TIME MACHINE : ПАНТОКРАТОР

To dedicate yourself to the dark corners of your soul and the passion for black metal in the 90s in  Bulgaria, and to create music that will be talked about for years to come, even after you no longer feel the desire to remember those times—this is what it means to have burned intensely.

In today’s story in the TIME MACHINE section, we will talk about the Bulgarian black metal band Pantokrator and quite a bit about the key figures involved in its creative process.

Pantokrator (Пантократор) is a black metal trio from Kyustendil, led by vocalist and guitarist Boris (Lord Sauron), drummer Ivo (Garlun), and bassist Marin. The band was formed in 1996 when the musicians decided to change the name of their old band, keeping the same lineup, from Eternal Darkness to Pantokrator.

With a uniquely chosen and distinctive new name –Пантократор (Pantokrator) (Greek: παντοκράτωρ, El Shaddai – Almighty) – the earliest and primary iconographic image of Christ in Christian Eastern art, the band delves deeply into themes of darkness and Satanism, continuing the work that was already conceived under the banner of Eternal Darkness.

Under its two names, the band has released a total of two demo recordings. The demo of Eternal Darkness, titled “Християнска перверзия” (“Christian Perversy”),  was recorded in the fall of 1995, while the demo of Pantokrator, titled “Тайнствените владения на мрака” (“Mysterious Realms of Darkness”),  was recorded in the spring of 1996.

Before bringing the Eternal Darkness/Pantokrator cult to life, the band’s ideologist, Boris (Lord Sauron), played in the death metal band Черна кръв (Black Blood),   which has no available recordings. However, the name “Черна кръв” (“Black Blood”)  was used as the title of the third track on Pantokrator’s demo.

Cover of “Християнска перверзия” , the demo of  Eternal Darkness.

One of the covers of “Тайнствените владения на мрака” –  Пантократор’s demo

During its brief existence, Pantokrator released only the aforementioned demo, which originally came out in 1996. In 2004, it was reissued by A.M.F. Productions, again on cassette, under the title “The Mystic Possession of Darkness.” This version also included a bonus rehearsal track: “Погребани В Земята Дълбоко””Buried Deep in the Earth.”
Boris is the author of all the music, the idea, the concept and the lyrics in the demo (except the lyrics of  “Погребани В Земята Дълбоко”, which are taken from the works of Alexander Blok).

Listen below (the recording is heavily compressed, yet it still sounds excellent):

The demo under the banner of  Eternal Darkness was recorded live (during a rehearsal) with a regular cassette deck, a mixing console, and professional microphones brought by an older friend of the band to Boris’s apartment in Kyustendil. This is why the sound of this demo is much better and cleaner (even overly clean and “soft”). In contrast, the Pantokrator demo was recorded in separate sessions with different instruments—again live in the apartment, but directly onto a broken cassette player with a built-in microphone. This is the reason its quality is significantly lower and varies between the tracks.

The Eternal Darkness demo was distributed on cassette with a xeroxed cover by drummer Ivo Cvetkov (Garlun) in no more than 20-30 copies. The Pantokrator demo was distributed between 1996 and 2000 with 4 different xeroxed covers, each in no more than 5-10 copies.

The last (fifth) cover featured the band’s name, the demo, and the song titles in English—Pantokrator – “The Mystic Possession of Darkness.” This version was also re-released years later by A.M.F., again with the English titles (with a xeroxed cover in a run of about 100 copies).

In 1997, Boris was drafted into the military, and after misunderstandings and mutual accusations between him and Ivo, the band ceased to exist. Ivo continued to engage in music for several more years, during which time he also distributed the Eternal Darkness/Pantokrator demos. Meanwhile, Boris completely withdrew from the band and did not want anything to do with it, later continuing with his black metal projects Tomb of Time, Satangra, and Aguares.

Aguares was the last active band of the musician, with only two concerts throughout its existence. The first took place in the village of Dolni Pasarel in 2016, and the second was at the Live & Loud club in Sofia in 2018, with Aleksandar Ivanov (Aryan Art) on drums.

Immediately after their last concert, Aguares ceased all active activity, and Boris has remained in the shadows ever since, not performing with anyone. On the other hand, Ivo has not been involved in music for more than 20 years. According to the latest information, he is focused on the art of tattooing and works at a well-known and prestigious studio in Blagoevgrad.

Over the years, Pantokrator gave only one interview, which was conducted for Skaldskap Zine — a magazine run by Hristo from the Plovdiv-based death metal band Impale Jesus.

   Boris:

• 1993 -1994 Black Blood, death metal
• 1996 Gorthaur, black/grind (1 unreleased improvised demo)
• 1996 Depresy , grindcore (1 recorded, but never released live album)
• 1998- 2003 Tomb Of Time, ritualistic black/doom/ambient (3 demos)
• 2000 Iratum Ex Dei , ambient (1 unreleased demo)
• 2002 -2004 Satangra , black metal (split promo tape + a song in compilation)
• 2004 Yound Wicked God Of Death, death metal/grind (1 unreleased EP)
• 2009-2018 Aguares, black metal  (1 demo compilation).

  In addition to these projects, Boris played session bass for the black metal band Fear Eat Soul in 1996, which only has one unreleased demo.

    Ivo:

• 1996 Stormsheim, ritualistic black/ambient (released one demo)
• 1996 Depresy, together with Boris, grindcore (1 recorded, but never released live album)
• 1998-2000 Horns, black metal  (one released demo)

  The musician also participated with session drums on one track from the demo “Halalel” by Vassilium.

And so… After everything read and heard so far, I hope you have felt the magic of our local black metal. The purity of the genre in our country during the ’90s is phenomenal, and Pantokrator are among the representatives of the local scene, from whom, fortunately, we have a piece of valuable legacy left.

The music of Pantokrator will not be reissued again – the end has long been placed in every sense, but in return, it remains as a cult monument in our national music archives for all of us who can appreciate it accordingly.