In dupa amiaza zilei de 30 mai 2010 o multime de metalisti asteptau in fata salii Hristo Botev din Sofia. Dupa concertul nimicitor cu Deicide, desfasurat cu doar o seara in urma, majoritatea lor au venit sa celebreze a doua zi a regalului de metal, oferit de Most of Evil. Si iata ca sosit in sfarsit timpul ca Mayhem si Venom sa apara!

Seara a inceput cu performanta slovenilor de la Noctiferia, care au inlocuit trupa Omega (Grecia) programata ca opening act, dar care nu si-a mai facut prezenta. Noctiferia a mai cantat la Sofia in deschiderea Samael, in Ianuarie 2009, iar acum au oferit un recital de 1 ora, apreciat de public.

La scurt timp dupa acestia, Mayhem, considerati pionieri ai scenei norvegiene de black metal, au aparut in frunte cu "sinistrul" Attila Csihar, iar Necrobutcher, Hellhammer si noii chitaristi Morfeus si Silmaeth, au acaparat scena si au deschis portile iadului, aruncand o atmosfera intunecata peste fanii adunati in sala.

Si nu e de mirare ca s-a inceput cu "Pagan Fears", de pe albumul de referinta "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" (1992), pe care Attila si-a facut intrarea ca vocal, dupa sinuciderea fostului vocal – Dead. Attila a aparut pe scena, imbracat o sutana purpurie de episcop, in mana dreapta tinea si agita o cadelnita rosie, iar in mana stanga avea o franghie de spanzuratoare. Purtand una dintre mastile sale tipice de scena, o fata cu aspect cadaveric acoperita cu lacrimi de sange, special confectionata de artistul egiptean Nader Sadek, Attila si-a aratat consideratia fata de public, sustinandu-si reverenta mizantropica.

Mayhem a invaluit sala cu a lor dementa intunecata – piese ca "My Death", "Cursed in Eternity", "A Time to Die", "Illuminate Eliminate", "Freezing Moon", "Deathcrush", "De Mysretiis Dom Sathanas" aducand umbre si tenebre in jur.Majoritatea celor prezenti s-au intrebat daca vor aparea capete de porc sau animale moarte pe scena, tipic pentru show-ul lui Csihar cand a inceput sa cante cu Mayhem. Iar asteptarile au fost pe masura. Amintind de primul act din Hamlet, Attila, tinand un craniu in mana stanga, si-a sustinut "monologul" pe scena. Sfarsitul a fost marcat de "Pure Fucking Armaggedon", pregatind publicul pentru headlinerii serii.

Venom a inceput al sau festin de black chiar prin piesa "Black Metal", in fata sutelor de fani care se inghesuiau in fata scenei. Conrad Lant alias Cronos, alaturi de Rage si Dante au inceput cursa catre iad, iar performanta lor de inalta clasa ar fi putut satisface chiar si cel mai pretentios ascultator al genului. Intr-o ora si 45 de minute, Venom a purtat publicul prin cele mai semnificative albume ale carierei. "Countess Bathory", "7 Gates Of Hell", "At War With Satan" si " Burn Hell", urmate de cateva pasaje medley si de cunoscutele "Warhead", " Straight to Hell", "In the League with Satan", ajungand la final cu "Metal Black", cu doar 15 minute inainte de "Witching Hour", punctata de piesa cu acelasi nume.

La sfarsit, Venom a oferit doua bisuri si a promis publicului ca va reveni in curand.

Multumim promoterilor de la Most of Evil pentru organizarea perfecta a acestui eveniment si pentru sprijinul acordat in relatarea acestui eveniment.


Venom And Mayhem Unleashed Hell In Sofia!

In the early evening of 30 May 2010, many metal fans began crowding in front of HRISTO BOTEV HALL in Sofia. After the brutal DEICIDE concert, that took place the previous night, many people came also to celebrate the second day of the metal feast, organized by MOST OF EVIL. The time of MAYHEM and VENOM has finally come.

The venue began with the performance of the Slovenian band NOCTIFERIA, because the Greek band OMEGA, shown as an opening band for the event, didn’t come on stage. NOCTIFERIA are in Sofia for a second time, after their first visit in January 2009 when they opened for the cult Swiss band SAMAEL. The guys played for about an hour, and then was time for black metal in the face of MAYHEM.

Regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene and lead by
the sinister Attila Csihar, Necrobutcher, Hellhammer and the new guitarists Morfeus and Silmaeth known as MAYHEM- got on the scene and unleashed Hell, spreading the darkness over the fans gathered in HRISTO BOTEV HALL.

No wonder that the set began with "Pagan Fears" from the cult album"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"- in 1992, Attila was invited to perform vocals on the above mentioned album after Mayhem's then-vocalist Dead committed suicide.
Attila appeared on the scene, wearing a purple bishop cassock In his right hand, Attila was
holding and waving a red church lamp, which reminded more on a grave lamp and in his left hand he had a hanging rope. Wearing one of his typical stage masks / a rotten face covered with blood
tears/, specially manufactured by the Egyptian artist Nader Sadek, Attila respected the crowd "preaching" misanthropy from the stage.
MAYHEM flooded the hall with their dark madness – songs as "My Death", "Cursed in Eternity", "A Time to Die", "Illuminate Eliminate", "Freezing Moon", "Deathcrush", "De Mysretiis Dom Sathanas"
spread more and more darkness around. Most of the fans were wondering whether there will be any pig heads or dead animals on stage, so typical for Csihar’s show when he joined Mayhem. And all the expectations were rewarded.

Reminding the first act of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Attila, holding a human skull in his left hand, kept on preaching from the scene. The end of the set was put with and "Pure Fucking Armageddon" to get the people ready for the headliners of the night.

VENOM began their black feast, spilling loads of "Black Metal" over the heads of the thousands fans, crowding in front of the stage. Conrad Lant alias Cronos, escorted by Rage and Dante opened the highway to Hell. Their refined performance could satisfy even the pickiest fans. Within the next 1 hour and 45 minutes, VENOM took the public through some of the most significant albums of their career. "Countess Bathory", "7 Gates Of Hell", "At War With Satan" and " Burn Hell" , followed by several medleys and the symbolic "Warhead" and " Straight to Hell", "In the League with Satan" and the final blast of VENOM marked the end of the show right 15 minutes before the "Witching Hour" with the same name song. VENOM had 2 encores and promised the fans to be back again soon.

We would like to thank to the promoters from MOST OF EVIL who organized perfectly, this remarkable event and without whose support our report wouldn’t be possible.

Mayhem setlist:
01. Pagan Fears
02. Ancient Skin
03. My Death
04. Cursed in Eternity
05. A Time To Die
06. Illuminate Eliminate
07. Anti
08. Freezing Moon
09. Deathcrush
10. Carnage
11. De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
12. Pure Fucking Armageddon

Venom setlist:
01. Black Metal
02. Antechrist
03. Straight To Hell
04. Blood-Flame-Lust
05. Countess Bathory
06. Seven Gates Of Hell
07. Hell
08. Medley of Mayhem 1 (Possessed/ Schyzo/ Live La Angel/ Calm Before The Storm/ Krakin Up/ Possessed)
09. At War With Satan
10. Burn In Hell
11. Medley of Mayhem 2 (Buried Alive/The Evil One/ Resurrection/ Centuries Sin)
12. Warhead
13. Metal Black
Encore:
14. In League With Satan
15. Witching Hour

Gergana Ribarova