The Iron Curtain unfurled to reveal TROTYL!

Cult 80’s epic heavy metal from the Eastern Bloc. Founded back in 1979, Trotyl were the very first Bulgarian band to fully embrace heavy metal and deliver bombastic live shows in full heavy metal regalia and glory. Which brought them instant underground recognition and cult following, but also a numerous problems with the Communist authorities.

What we have on this anthology is a selection of songs the band wrote and used to perform live during the glorious 80’s: from 1980 through 1990. Because behind the Iron Curtain there were no private recording studios, and the band was blacklisted by the Communist authorities for the most part of the 80’s, thus deprived access to any state-operated studio, there were literally no original recordings in existence.

To fix that, in 2022 the three original members Alex Dinev (guitar), Ivaylo Dinev (bass), and Evegeni Dimitrov (guitar) got together and with the help of the current band vocalist Dragomir Dragiev recorded the songs properly for first time. Carefully restoring the songs to be a faithful recreation of the originals, as written and performed during the 80’s.

Release synopsis.

CD FEATURES:
• Cult 80’s epic heavy metal from the Eastern Bloc
• 12-page booklet with detailed band story, liner notes, lyrics, archive photos, credits
• Anthology collection of songs originally written and performed live during the 80s (1980-1990)
• Properly recoded for first time during 2022-2023 with the original line-up, plus the current band vocalist, paying truthful recreation homage to the original songs
• CD pressing, limited to 500 copies worldwide

So here you have it, a piece of arcane heavy metal history from behind the Iron Curtain.

For fans of DIO, JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON, MANOWAR, ARMORED SAINT, OMEN, VIRGIN STEELE, AHAT (BG), ICEBERG

REVIEW

Since getting into metal, I’ve always had a curiosity with what heavy metal from the Eastern Bloc was like. I know of bands like ARIA and that’s pretty well where my knowledge ends. Enter TROTYL, classic heavy metal from Bulgaria!

Kicking off the collection was “The March”, which starts off with a really ambient intro complete with marching drumbeats and a killer guitar riff. Right away, I can tell that the production is crisp and clean, love to see that. Hell of a bassline too, harsh and chugging, perfection personified. Another solid lick at the 2 minute mark ushered in a tempo change, and soon harkened the arrival of the vocals. Very epic in style and delivery. There’s a brief vocal “solo” toward the end of the track that was very well done, and really sold me even further on the song. This was a great song, and despite the modern production, felt perfectly 1980s.

Next came “The Savior” and it kicked off with some seriously nice drumming, nothing flashy just good drums. Solid riff afterwards too! Couldn’t help but bang my head to the beat of this one, and that automatically made it a winner in my book. It’s a quick little blitz of a track that never slowed down a tick. Good stuff!

“Fire Trace” was next up and started with a nice melodic riff, but there was something otherworldly behind it. Maybe it was bass or something, but whatever it was, was amazing. Speaking of bass, it’s again an absolute masterclass in this one. In a strange way, this one reminded me a bit of “Night Crawler” from the mighty JUDAS PRIEST. That high pitched delivery of “Fire trace” was pure metal magic.

“Heretic” followed suit, and more great drumming came with it. Vocals in this one were almost RUSH-like in their delivery and pitch. It’s a mid tempo number, that I couldn’t help but feel like it never kicked into that next groove. That’s not inherently a bad thing, different strokes for different folks. Really melter of a solo though, great axework.

After that came “Mirage”, and I love that riff that started this one. It definitely sounded like it came out in 1980 haha (that’s a good thing by the way). Excellent, but brief, solo at about the 1:30 mark. Really, a huge shoutout to the musicianship of the entire band, they brought their A-game for this whole collection.

Closing out the first half of the record, we have “Wicked World”. I adored the vocals in this one in ways that I can’t quite put into words, top marks. I like the grooviness of the rhythm too, really easy to feel the music. Top it all off with another killer solo, and a runtime of less than 4 minutes, and you’ve got a banger on your hands.

“Who Am I” begins the second half of the collection, and does so with a more glam-tinged guitar riff. Really love the way the chorus is delivered too, it almost feels like the vocalist is struggling with two inner voices (or at least that’s what the music video in my head tells me).

“Black Night” followed, starting off with some really bluesy and gorgeous guitarwork (proper ballad stuff). Again the vox are a huge standout, but I have to point out how every instrument is mixed in a way that none overpower the other more than they need to at a time. Incredibly good guitar solo in this one, perfectly fitting in line with the vibes of the song.

Next up, the eponymous “Trotyl”. Great rhythm to this one, very SAXON-esque. This is another track that sounds straight outta the 80s, even with the modern production. Yet another killer solo in this one! These mates just don’t let up! Definitely a standout track for me.

“Lunatic” came next, and clocked in at just under the 7 minute mark. The vocal delivery here sounds so good. Genuinely sounds like a crazy person talking to themselves. Excellent extended guitar solo around the 2:30 mark, just pure shred. Absolute barn burner of a track here, just great tunes all around.

“The End” came next, which is not the final song and greatly triggers my OCD haha (I jest!). It’s got a really nice musical groove to it, can’t quite explain it per se, but I was really into it. Same goes for the vocal delivery (yet again!), I really love Dragomir’s voice. Dare I say that this song was very much epic.

And thus finally, we come to “Warrior” and ooooh what a slick riff to start things off. Again, a bit of an epic sounding track, but with a very slight doomy tinge to it. I appreciate that a lot, it really makes the song stand out against the other eleven. In love with the guitar part at 2:00, stunning stuff. What a way to end this treat of a collection!

CONCLUSION

This was amazing. Every song had something unique on offer. More than that, this is a piece of heavy metal history. A band that literally fought their government, had their music destroyed/lost, and then reunited to re-record their jams. Truly, TROTYL’s cred is off the charts. This release gets my seal of approval!

TheNWOTHM Score: 9/10

TROTYL
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