Autumn brings new era for THE VOID

Today, Friday the 13th, I want to share with you some wonderful news – with the arrival of autumn, a new era is about to arrive for THE VOID and the Balkan underground scene.

Seven years have passed since the creation of the journal at the beginning of 2017, and I have felt for a long time that the time has come for important and necessary changes to be made. Each one of them has been long considered, often discussed, and I am 100% convinced that all of them are for the good of the website, the media environment in Bulgaria and the Balkans. And most of all, it is in the highest interest of all true fans of the Dark Arts and all the Artists, featured here.

The changes will happen around mid-October / the end of the month.

Here’s what’s coming up:

1. New design.
Finally, the website design will be updated. The current design is older than one of the first versions of  Pravetz in the basement at home, but unfortunately I’ve been too busy with work and other commitments in recent years, which has pushed updating it further down the to-do list. The new version of the website, which I have been preparing in the last few months, will be lighter, more convenient to use and, accordingly, to read all the materials. I won’t go into detail about what to expect, but don’t worry – it won’t be anything terribly flashy or radically different from what you see right now, it is just definitely going to breathe new life to the visuals and make the place more enjoyable to scroll through.

2. Change in the main language.
The website will gradually switch to an English version. All old materials will remain in Bulgarian as proof of the origin of the media, but all new materials will be written in English. The reasons for this are quite transparent and I have commented on them for the past two years, but let’s discuss them again.

First, only and most important comes  the fact that I cannot stop my offspring from growing and pretend to be blind to his enormous development in these seven years of existence. THE VOID has been calling for a broadening of horizons for a long time. It would be a crime against all seven years of development and against the development of our scene (Balkan, Bulgarian, European, World) to continue to forcibly keep things in a long-weathered suffocating framework. We live in times when most people communicate on an international level – I personally speak and write in eight languages. Each one of you understands at least two or so languages as well, so  I think we should follow this direction and see where it goes. This is the direction of opening more doors for the Bulgarian and Balkan scene, of being closer to the European and World horizons. It is,  in a matter of fact, diving into the deeper waters, where this place actually belongs.
The Bulgarian language will always be the native language of THE VOID and the website remains in history as the first media in Bulgaria dedicated to the underground scene and the black metal genre, but I can no longer ignore the fact that this  is also the first website of its kind in the Balkans and by all logic I should be more impartial and care equally for fans from every single country in the Balkans and beyond the borders of the peninsula, and give everyone an equal chance to immerse themselves into the dark and fascinating content here.
I am sure that changing the language hardly bothers you – the majority of Bulgarian musicians use English as the main language in their social networks, as most of us do the same. The language is not foreign to anyone in Bulgaria and I think it will be an excellent bridge between the worlds of everyone stopping here, looking for their dose of dark art. And at the same time, I am confident that the change will affect the Balkan black metal scene and the international black metal community in a good way – there is no room for wonder and one must act boldly.
There is nothing more important to me than providing an ideal environment for the music to which I have devoted a huge part of my life, and this is a step I have been considering and discussing with some of you in recent years. A step I feel with all my being that I must take. It’s time for the website to take its place more firmly and be an even more suitable shelter for all the black metal treasures born in  our territory and beyond. It’s time to let THE VOID fly and circulate even more freely in its intended territory. We all deserve a new more intelligent, honorable and  beautiful environment, and I’m willing to walk that extra mile, to open a new chapter in the history of the Bulgarian & Balkan black metal community.

Note: I know that such claims will appear from some ladies and gentlemen, so I am clarifying. Changing the language is NOT to bring  more traffic to my website. I already have enough of it. Almost a million hits in the dead summer season seems even too much to me…. This is definitely NOT the reason I am going to change the language here. No projections of personal insecurities, please.

3. New sections will be added in which you will be able to participate.
My wish is that we start talking more about the underground subculture itself, and talk more about our lifestyle, apart from music. Because at the end of the day, black metal is the main, but not all, part of what makes us who we are. There are more topics I would like to touch on such as books, movies, interesting experiences and so on. You will soon understand exactly what I mean and I hope we can develop it together over time. I would really appreciate your help here.

