Interview with death metal/grindgore band from Bulgaria - NECROMONGER.
Answered Pigman (vocals), thank you!
Recenze/review - NECROMONGER - Emanation of the Dying Perceptions (2026):
Ave NECROMONGER! Greetings to the Bulgarian underground. I hope everything’s going well over there. It should be you’ve just released the first fantastic debut full-length album of your career this year. I have to admit, it literally pinned me to the wall. It’s dark, energetic, and cuts like the sharp edge of a knife. It’s very clear that you’ve done a great job and shown a lot of talent. How do you perceive the new album as a creator and musician? What kind of feedback and reviews have you been getting?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER): Hello, this is Pigman (vocals and frontman)... :)
First of all, thank you very much for your kind words and for your interest in NECROMONGER!!!
Overall, we're really happy with how the album turned out. Of course, there are a few things we're not completely satisfied with, but that's entirely our own fault—not the fault of any of the studios we worked with. We hope we've learned from those mistakes and that we won't repeat them on our next album. :)
We've been receiving a lot of very positive feedback about the album, and for that, XTREEM MUSIC deserves a great deal of the credit. They did an excellent job promoting the band, and we're truly grateful to them for all their support!
“Emanation of the Dying Perceptions” embodies all the attributes of good death metal. For me personally, it’s an album I love coming back to. How did it come together? How does NECROMONGER compose new material?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER): The NECROMONGER album was originally supposed to be a FECAL BODY INCORPORATED album. However, the band split up in 2021 after the release of its last album, "Tales From The Spermswamp." These songs had already been written and were originally intended for FBI's fifth full-length album. :)
Our songs are born from the world around us from the harsh reality we live in. That's where we draw our inspiration, transforming it into music through our own dark and extreme perspective.
Who handled the mastering and mixing? I have to say, the sound is literally killer. It keeps making me turn up the volume on my hi-fi system. You’ve created a sound that’s brutal, raw, yet dark and primal. How was it working with him, and why did you choose him specifically? Which studio did you record in, and how did everything go?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :The recording process took place in several different studios. :)
The guitars were recorded in our rehearsal room, the drums were tracked at Playground Studio in Varna with sound engineer Atanas Machev, while the bass and vocals were recorded at my home. The mixing and mastering were done in our hometown of Pleven at Audiovelvet Studio by sound engineer Didi, together with Tsvetomir Garkov. :)
We deliberately aimed for a raw, old-school sound because we're huge fans of the late '80s and early '90s death metal scene. Bands like CARCASS, IMPETIGO, PUNGENT STENCH, AUTOPSY, DEAD INFECTION, and BOLT THROWER have had a massive influence on us, and we wanted to capture that same brutal, organic atmosphere on our album.
An integral part and a sort of bonus for fans today is the CD. You released it through Xtreem Music, and it features a macabre, morbid cover. Who designed it? How did you choose the motif, and how does it relate to the music on the new album?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :The cover artwork represents the darkest side of the human mind and the inevitable decay of both body and soul. The grotesque, multi-armed female figure symbolizes death, madness, and endless suffering, while the severed heads she holds can be seen as different human emotions, identities, or perceptions stripped away from their owners. It reflects the concept behind "Emanation of the Dying Perceptions"—the gradual collapse of perception, reason, and humanity itself.
We wanted the artwork to feel disturbing and unsettling rather than simply graphic. It's meant to capture the same atmosphere as the music: dark, oppressive, chaotic, and hopeless. The cover isn't just there for shock value it visually translates the album's themes of psychological disintegration, mortality, and the grotesque beauty that can be found within decay.
We also wanted it to pay tribute to the classic gore and death metal artwork of the late '80s and early '90s, when album covers were hand-painted, highly detailed, and instantly recognizable. That old-school aesthetic perfectly complements the music and represents the spirit of NECROMONGER.
Your visuals and lyrics feature traditional gore death metal themes. Where did you draw inspiration for them? Who writes the lyrics, and what are they about? Were they inspired by movies or books? Have you ever attended an autopsy?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :The lyrics are written by me (Pigman). They've never been about shock value for its own sake. Gore has always been a way of expressing the darker side of human existence death, decay, madness, disease, and the fragility of the human body. These subjects have fascinated me since I was a teenager.
Our inspiration comes from many different places. Of course, classic horror and gore movies have played a role, especially the old underground films from the '80s and '90s, but we also draw inspiration from medical books, forensic photography, pathology, and the harsh reality of death itself. Sometimes reality is far more disturbing than fiction.
