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History
Epizod (Bulgarian: Епизод. Translated: Episode) is a Bulgarian hard rock/heavy/power/epic/folk metal band formed in 1983 in Sofia. The first songs of the band were inspired by the French poet Francois Villon. Epizod are famous in Bulgaria for their concerts which include theatre, an Orthodox church choir, and an ensemble for Bulgarian folk songs and dances.
In October 1990, the English BBC filmed Epizod's concert at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Two years later, in 1992 the group recorded their second album "Dead Among The Dead" with lyrics by Charles Baudelaire and Francois Villon. This marks the end of the first phase of the band's existence because the vocalist Dimitar Argirov moved to Italy with his family and Rossen Doychinov (keyboards) moved to Canada. However, Epizod continued their work with the new vocalist Emil Chendov in 1996. In 1998 they recorded the album "Respect" with lyrics written by Dragomir Draganov. In 2000 the band started to work over "The Bulgarian God", an album which is considered to be one of the best in the history of Bulgarian rock. The texts used in the songs are lyrics by the revolutionary poet Hristo Botev and Ivan Vazov. After the release of the first singles of the album The National Television included the song "Haiduks" based on a poem by Hristo Botev in the 2001 New Year's Eve Show. The album was officially released in 2002 and was one of the most sold albums of the year in Bulgaria. Essential for the success of the album were the voices of the guest folklore singers- father Andon, Daniela Velichkova, Kristina Yaneva as well as St. John Kukuzelis Choir. In 2003 Epizod released the album "The time has come" with lyrics by the French classical poets Francois Villon and Pierre de Ronsard. About that time the drummer Stoyan Petrov was replaced by Hristo Gyosharkov. By the end of 2004 Epizod released the Rock Opera "Saint Patriarch Evtimiy". The promotional concert in Veliko Turnovo was held exactly where the events described in the album took place – at Tsarevets Castle, the reconstructed palace of the medieval Bulgarian tzars. The concert was filmed and later released on a DVD. The band appeared clad in armour, the show included a folklore dance ensemble, a church choir, Bulgarian folklore songs and the performance of the virtuoso Rossen Genkov who plays the ancient string instrument rebec. In 2006 Epizod released the album 'Our Roots' with the image of the Madara Rider on the front cover.
