Ahat, also known as AXAT ( bg, Ахат , "

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Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n rock band from

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

History

The band was created in 1986 in

by students from the National Academy of Music and the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy. Their first live performance was on December 22, 1986. In 1989 the band went to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

with the Bulgarian delegation to the World Youth and Student Festival, which has brought them criticism as being too close to the Communist regime. The same year Ahat released their first album ' (, ''The March)''. It is regarded as their most successful album. The most popular songs from it are: "The Black Sheep", "Land Of Blindmen", "The Tree", "Fiery Souls", "The March". They also received their first music award and had a successful tour with

Shturcite Shturcite ( bg, Щурците ; English "The Crickets"), sometimes romanized as Shturtsite, was a Bulgarian rock group. They were one of the most successful bands in Bulgaria during the 1970s and 1980s and still have many fans. The band brok ...

. The following year, they appeared on the compilation "21st Youth Pop Song Contest" with the song "Deviz" (Девиз, ''Motto''). In 1994 the band released their second album ' (, ''From'' ''Underneath the Ruins''). The album is a compilation of the band's hits, a couple of songs recorded for compilations and 5 English-language songs recorded in 1991. Notable songs from this album are "Monologue" and the English version of "The Tree". After a period of inactivity, the band had a notable return being the opening band for the first Deep Purple concert in Bulgaria in 1998. The next year, the band released their first live album ' (, ''7 Years Later''). On May 19, 2004 the band released their third album, ''Made in USA''. According to the publishers the album is the biggest investment made by a Bulgarian musical producer. ''Golden Rock Tour 2004'' is the band's second live album recorded during their impressive national tour in 2004 and released in 2007. In 2009, they released a single called "Tam" (Там, There).

Members

Current members

* Zvezdomir Keremedchiev – vocals * Antoan Hadad – guitars * Denis Rizov – bass guitars * Antoni Georgiev – keyboards * Yuri Kocev – drums

Former members

* Bojidar Glavev – guitar * Ivailo Petrov – bass guitar

Discography

* ' (1989) * ' (1994) * ' (live) (1999) * ''

Made in USA A Made in USA mark is a country of origin label affixed to homegrown, American-made products that indicates the product is "all or virtually all" domestically produced, manufactured and assembled in the United States of America. The label is reg ...

'' (2004) * ''

Golden Rock Tour 2004 Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestersh ...

'' (live) (2007) * '' 1986-2013'' (2015) (compilation of non-album singles and compilation tracks)

References

External links

The official band site.

Encyclopaedia Metallum Page.

Interview with Denis (Bulgarian).

Ahat
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Bulgarian Rock Archives Bulgarian Rock Archives (or Български рок архиви) is the first online encyclopedia dedicated to rock music in Bulgaria. Launched online on 2 August 2013 and includes more than 350 bands and performers from the mid-1960s. The artic ...

{{Authority control Bulgarian rock music groups 1986 establishments in Bulgaria Musical groups established in 1986 Culture in Sofia