With Black Sabbath and its famous front man Ozzy Osborne hitting town next week, I wanted to take a look at the worldwide phenomenon of heavy metal and what heavy metal culture is in Bulgaria.
Knowing little about the heavy metal phenomenon -  I have always been amazed that the reality television show The Osbornes had such a large following - I needed to know more. It wasn't long into my research that it became evident that heavy metal is more than just music, it is a way of life, and for some it is life.
So, when I was telling Bulgarians that I was from `Down Under', and then came the instant reply of  "cool man, that's where ACDC are from", it was initially a shock. Throughout most of my extensive adventures most of my acquaintances had made the common error of mistaking ACDC as British or American, but not so for the average Bulgarian. Was it that heavy metal was as common as Shopska salad in the former communist state?
"Not quite," says heavy metal enthusiast Alexander (Sasho) Dimchev. Although the names of Metallica, ACDC, and Judas Priest are as common for some in Bulgaria, heavy metal without doubt sits well behind Chalga (pop folk). But there are many people who are quietly enthusiastic and cross a variety of music genres. However, metal is alive and well in Bulgaria.
Sofia is the home to the biggest number of rock shops in the country. Sasho (33) is the owner of SMF Hunter, a store based on Parchevich Street in Sofia's centre. As well as selling music CDs, DVDs and clothing, he also produces a monthly heavy metal magazine called SMF-a publication that discusses mainstream metal as well as the underground culture. He was not covered in tattoos or F-you style t-shirts, but he was notably wearing the trademark black, however, with a green t-shirt. "I only wore the green t-shirt today because my wife said I should wear something else apart from black for a change." Metalheads have their own distinct style that follows their idols as well as making a statement that they don't want to conform to society.
What is heavy metal in Bulgaria? Sasho tells that the genre was forbidden in the communist socialist times. The only medium to listen to the then alternative music was a record player or gramophone. Even if a fan had money (and many still don't) cassette decks were not available. It was difficult to get hold of records and as a result, it was only the true fans that were listening to the likes of Ozzy behind the closed doors of their homes. Heavy metal became a worldwide phenomenon in the 80s, and Sasho named his business after the Twisted Sister hit song SMF, an abbreviation for "Sick Mother F...ker". Is he representative of his trademark? The image he presented was of a normal Bulgarian.
He says that heavy metal is his life. I asked what it was to him. In line with the philosophies everywhere else in the world of "no rules" he replied: " I don't know. Its something I can't live without, it's like breathing. If I don't listen to music for a couple of days I feel dead. Heavy metal is channel of freedom."
The local live music scene is very poor and consequently almost non-existent. Although many Bulgarians follow heavy metal, the industry struggles to succeed. Sasho says, "There was hardly any money in music before the internet, but now most metalheads download, exchange CDs with each other, and piracy is rife. The money pool is very small on record sales and therefore it is nearly impossible for a local band to succeed in a very depressed market. Local musicians find it hard enough to find the money to buy an instrument let alone go to a recording studio."
The main venue that supports heavy metal in Sofia is O!Shipka. The street-level bar and garden bar look just like any other in Sofia, but venture down stairs and you will walk into the world of heavy metal. A dark room filled with longhaired Metalheads dressed in black t-shirts and leather jackets, banging heads to the hardcore music. Often you can find an ensemble of hungry musicians banging out their originals to an array of dedicated metal fans who are there for the social scene as much as listening to the music.
Sasho, who started listening to heavy metal at the age of 10, said that for most of the true fans it's all about the music. There are different groups like the `Bikers' and `Rockers' who have the image of sex, drugs and rock `n' roll. I seldom see this style of person come into the shop. I guess for them it's more about the image of heavy metal than heavy metal itself. And for the youth? Many of the teenagers are drawn to the no rules image of genre. They adopt the clothing and listen to the music, but with most fans as they get older they drop the hardcore image and stay true to the music. In my experience it seems to be the people that keep with image are often those who don't keep with the music.
The heavy metal tough and rough image is more of a statement to rebel against the normalities of society than the reality of violence. The extreme metals are `black metal' and `death metal'. Black metal is a satanic culture stemming from Scandinavia whose imagery and lyrics reject Christianity. The subculture has earned a reputation in Norway for burning down churches and creating chaos. Death metal is about violence and anything against the system. These two sub genres are relatively small in Bulgaria and are only representative of 20-30 per cent of the Metalers population and are representative of only two to three per cent of the music market. The main traditional heavy metal is about fantasy-style lyrics. With many of the new songs based around JR Tolkien's Lord of The Rings. Also, like most other genres many of the songs are about love.
Heavy metal is not financially booming in Bulgaria, but for the retailers and fans they don't care. They have the undying passion and the need to satisfy their souls with music that to them is like fresh air.