When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to hang around outside the city morgue during the summer. The autopsy rooms were on the ground floor, and because of the unbearable smell of formaldehyde mixed with decomposing human flesh, the windows were often left open. We would use broken pieces of mirrors to reflect sunlight through the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of what was inside the rooms. It was a strange mix of curiosity, fascination, and youthful recklessness. Those memories have stayed with me ever since and definitely influenced my imagination and the atmosphere I try to create through NECROMONGER.
I've never actually attended an autopsy, but I've spent many years reading about pathology, studying medical illustrations, forensic photographs, and anatomical references. We prefer to create our own dark world inspired by reality rather than simply copying scenes from movies.
Ultimately, our lyrics are not just about blood and mutilation. They're about death as an unavoidable part of life, about the collapse of the human body and mind, and about confronting the things that most people would rather look away from. That's what gore death metal has always represented to us.
I’ve been wandering the underworld for over thirty years, and I only know a few death metal bands from Bulgaria (I really love ENTHRALLMENT and CONCRETE). Still, I think we share a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I really like your bands and follow your scene closely. How are extreme metal styles doing over there? How do you perceive your scene, fans, and labels from your perspective as a musician?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :There are quite a few excellent death metal and grindcore bands in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, our scene is very small, and it's extremely difficult for bands here to attract the attention of foreign record labels. Bulgaria is simply a small market, and labels are primarily interested in selling large numbers of records.
We're very close friends with ENTHRALLMENT, COCKLUSH (who are unfortunately no longer active), and CONCRETE, where our drummer Quill Ratt also plays. :)
Our friends POLYGON from Plovdiv have already released two albums and are currently working on a new one.
CORPSE are the true legends of Bulgarian grindcore a band with a 35-year history. Unfortunately, they have only released two full-length albums and one mini-album so far, despite everything they've contributed to the underground scene.
Overall, it's incredibly difficult for a Bulgarian band to break through in Western Europe or overseas. Many bands end up self-releasing their albums, and after a while they slowly lose the motivation to keep creating music because they simply don't see any real opportunities.
Nowadays, the bigger record labels are the ones setting the rules. They mainly invest in bands they believe will make money. They don't really care if you're creating music the same way it was done 35 or 40 years ago. They're looking for what's commercially profitable, while we're much more interested in preserving the spirit and authenticity of old-school death/gore metal. That's simply who we are, and we have no intention of changing our sound just to fit current trends.
You play old-school-influenced death metal. These days, a band can’t really avoid comparisons, but I’d be interested to know how the idea to form NECROMONGER actually came about, who your role models were and are, and where you want to take your band? Are you tempted by big international festivals, for example? Would you be willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :The idea behind the name NECROMONGER came to me years ago while watching The Chronicles of Riddick. :) They kept repeating the word “Necromonger” throughout the film, and I immediately thought it sounded perfect for a new project. I slightly modified the spelling, and that’s how NECROMONGER was born.
It’s hard to say that we have any real idols we’re all in our 40s and 50s. (laughs) We’ve been listening to extreme metal for decades, so instead of following individual bands, we simply remain devoted to the era that shaped us.
Our biggest influences are the thrash, death, and gore metal bands from the late '80s and early '90s. We honestly believe that was the golden age of extreme metal, when the music was raw, uncompromising, and created with genuine passion rather than commercial ambitions. Those records are the reason we’re still playing this style today. Unfortunately, it’s very rare to hear new bands capturing that same spirit.
At this stage, we’re not planning to play live. Our drummer lives on the opposite side of Bulgaria, and the band currently consists of only three members. To perform live, we would need at least five musicians, and the logistics make regular rehearsals almost impossible.
For now, we believe it’s far more important to focus our energy on what we enjoy the most writing new music. We’ll be starting work on our second album very soon, and that’s where all our attention is directed at the moment.
When I started my website ten years ago, my vision was to support bands that I felt weren’t getting enough attention to let the world know about them. I think I’m doing pretty well at it, at least judging by the feedback. How do you approach promotion? Do you leave it to the label, or do you send CDs out yourselves for reviews? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. How about you? Are you also fans who like to support your peers often? Do you go to concerts? Do you party?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :After signing with XTREEM MUSIC, we left the promotion of the band and the album entirely in their hands because we had complete confidence that they knew exactly what they were doing. They exceeded our expectations. Thanks to their hard work, the album received dozens of reviews, interviews, and features in magazines and webzines all over the world. We’re truly grateful for everything they’ve done for NECROMONGER. :)
We also believe in supporting the bands we enjoy by buying their music. Personally, I’ve been listening to metal for nearly forty years, and if I added up all the money I’ve spent on CDs, LPs, cassettes, shirts, and other merchandise over that time, I could probably have bought a couple of apartments. (laughs)
We still go to concerts whenever we can, although probably not as often as we’d like these days. And do we party?
