Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
BLEAK REVELATION was founded in 2011 by Alexander Dimitrov and Anton Andonov with the intention of playing melodic doom metal mixed with heavier styles of music. The line-up was quite unstable in the beginning, but once we’ve managed to get this fixed, we recorded our first demo, full-length album and follow-up single with Konstantin Zahariev (guitars) and Georgi Bogdanov (drums).
Another idle period followed, until the band got assembled again with our ex-live guitar player Martin Bachvarov, and in 2019 we recorded our second album Collapse, which was officially released this September.
Beside Bleak Revelation, Martin and Anton are also playing in two more bands - HELLRIDER (Thrash Metal) and MALTWORM (Death Metal).
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Just like any other band, we are aiming to sound like ourselves and not other bands, but some of the artists we like have definitely influenced us: Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Cathedral, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, October Tide, My Dying Bride, In Mourning, Akercocke, Darkthrone and many more. As of the style - maybe Melodic Doom Metal with Extreme Metal Influences would describe us most accurately.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Because they contain something that is almost lost in our decade’s music - sincerity and genuine spirit. We are not ultra-technical or primitive on purpose, we are not extreme nor pop, our lyrics are not “fantasy”, “occult” or “satanic”. Whatever we do, is based on our own understanding what this is and should sound like, and we are not trying to please anyone and fit any trend. Last but not least - to support the independent art.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We have released a three-song demo simply called ‘Bleak Revelation’ (2013), two singles - ‘Defied By Clouds’ (2014) and ‘Repentance’ (2018). We are most proud with our two full-length albums - ‘Afflictive Seclusion’ (2015) and the recently released ‘Collapse’ (2020).
Media has been very generous to us when it comes to our releases - our first album was even reviewed in Pest Zine back in the days and got 8.5/10! Overall, no marks below 7/10 whatsoever, and we have been covered by printed media and webzines from Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Poland, USA and others.
In general, metal fans also seem to like us, at least when they give us a listen. If you are reading us, you might be one of them - so go and see what we have to offer to your ears!
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Currently, our live activity is nonexistent due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are looking forward to presenting and promoting our new album. However, not so long ago we were an active live band, and we have shared a stage with numerous local bands and well-known names like Batushka, Negura Bunget, Ophis, Eye Of Solitude, Frostmoon Eclipse, Master and many more.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We don’t necessarily want everyone to like us or even be interested in us. If you like gloomy and moody music with a twist of melody, variety of primitive vocal techniques and lyrics dealing with one’s darker-self, try and see if we are your thing. As for the labels, they wouldn’t make much money from us, since our music is not really what is currently trendy on the market. Had we emerged around ‘90-’92, the situation might have been different. Or not.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Release a physical copy of our new album, promote it and hopefully play a gig to present it. We already have enough material written for a third album (or maybe even a fourth one, who knows), so we would like to arrange and record it as soon as possible.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Our catalogue is available on every major streaming platform: YouTube (of course), Bandcamp, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Music, Pandora, Tidal, Soundcloud and a lot more. We also have physical copies of our first album ‘Afflictive Seclusion’ (2015), so if anyone wants one, feel free to contact us (bleak.revelation.band[AT]gmail.com). Here are some links where you can check us out:
https://www.facebook.com/bleakrevelation/
http://bleakrevelation.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4NKs2Jks4pNupODVys3GwM
https://soundcloud.com/bleakrevelationdoom
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE2bVkpiPMFoqJ9xXzv-3ZQ
February 2021