Interview with BLEAK REVELATION (Bulgaria).

BLEAK REVELATION is a band from Sofia Bulgaria that is all about shouting ancient doom in this latest second album 'Collapse', released September 22, 2020. There is not much difference in terms of concept compared their first effort ''Afflictive Seclusion'' 2015. Some parts of the sound were detected to be improved possibly in terms of clarity and cleanliness. The music is probably also a contribution to the theme. The words death and doom, have everything to do with the Gothic and the style. BLEAK REVELATION has always sounded like it carries with it a strong medieval flavor. The instrument itself is played with a great flare that invites many listeners to the illusion or darkness, by presenting a melodious lead guitar interspersed with keyboards put the opening track of ‘' Drown'’ in very spirited and melodious.

'' The Road To Perdition '' The second track shows the shadow of a real doom, hovering for a moment and energetically suck your soul back then.  Rhythm and bass guitars are actually distorted as heard, the thickness of the main guitar seems to splashing oil in the tub. The strength of the drummer should not be underestimated, tap it tightly even at slow tempo with wicked solos and being an innovator in both sound. 

There is something exciting in the vocal section that gives us one last clue about  '' Collapse'' fate. Anton Andonov  is rude and heavy - quite clear, albeit interspersed with clean voices. But other backup vocal managed to bring three types of characters I feel like growl, scream and harsh which gives a particular musty, rotting pungency to the music itself. ''The Misanthrope'' is one of the longest songs of 11.53 minutes featuring a bit of black metal speed, with a screaming voice in the middle of the song.  But tenderness is still felt in the beginning and end. '' Void '' an interesting instrumental song with various variations of flanges and tempo processing.

So roughly, they carry continuity from the root of PARADISE LOST, MY DYING BRIDE or early PYOGENESIS or other gloomy doom bands that flow with it! And the album is definitely best listened to as a unified experience, where its stark oddness and thrilling menace can pull you in and bury you in obscurity. So, ''collapse'' is easily one of the good doom death metal albums.

Let's read the interviews made with Anton, Alex and Martin.They had to say more...

1. Tell a little history of the establishment of Bleak Revelation? Does the lineup change frequently?

Anton: Bleak Revelation was formed back in 2011 when four (I guess five, but the vocalist came to one rehearsal only) dudes with passion for heavy and emotional music got together and immediately started working on original songs (no covers, just real deal). We were all very

passionate about bands like Paradise Lost, Katatonia, October Tide, In Mourning etc. After changing multiple times vocalists and guitarists, and at the end our long-time drummer, we’ve formed the first stable Bleak Revelation line-up: Alexander (guitars); Anton (bass, harsh vocals); Konstantin (guitars, clean vocals) and Georgi (drums). This line-up recorded our self-titled demo, our first album “Afflictive Seclusion” (2015) and the single Repentance (2018). After that our then-live guitar player Martin came officially on board, replacing Konstantin, and we recorded our second album “Collapse” (2020).

Without being a big name, the band has been well-known in the Bulgarian Metal Underground. We have had dozens of shows with local bands or supporting names like Batushka, Negura Bunget, Ophis, Eye Of Solitude, Frostmoon Eclipse, Master, Weight Of Emptiness and many more.

Alex: When me and Anton started in the beginning we went through several lineup changes until we could find the proper people for the job.

2. You’ve just released the new album, ''Collapse". Are you excited?  And What are your expectations about it?

Alex: Never have expectations in life if you don't want to be disappointed.

Martin: I joined the band two years ago and I am excited because it's my first album with them. When it comes to the expectations, we knew what we wanted while entering the studio so I don't believe there are going to be any surprises with the overall result.

Anton: We’ve actually just released it! And just like giving birth to a child, writing, recording and releasing an album is a lengthy and exhausting process. Now we are very happy to have it out there, and trying to make it reach a broader audience - this being said, thank you so much for

your interest and contacting us!

3. What about the doom components which are present in your new material? Do you see it as an integral part of the band now?

Martin: It's always been. This is the way that we write our songs and nobody said "Let's bring some more doom parts in".

Anton: We are avoiding putting labels to our music, but if someone wants a short description, that would be “Doom Metal” indeed - not because of the tempo of the songs, but the overall vibe and message we are trying to send. Plus, being slow and heavy is rarely going to award you

with money, fame or groupies - it’s 100% personal decision to keep compositions like this.

4. What is the difference between this album in terms of concept, lyrical and the way of delivery  compared to ''Afflictive Seclusion ''?

Anton: In “Afflictive Seclusion” there were a couple of authors. This worked well for us, but somehow the lyrical themes were less consistent. For “Collapse”, it’s only me writing the lyrics (except “The Web Of Your Betrayal”, joint effort with Alexander) and they definitely deal more with depression, greed, despair, sorrow and other negative human feelings. The first album was dealing more with the human-nature relationship, and also exploring life and death in a

philosophical sense.

