Epizod
Encyclopedia
Epizod is a Bulgarian
heavy metal
band formed in 1988 in Sofia
. The first songs of the band were inspired by the French poet François Villon
. Epizod are famous in Bulgaria for their concerts which include theatre, an Orthodox church choir
, and an ensemble for Bulgarian folk songs
and dances.
filmed Epizod's concert at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia
. Two years later, in 1992 the group recorded their second album Dead Among the Dead with lyrics by Charles Baudelaire
and François Villon
. This marks the end of the first phase of the band's existence because the vocalist Dimitar Argirov moved to Italy with his family and Rossen Doychinov (keyboards) moved to Canada. However, Epizod continued their work with the new vocalist Emil Chendov in 1996 . In 1998 they recorded the album Respect with lyrics written by Dragomir Draganov. In 2000 the band started to work on The Bulgarian God, an album which is considered to be one of the best in the history of Bulgarian rock. The texts used in the songs are lyrics by the revolutionary poet Hristo Botev
and Ivan Vazov
. After the release of the first singles of the album The National Television included the song "Haiduks" based on a poem by Hristo Botev
in the 2001 New Year's Eve Show. The album was officially released in 2002 and was one of the most sold albums of the year in Bulgaria
. Essential for the success of the album were the voices of the guest folklore singers- father Andon, Daniela Velichkova, Kristina Yaneva as well as St.John Kukuzelis
Choir.
In 2003 Epizod released the album The Time Has Come with lyrics by the French classical poets François Villon
and Pierre de Ronsard
. About that time the drummer Stoyan Petrov was replaced by Hristo Gyosharkov.
By the end of 2004 Epizod released the rock opera
Saint Patriarch Evtimiy. The promotional concert in Veliko Turnovo was held exactly where the events described in the album took place – at Tsarevets
Castle, the reconstructed palace of the medieval Bulgaria
n tsars. The concert was filmed and later released on a DVD. The band appeared clad in armour
, the show included a folklore dance ensemble, a church choir, Bulgarian folklore songs and the performance of the virtuoso Rossen Genkov who plays the ancient string instrument gadulka (Bulgarian: гъдулка) - a kind of Bulgarian rebec
. In 2006 Epizod released the album 'Our Roots' with the image of the Madara Rider
on the front cover. Since 1 January 2007 Bulgaria
is a member of the European Union
. On 3 January 2007 BBC
announced Epizod as 'the most qualitative Bulgarian rock
band. In 2008 the band released the album 'The Old Soldier'. In April 2009 Epizod parted from the guitarist Dragomir Draganov and the bassist Simeon Hristov
found a replacement in the person of Vasil Belezhkov (student in the National Music Academy 'Prof. Pancho Vladigerov
' - Sofia
) just a few days before their next concert. At first Vasil joins only as a guest musician just to cover the concerts till the end of Juny 2009 but in the meantime he accepts the offer of the band to became a member and to take part in the next album of Epizod. In December 2009 the keyboardist Delyan Georgiev (who is professional cameraman and participates in a film by Luc Besson
) leaves the band and Vasil Belezhkov continues to work as keyboardist as well as guitarist. In the summer of 2010 the drummer Stoyan Petrov returns for a while in Epizod. In that time (July 2010 - January 2011) the band gives concerts with four different drummers - Stoyan Petrov, Hristo Gyosharkov, Ivan Tsonkov and Georgi Varamezov. In October 2010 the album 'The people of Dulo' is realised. This album coinsides with the 20th anniversary of Epizod and here take part some of the most famous rock singers in Bulgaria - Zvezdomir Keremidchiev from Ahat
and Yordan Karadzhov from Signal
as well as the young singer Filip Brashkov. There is also a guest composer - the music and lyrics of the first and the last songs are by Alexander Alexiev - Hoffart who is artist and the cover of the album is a fragment from a historical picture painted by him. The picture represents Khan Kubrat
- founder and ruler of Old Great Bulgaria
from the Dulo clan
sitting in his throne with his sons around him. In January 2011 the young drummer Deyan Aleksandrov join Epizod as a member of the band.
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band formed in 1988 in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. The first songs of the band were inspired by the French poet François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
. Epizod are famous in Bulgaria for their concerts which include theatre, an Orthodox church choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, and an ensemble for Bulgarian folk songs
Music of Bulgaria
The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with Bulgaria like classical, folk, popular music, etc. Bulgarian music is part of the Balkan tradition, which stretches across Southeastern Europe, and has its own distinctive sound...
and dances.
History
In October 1990, the British BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
filmed Epizod's concert at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. Two years later, in 1992 the group recorded their second album Dead Among the Dead with lyrics by Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
and François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
. This marks the end of the first phase of the band's existence because the vocalist Dimitar Argirov moved to Italy with his family and Rossen Doychinov (keyboards) moved to Canada. However, Epizod continued their work with the new vocalist Emil Chendov in 1996 . In 1998 they recorded the album Respect with lyrics written by Dragomir Draganov. In 2000 the band started to work on The Bulgarian God, an album which is considered to be one of the best in the history of Bulgarian rock. The texts used in the songs are lyrics by the revolutionary poet Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev , born Hristo Botyov Petkov , was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.-Early years:...
and Ivan Vazov
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria ....
. After the release of the first singles of the album The National Television included the song "Haiduks" based on a poem by Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev , born Hristo Botyov Petkov , was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.-Early years:...
in the 2001 New Year's Eve Show. The album was officially released in 2002 and was one of the most sold albums of the year in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Essential for the success of the album were the voices of the guest folklore singers- father Andon, Daniela Velichkova, Kristina Yaneva as well as St.John Kukuzelis
John Kukuzelis
Saint John Kukuzelis or Kukuzel was a medieval Orthodox Christian composer, singer and reformer of Orthodox Church music....