Of course we do! (laughs) Metal has always been about more than just the music it’s about friendship, meeting like minded people, sharing a few beers, and enjoying the atmosphere together. That spirit has stayed with us for decades, and we hope it never disappears.
On the one hand, a band starting out today has plenty of ways to get their name out there, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of bands out there, and fans get lost in the crowd. A lot of people just download MP3s from the internet and, instead of going to a concert, prefer to spew venom on Facebook. How does modern technology influence you as NECROMONGER? What do you think about downloading music, “Google metalheads,” streaming music, and so on?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :Modern technology has both its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it allows a band to reach people all over the world in a very short time. If you're lucky enough to be picked up by a well-established label, you can literally become known within a matter of days. Some labels have YouTube channels with millions of subscribers, so your music can be heard by thousands of people within hours. That kind of exposure can launch a band into the spotlight almost overnight.
On the other hand, modern technology has also had a huge impact on the sales of physical releases, which are still what true, dedicated fans of quality music value the most. Back in the early '90s, bands sold large numbers of CDs, vinyl records, and cassette tapes. Then the internet changed everything, and illegal downloading dramatically reduced physical sales.
Fortunately, over the last few years we've seen a very encouraging revival of physical formats, especially vinyl and cassette tapes. More and more fans are rediscovering the pleasure of actually owning music instead of just streaming it. We think that's fantastic, particularly for the underground scene, where buying an album is one of the best ways to directly support the bands you love.
At the end of the day, streaming services are useful for discovering new music, but nothing compares to holding a CD, LP, or cassette in your hands, reading the lyrics, looking through the artwork, and truly experiencing the album as a complete piece of art. That's something digital media can never fully replace.
I like to ask musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it is it more of a philosophy and lifestyle for them, or “just” a way to unwind? What does it mean to you? How do you perceive and experience it?
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :Death metal has been a part of our lives for over thirty five years. It's much more than just a style of music to us it has become a way of thinking and a part of who we are. We grew up with it, and we never felt the need to follow trends or change our sound just because the music industry changed around us.
For us, death metal represents complete artistic freedom. It's a genre where there are no rules about what you should write, how you should sound, or what topics you should explore. It allows us to express the darker side of human existence without compromise.
At the same time, we're just ordinary people. We have jobs, families, responsibilities, and everyday lives like everyone else. Death metal isn't about pretending to be someone we're not. It's simply the music that has accompanied us through most of our lives and still gives us the same excitement it did when we first discovered it as teenagers.
We don't play death metal because it's fashionable or because we expect to become rich or famous. If that had been our goal, we would have chosen a completely different style of music. We play it because we genuinely love it, and because creating this kind of music still gives us the same satisfaction it did more than three decades ago.
As long as we enjoy writing riffs, recording albums, and hearing that old-school chainsaw guitar tone blasting through the speakers, we'll keep making death metal. That's what NECROMONGER is all about.
Finally, a classic but important question. What does NECROMONGER have planned for the coming months? Where can we see you in concert, and when will you visit the Czech Republic? If you have anything on your mind and would like to send a message to fans, promoters, or labels, this is your chance…
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :This autumn we'll begin recording our second full-length album, which will be even more brutal, heavier, and more diverse than our debut. We're constantly pushing ourselves to write stronger songs, while staying true to our old-school roots. :)
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to XTREEM MUSIC for believing in us and giving us the opportunity to release our debut album through the label. Their support and professionalism have meant a great deal to us.
And will you ever see NECROMONGER live?
Only time will tell. :) At the moment, our main priority is writing and recording new music, but you never know what the future may bring.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish your new album every success and hope your fan base grows as much as possible. I look forward to seeing you live somewhere, and I wish you all the best both musically and personally. I’m off to blast “Emanation of the Dying Perceptions” again!
PIGMAN(NECROMONGER :Thank you once again for the interview and for your support of the underground scene. Keep supporting underground death metal, buy physical releases, and never let the old-school spirit die! Cheers from Bulgaria! 🍻💀
Recenze/review - NECROMONGER - Emanation of the Dying Perceptions (2026):
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