Brazen Abbot

Brazen Abbot is a bright star in the hard rock scene. Led by Bulgarian virtuoso Nikolo Kotzev, their four studio albums have gathered considerable success in the scene boasting also the talents of such musicians and singers as Glenn Hughes, Jorn Lande (Masterplan), Joe Lynn Turner (featured on this live album), Goran Edman (Malmsteen), Thomas Vickstrom (Candlemass) and the Europe members Ian Haugland, Mic Michaeli and John Leven.

The 20 Years Of Brazen Abbot celebrates two decades of the bands existence, since it was founded by the Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Nikolo Kotzev. The CD contains 15 studio tracks compiled from the five studio albums released to date: Live And Learn - 1995, Eye Of The Storm – 1996, Bad Religion - 1997
Guilty As Sin - 2003, My Resurrection - 2007 and a Live DVD, shot at a concert at the Amphitheatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The DVD also contains 15 songs. True to his philosophy, Kotzev has not tempered with the live recording in post production, so there are no studio overdubs on this live production.

Brazen Abbot is a bright star in the hard rock scene. Led by Bulgarian virtuoso Nikolo Kotzev, their four studio albums have gathered considerable success in the scene boasting also the talents of such musicians and singers as Glenn Hughes, Jorn Lande (Masterplan), Joe Lynn Turner (featured on this live album), Goran Edman (Malmsteen), Thomas Vickstrom (Candlemass) and the Europe members Ian Haugland, Mic Michaeli and John Leven. The album was recorded live in Sofia (Bulgaria) on July 31st 2003 and celebrates the triumphant return of Nikolo Kotzev in his home country for the first ever Brazen Abbot tour! Liner notes and Brazen Abbot history written by Birgitt Schwanke of Rock It magazine, Germany.

BRAZEN ABBOT is the brainchild of Bulgarian virtuoso guitarist Nikolo Kotzev, who created the project after exiting the Swedish band BALTIMOORE in 1994. Each BA album delivers a classy slab of melodic Euro-metal, while utilizing several well-known and highly respected vocalists.

“Eye of the Storm” is the second album from the studio project masterminded by the multi-talented Bulgarian guitarist and producer Nikolo Kotzev, together with three members from the original EUROPE line-up and a set of singers second to none. Released originally in 1996 on the german label USG Records, “Eye of the Storm” sees the addition of the awesome singer Joe Lynn Turner to the line-up. His influence is particularly evident on songs like "Twist of Fate", "Line of Fire", and "Road to Hell", while the Europe influence can be found in “Wake Up Everybody”, with a great vocal performance from Thomas Vikström. Former Malmsteen singer Göran Edman also appears on lead vocals stamping his mark especially on the power-ballad “Everything's Gonna Be Allright”.

Originally released in 1996, Eye of the Storm was the second album from Brazen Abbot, the melodic rock group formed by ex-Baltimoore guitarist Nikolo Kotzev. Kotzev was always more than just a superb guitarist, as his songwriting and keyboard playing in Brazen Abbot clearly proves. For the band's second incarnation, Kotzev and Europe members Ian Haughland and Mic Michaeli are joined by fellow bassist Jon Leven, another Europe alum.

The third Brazen Abbot recording, Bad Religion, impressed with the same line-up and a stylistically similar concept in 1997. Continuing the Brazen Abbot tradition of creating high quality rock music, the album also received excellent reviews.

The Bulgarian guitar hero Nikolo Kotzev is back with Brazen Abbot - Guilty As Sin - the fourth album after Live And Learn (1995), Eye Of The Storm (1996) and Bad Religion (1997). If I refer to the booklet, Nikolo says "This album came in difficult times. At times it felt like I'll never make it …". Honestly, I though this project was long dead considering the last record was made in 1997. By the way, you might know this guitarist from his metal opera Nostradamus (2001).