rattlead.hu
Interview with Nikolay Atanasov, current guitarist of Rezet and former guitarist of Agent Steel
So Nikolay, be welcome on our sites! How are you doing these days?
Thank you for having me and hello to all the readers of the site! I am doing fine! Just trying to keep myself busy with as much music as possible – that’s the usual for me!
Please, at first, introduce yourself for our readers!
I am Nikolay Atanasov and I am the guitar player for the German thrash metal band Rezet, also known as the former guitar player for the legendary speed metal band Agent Steel.
At which point did you discover the realm of heavy metal? What are/were some of the records, bands, artists that you grew up listening to/enjoyed immensely?
I was very young, a kid, around first grade or so. Some of the first bands I discovered were Metallica and Black Sabbath. From there it was just expanding. You know, classics like Ride the Lightning (I believe was my first Metallica album), Master of Puppets, the first Black Sabbath records with Ozzy – stuff I obviously still love very much to this day. I grew up with Maiden, Priest, Megadeth… At some point I also discovered Yngwie and was blown away, he was my introduction to the neoclassical stuff and generally shred guitar, then I discovered the Shrapnel stuff – Cacophony, Racer X, Vinnie Moore etc., all of those guys really influenced me a lot.
By the way, do you have a wide range of interests musically?
Nowadays absolutely, I mean, already since my teenage years – blues, rock, jazz, fusion, classical… I think it is very important to not limit yourself to only one or few musical genres…
How did you end up becoming musician and how did your choice fall on guitar?
I was always fascinated by everything guitar in the rock and metal music that I loved so much as a kid, so I always thought how I’d love to learn to play the guitar. Then around the age of 11 I got my first guitar and started learning, only a couple of years later I was already jamming with different bands and making my first steps in writing original material. The moment I picked up the guitar for the first time it was like a moment of realization that ’this is it’, you know…
Do you play, other instruments, as well?
No, just the guitar. Sometimes I wish I did though, haha!
You were born in Gorna Oryahovitsa, Veliko Tarnovo Province (Bulgaria), how was the metal scene in your hometown and in the country, as well?
That’s right! Well, as I always say in interviews, unfortunately, I do think it has always been limited and not as big as it should be, or at least as I wish it to be, especially in my hometown and area. However, on the positive side, it is there and there are some cool bands out there!
Did the metal music enjoye a great popularity in Bulgaria?
Should I be honest? Not in the last couple of decades or so – that was mostly in the 80s and 90s, when that music was still something new and exciting, plus being difficult to get due to the communist regime at the time, as it was part of the forbidden western stuff… Nowadays its quite underground most of the time.
Progressing quickly at guitar, it was not long before you also started writing your own music, as well as putting together and joining bands, recording demos and playing gigs, were these materials spread around?
Some of it yes! A lot of the earliest stuff was very classic heavy metal. From then on I’ve pretty much played every style of metal through the years.
Is it correct, that you eventually he started playing bigger concerts wit your bands, initially supporting for big Bulgarian rock and metal acts, and soon after for world-renowned ones?
That’s correct. In my early teens I opened for pretty much all of the known national rock and metal acts, then it just went on a bigger scale, suddenly it was already international acts and ultimately I also ended up playing together with such.
At the age of 15 you relocated to Denmark, what was the reason of it?
Mostly my family just being tired of the life in Bulgaria, as are many others in that part of the world, unfortunately, so we relocated to Denmark. I have zero regrets, quite the opposite actually…
What were the bands, that you started playing in?
The very first were cover bands, playing stuff like Metallica, Sabbath, Purple, Zeppelin and so on… The first ones with original music were Steel Rider which I co-founded, and Thunderbolt, which is an old band that started out in the 80s.
In your opinion, was a big breakthrough, came in 2019, when you were offered the position in the speed metal band Agent Steel? How did you get noticed, at all?