4.I’ll remove the copy-paste restriction.
By removing it, I’ll allow anyone who wants to copy band names and other information to  do so seamlessly. And I will also help foreign colleagues and those from Bulgaria to copy their materials more easily. Had it as a query multiple times and it will go live soon. Just when you copy something,  please, put a link to the source. As long as NCS can link to THE VOID material and it hasn’t killed them, so can you.

5. New logo.
For the new era, it is appropriate to have a new logo. I’ll show it to you when the time comes.
To say goodbye to the old logo, I will make a very small run of stickers (about 20 pieces) and send them if anyone wants. Those who already have stickers – keep them, they will soon enter the cult category, haha.

6. Section for exchange/sale of physical media, books and magazines.
My idea is quite simple – I want the website to have a place, apart from the main part, where we can exchange or sell different stuff related to black metal. I’ve settled on the idea of  creating a locked forum for now, but if you have any other ideas, feel free to share them (now is the time).

7. Section with upcoming events, mostly on the territory of the Balkans.
There will be a section where I will  post links to upcoming concerts and other events related to the essence of the website. All countries in the Balkans, as well as countries close to us, are welcome to send a message to [email protected] about their upcoming events – I will write announcements about them and put a link to the event in the space provided for this with enormous pleasure.

It is important to note that nothing will be shared about the events of those Bulgarian concert promoters who disrespected me over the years and even “cancelled” me and my media for no proper reason at all. It’s not about ego, it’s about my unwillingness to tolerate and encourage this type of behavior.

8. I open the possibility of advertising.
My media is completely independent, everything is done free of charge and for an ideal purpose. However, I tend to make an exception with ads in the near  future and help kindred spirits businesses as long as they are relevant and of real interest to black metal fans. If you own metal stores  in the Balkans or the EU, if you have a new horror book and want to promote it, if you have a craft shop or do something else relevant to our obscure likings, then you are welcome to write to me about advertising on the website. More on this will be posted as information after the rest of the changes occur and the overall transformation pf the website is finalized.

9. Weekly playlist.
I don’t have the physical time to record new episodes for the podcast the way I’d like, so I’ll be creating weekly playlist. You’ll be able to listen to my nicely curated findings here, on the website. There will be both “old” music and new discoveries. That way you won’t have to ask me what I’ve streamed –  you’ll be able to directly see the artists, follow them and find out more about them right away. There’s a charm to it – think of it as my weekly cassette tape of recorded music from the radio station (we all did that in the early 90’s in Bulgaria). I hope you enjoy this endevour.

10. I am eliminating the rating system entirely.
No more silly rating stars, burning churches, moons and so on. We are living in the year 2024 and I think we humans should be quite aware of the fact that each of us has a different taste and value system. And frankly, I find it extremely insulting and ridiculous to “rate” the work of artists who have spent months, sometimes even years working on a piece in such mediocre manner. As an artist myself, I am aware of how much work, energy and time goes into a work of art, no matter the medium. Therefore I don’t feel like giving out a rating, but rather I’m dying to always talk about the music I’ve heard and just share what made an impression on me – positive and negative. A real assessment can only be given by the artist himself, because the expression and the idea are his own – he is the only one who can say whether he managed to do what he intended or not, and also, through my review, assess how he made an impact and what he can improve. For this reason I will not use ratings anymore. I haven’t rated reviews in a long time, but now I’m announcing the change officially. It just doesn’t make sense. What matters is the content of the review itself, not some final rating, which is highly subjective and variable. Read the reviews, listen to the albums  I write about and just  dive into it. No rating needed.

That’s it, in general. Fall is going to be a great season (as always) and I suggest we enjoy it to the fullest. Thanks to everyone who sticks around! I am delighted that together we will welcome this new chapter of the journey.