5. Why are some of your songs so long for example 'The Misanthrope'?

Alex: It’s just the way it is. We never deliberately have said “hey, let's think of a super-long track”.

Martin: Some songs are longer and some aren't. It's just the way it comes. If we try to overthink this will affect the result.

Anton: For me, it’s part of the vibe we are trying to achieve. For example, we are not playing jazz, progressive and are not trying to impress anyone with our technical skills. Quite the

contrary - if we use slow, simple or repetitive pieces this makes the listener feel threatened, empty inside or simply uneasy. Some people make horror movies, others write stories, and we are simply composing the soundtrack for your darker moments.

6. Your guitar tone sounds very melodious. It reminds me the '' Gothic '' album of PARADISE LOST? Do you expect such a tone?

Alex: Very kind of you. Although we like to sound like ourselves there is no secret where our influences come from.

Anton: This is a compliment for us indeed. A lot of people have told us this, but the truth is it is not intended in any way. Paradise Lost are simply giants, and Gregor Mackintosh has one of the most recognizable and influential guitar approaches for the Gothic and Doom Metal genres. The

overall feeling of their songs is pretty close to what our understanding of this type of music is - so I guess this is where it comes from. Anyway, we are influenced by a variety of other styles, including Black and Death Metal, which you can surely hear when taking a listen.

7. Getting onto the soundscape of the album, there’s some rather interesting sounds in there. Outside of the traditional guitar, drums and bass, what other instruments did you use?

Martin: There's a piano on Drown intro and a violin in Scorned. If you hear something else that sounds unfamiliar, it's probably a guitar effect that's not used frequently in heavier bands.

Anton: This, and a couple of random or not so random sound effects (e.g. Bell chimes) here and there.

8. Are there many opportunities to play show for you at Sofia Bulgaria? Do you feel the support of local metalheads?

Martin: We do a couple of shows per year and there's a lot of support. Our local scene is not very big and most of us are friends. However it's a different story this year because there are not so many opportunities due to the impact of the Covid-19. Hopefully next year things will go back to normal.

Anton: I’d say it really depends. We’ve played in front of 1000+, and in front of 5 fans as well. Most attendees are actually fellow musicians from the local scene. As much as we love playing shows, it seems the taste of the metalheads doesn’t totally match with what we have to offer -we are too soft and melodic for the hardcore extreme metal fans, and we are too heavy for the rest… or we simply suck, who knows? Hehe.

9. Do you feel it’s hard for a doom death metal band to start out today? Is it hard to form one in Sofia where you’re from?

Alex: It has pros and cons. Por ejemplo, when we started and even till now there were not many bands like ours in terms of genre in Bulgaria. That makes us unique in a sense, but at the same time less appreciated since not part of the mainstream.

Martin: It's not hard to find people to play with. However keeping on track as a band is not so easy. All of us have daily jobs and sometimes it's hard to get together due to other

commitments.

Anton: It is not so hard to start any kind of band, you simply need to be creative and motivated. Nowadays you have the Internet as the most powerful promotion tool. It is still crazy how people like you manage to find an unknown band like ours from the other part of the world… However, I really miss metal magazines on paper, or oldschool metal zines that still take interviews and reviews. Believe me or not, a lot of webzines are refusing to publish anything else but PR releases. The underground still needs proper support, especially with a very small scene like the

Bulgarian one.

10. Proper label who releases some of best doom death bands (and more) nowadays. But labels usually can’t help bands with gigs. How do you solve this problem?

Martin: As I mentioned previously, most of the musicians here are friends and this helps us to organise shows. We get in touch with each other and make some gigs with other bands or club owners invite us when they want to make an event at their venue.

Anton: It is all DIY, but I see no real problem in this. In my experience, a band can organize a gig at least as good as a promoter or a label could, because they know exactly what is needed to get on stage and deliver a proper show. Another challenge is that most clubs here are “pay-to-play”. Don’t get me wrong, venues are also struggling and trying to make a living and Irespect that, but bands cannot play unless they can afford it financially. You invest way more for

playing the show (rehearsals, club rent, logistics, promotion) than actually earning. So it’s a vicious circle.

11. What are your plans concerning a third album? Do you already have some ideas?

Martin: Yes. We are working on some new ideas and we have already written some songs. However it's still too early to provide any specific time frame regarding it.

Anton: Probably 7-8 brand new songs are written, one of them is already fully arranged. What I can say is that they are more riff-oriented and probably we would use way less clean vocals than in our first two albums. We don’t want to wait for another 5 years before recording those songs, that’s for sure.

12. Thanks for your time. What's your last advice to all metal fans out there?

Anton: Thank you so much for the interest in our band and supporting the release of our new album! To all the metal fans in Malaysia and around the world - stay true to yourselves and work hard for what you believe!

Martin: Enjoy what you do and never give up. All the best!