That was definitely my first big breakthrough! I believe most still know me mostly as the now former Agent Steel guitar player. With these things it’s mostly about being at the right place at the right time, and that was the case here as well. Here I have to thank John Cyriis for the chance he gave me – Thanks John!
Is it correct, that you wrote most of the music for the album?
That’s correct, actually around half of it is music that I wrote and I’m very proud of! Some pretty cool tunes on there!
Did you have the chance/opportunity to meet the mastermind behind Agent Steel, John Cyriis with? How would you describe him?
Well, we toured together, so we’ve spent quite some time together! He’s a nice guy and fun to be around.
Did the No Other Godz Before Me record fully satisfy the needs/demands of the listeners?
I believe it satisfied the Agent Steel fans.
Some singles/demos were also released, such as Way of the Mechanism, The Devil’s Greatest Trick, Sonata Cósmica, Outer Space Connection, Terminator of Souls, were they previews, considering the new Agent Steel album?
Way of the Mechanism is only a demo, and the first Agent Steel song I appeared on. The rest are all singles from the No Godz record. Oh, and Terminator of Souls was a track that came out after the record.
I have to tell you, that Agent Steel is my all time fave band, they didn’t cause me any disappointment with that album, but (for me) it seems, that Mr. Cyriis came out of nowhere…
I’m happy to hear that! Well, I guess that’s how things seem when you suddenly come back after some years of absence – at least that makes it exciting.
How long were you involved in the band, by the way?
I joined in 2019 and left in 2022 – so around 3 years.
You also appeared on many records as a guest musician and have worked with musicians from bands like Megadeth, Testament, King Diamond, Annihilator and many others, do you think yourself a session musician?
I like doing session work, because sometimes it’s just very fun to play on others’ music. I just see it as another aspect of being a musician.
You joined the German band Rezet last year and Ricky Wagner mentioned me in the interview, that you are a permanent member of the band…
That’s right! I have been a permanent member since joining the band in 2023.
In this year Rezet did two European tours, played in Dubai and released a new album as well, does it mean, that it was busy year for us?
I would say so! The last 2 years have been busy and I just love it!
By the way, do you get well along your bandmates with?
We try… hahaha I am just kidding, these guys are some of my best friends, they are awesome!
You also appeared on Blind Illusion’s new opus, titled Crushing the Universe, how did you get in the picture exactly, playing on the guitar?
So I met Mark/Blind Illusion when we toured together, back in 2023. We are good friends. When he was gathering a new lineup I stepped in to help. Of course ideally he needed all of the guys to be locals, as they want to play live in their area, and that’s when he found Martin, the current guitar player. He has been a guitar tech for Blind Illusion in the past and now fits great in the lineup. I know there is a new album in the works. I recorded a solo on one song, titled ’Bliss in the Abyss’. It was recently released as a single!
Did you write any song for/to the album?
No, I only played solos on that one song.
Were you meant to be as a permanent member or only a guest (session) one?
As I said, I was just there to help out, then Martin came along and now they have a stable complete lineup again.
What do you think about the band’s career as a whole? How do you like their first output, The Sane Asylum?
This is a legendary band and pioneers of the genre. I have always been a big fan of the classic debut record.
Obviously they haven’t been active for a long time but reunited at some point. When we toured with them they had a couple of Bay Area veterans in the lineup – Doug Piercy, formerly of Heathen, and Andy Galeon, formerly of Death Angel. Now they have the new lineup and they sure don’t seem like they are planning to slow down. I had a blast contributing lead guitars to the new song! Great people and great times!
How about your future plans as a whole?
The future plans include mostly touring the new Rezet records extensively, but as usual there will be lots of music and other cool stuff coming from me, so stay tuned!
Nikolay, thanks a lot for your answers, tell/share, please, our readers your last thoughts…
Thank you for having me! Hungary rules and I had a great time on the last tour – looking forward to seeing you all again next time! To everyone else – looking forward to seeing you all on tour!
