of the classical doom metal route, taken by ALBEZ DUZ last night. Clean vocals, heavy guitars, beautiful bass lines, slow riffs and somber atmosphere. The perfect ingredients for the beginning of a doom metal night to remember. A story that needs to be told for a long time. The trio creates an unforgettable feeling of despair, surrounding us in a thick fog, which swallows us and leaves us without exit, wandering aimlessly. There is no chance that someone wasn’t pleased by their performance.

This marks the end of the Bulgarian presence of the stage and the Belgian band FADING BLISS is about to start. FADING BLISS arrived from Romania, along with the headliners OFFICIUM TRISTE. Their doom/gothic metal is the perfect balance between light and dark. The heavy male vocals and the gentle female voice, create an amazing dark and melodic union, a harmony for both sides of life. While they present their creations, I see the members of VANHELGA among the fans. After the end of the show of the Belgians, I’m left with the desire for another when, they are really worth it.

Talking with different people who attend the show, helps me to learn that one of the most anticipated names is the Greek doom/death  band IMMENSITY. It is an incredibly special show for two reasons – first, the band has very few concerts, and second – this is their debut show outside Greece, which can only make us happy. On the 21^st of March this year, they released their first album “The Isolation Splendour” and we hear different parts of it with great pleasure in the night of the 26th of November. Our doomed November. And just like the pytagorians used to believe that the perfect number is the number 4, the setlist of IMMENSITY consists of 4 songs. The opening song is “Heartfelt like Dying” which is also the opening song of the album. The next ones are “Eradicate (The Pain of Remembrance)“ and “The Sullen”.  Long and slow, despair bringing tracks, heavy and clean vocals, crystal sound. The end comes with “Irradiance (For the Unlight)“, after which the band leaves the stage and the preparation for  THURISАZ and OFFICIUM TRISTE begins.

I leave my colleague to rest, so that I can tell you the story for the grand performance of the night – the death/doom veterans OFFICIUM TRISTE, and of course my favorites THURISAZ.  One really unique and wonderful band, that took my heart years ago. I have never even dreamed of seeing them live, let alone be here now.

It is time for the Belgians, or more particular the Flemings to take their places on stage.  Minutes before that Peter calls me and says to me “We will play two songs from “Scent of a dream” this night. “What?! Really?! Which ones?” this is the only thing that my overly serotonin filled brain. “Years of silence” and “Scent of a dream”, Peter says to me calmly.  I manage to explain that “Years of Silence” is one of my all time favorite songs and I carry it in my player everywhere. He gives me a conspiratorial smile.

THURISAZ arrive with their own sound-engineer and lights technician which will grant us an amazing and professional show. The members of the band are the same from the beginning, except for the bassist Nick Meganck, who, by the way, is not unknown to the Bulgarian fans and he has visited the country as a bassist for a famous heavy metal star. Nick is with THURISAZ for two years and  a half, but the amount of stars that he has played with is very big.

The Flemings lead us through their whole discography, starting with “Falling” from “Circadian Rhythm„.  Three vocalists, who do both clean and harsh vocals, keyboards, two guitars, bass and drums – all these instruments create and incredible combination of sounds , which draw indescribably rich melodies. Gentle, almost progressive parts are suddenly turning into an explosion of aggressive black metal after which they again calm and turn into wonderful solos  and the ethereal atmosphere of the keyboards. Fantastic musical pieces, in which you fall apart and start to fly in endless worlds. After “Rays of Light”, from their latest album and “My Precious Unknown” I barely hear Peter to say “Years of Silence”. I’m standing near the stage, numb and my tears start to flow suddenly. After I calm with “One Final Step“, another one of their pearls of the Belgians is on its way – “Scent of a dream”. Yes, this autumn-winter night was filled with the scent of dreams and the scarce rain earlier carried the whisper of secret wishes.

The Doom/Death veterans OFFICIUM TRISTE are a dream coming true for another part of the fans.  Their long set, not only drowned is in silence, but also filled with joy those who came to see them. The frontman Pim Blankenstein granted every wish for a photo or short chat. Happy fans, happy artists. Is there a better ending than this one! If you still haven’t been on an  Autumn Souls of Sofia event, then grant yourself a dream. The team will take care that it will come true.

P.S. – This text is created under the combined work and inspirations of M.Milchova – Satania and M. Petrov – Draug.