Choir.
In 2003 Epizod released the album The Time Has Come with lyrics by the French classical poets François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
and Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard was a French poet and "prince of poets" .-Early life:...
. About that time the drummer Stoyan Petrov was replaced by Hristo Gyosharkov.
By the end of 2004 Epizod released the rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
Saint Patriarch Evtimiy. The promotional concert in Veliko Turnovo was held exactly where the events described in the album took place – at Tsarevets
Tsarevets
Tsarevets is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular tourist...
Castle, the reconstructed palace of the medieval Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n tsars. The concert was filmed and later released on a DVD. The band appeared clad in armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
, the show included a folklore dance ensemble, a church choir, Bulgarian folklore songs and the performance of the virtuoso Rossen Genkov who plays the ancient string instrument gadulka (Bulgarian: гъдулка) - a kind of Bulgarian rebec
Rebec
The rebecha is a bowed string musical instrument. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and 1-5 strings and is played on the arm or under the chin, like a violin.- Origins :The rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries...
. In 2006 Epizod released the album 'Our Roots' with the image of the Madara Rider
Madara Rider
The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara....
on the front cover. Since 1 January 2007 Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
is a member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. On 3 January 2007 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
announced Epizod as 'the most qualitative Bulgarian rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band. In 2008 the band released the album 'The Old Soldier'. In April 2009 Epizod parted from the guitarist Dragomir Draganov and the bassist Simeon Hristov
Simeon Hristov
-References:...
found a replacement in the person of Vasil Belezhkov (student in the National Music Academy 'Prof. Pancho Vladigerov
Pancho Vladigerov
Pancho Haralanov Vladigerov was a Bulgarian composer, pedagogue, and pianist....
' - Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
) just a few days before their next concert. At first Vasil joins only as a guest musician just to cover the concerts till the end of Juny 2009 but in the meantime he accepts the offer of the band to became a member and to take part in the next album of Epizod. In December 2009 the keyboardist Delyan Georgiev (who is professional cameraman and participates in a film by Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
) leaves the band and Vasil Belezhkov continues to work as keyboardist as well as guitarist. In the summer of 2010 the drummer Stoyan Petrov returns for a while in Epizod. In that time (July 2010 - January 2011) the band gives concerts with four different drummers - Stoyan Petrov, Hristo Gyosharkov, Ivan Tsonkov and Georgi Varamezov. In October 2010 the album 'The people of Dulo' is realised. This album coinsides with the 20th anniversary of Epizod and here take part some of the most famous rock singers in Bulgaria - Zvezdomir Keremidchiev from Ahat
Ahat
- History :The group was created in 1986 in Sofia by talented students from the National Academy of Music and the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy. The group first live performance was on December 22, 1986....
and Yordan Karadzhov from Signal
Signal (band)
-Members:*Yordan Karadzhov - vocals, bass guitar*Vladimir Zahariev - drums*Alexander Marinovsky - guitar*Georgi Yanakiev - bass guitar-Discography:...
as well as the young singer Filip Brashkov. There is also a guest composer - the music and lyrics of the first and the last songs are by Alexander Alexiev - Hoffart who is artist and the cover of the album is a fragment from a historical picture painted by him. The picture represents Khan Kubrat
Kubrat
Kubrat or Kurt was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632. He is said to have achieved this by conquering the Avars and uniting all the Bulgar tribes under one rule....
- founder and ruler of Old Great Bulgaria
Old Great Bulgaria
Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria was а term used by Byzantine historians to refer to Onoguria during the reign of the Bulgar ruler Kubrat in the 7th century north of the Caucasus mountains in the steppe between the Dniester and Lower...
from the Dulo clan
Dulo clan
The Dulo Clan or the House of Dulo was the name of the ruling dynasty of the early Bulgars.This was the clan of Kubrat who founded Old Great Bulgaria, and his sons Batbayan, Kuber and Asparuh, the latter of which founded Danube Bulgaria....
sitting in his throne with his sons around him. In January 2011 the young drummer Deyan Aleksandrov join Epizod as a member of the band.
Members
- Emil Chendov - vocals
- Simeon HristovSimeon Hristov-References:...
- bass guitar, composer, arrangements - Vasil Belezhkov - guitars, keyboards, arrangements
- Deyan Aleksandrov - drums
Former members
- Panayot Kerelezov - drums
- Rosen Doychinov - keyboards
- Miroslav Galabov - guitars
- Dimitar Argirov - vocals
- Vasil Rangelov Kalpachki - vocals
- Dragomir Draganov - guitars and vocals, composer
- Emil Tasev - drums
- Yavor Aleksandrov - drums
- Nikolay Urumov- vocals
- Stoyan Petrov - drums
- Ivo Georgiev (musician) - keyboards
- Pavlin Bachvarov - keyboards
- Delyan Georgiev - keyboards
- Hristo Gyosharkov - drums
Discography
- Mолете се... / Pray (1992)
- Мъртвец сред Мъртъвци / Dead Among The Dead (1993)
- Респект / Respect (1999)
- Българският Бог / The Bulgarian God (2002)
- Дошло е време / The Time Has Come (2003)
- Мъжки песни / Songs of Men (2004)
- Свети патриарх Евтимий / St. Patriarch Evtimii (2004)
- Нашите корени / Our Roots (2006)
- Старият Войн / The Old Soldier (2008)
- Народът на Дуло / The people of Dulo (2010)