The years fly by and it’s time to set off once more for the strongest metal village in Central Banat – Lazarevo. As always, I’m professionally late with my report on the 6th Lazarus Festival, which took place on October 26, 2024. My colleague Petrović and the organizer say that maybe I’ll break my own record for tardiness in writing.
And here I proudly stand on the pedestal of the laziest rock journalist ever, one month before the event: I’ll take liberty to announce the 7th edition of the festival, October 18, 2025 – if you consider yourself any kind of metalhead, I won’t believe you if I don’t see you there; and if you disappoint me, take off your band T-shirts, battle vests, studs and spikes, and light a small fire for the coming autumn.
Also, prepare to be called a SATANIST the moment you step foot in the village, we’ve come to that point, judging by social media comments.
I’m proud that this year Petrović was a guest at my festival Ekoslavija 2025, so this year we will nicely round out and cement cooperation on that level too.
Last year I traveled, from Hungary, through Romania to Cyprus (to be honest), but my favorite is when I sit on my two-wheeler, and Lazarevo is in any case one of my favorite destinations. Maybe this year I’ll dare to actually ride the whole way by bicycle, but we’ll see.
The traditional journey to the festival wasn’t accompanied by a concert the night before, and the welcome by the organizers was arranged as if I were kin-blooded. They always impress me, and I am grateful for their warmth and friendship. The sound was done by Cef, a legend of the underground; if you don’t know him, it might be that he worked sound for a band or bands at some festival or larger event.
The line-up of bands performing was, as always, of high quality, noting that Novi Sad’s Polywhy did not perform, and in the meantime they managed to land in public scrutiny because of unsavory things unrelated to music, so they no longer exist.
Now, let’s move on to the other side, so the lineup for the sixth Lazarus looked like this:
Cheap Moonshine (NS) – Excellent heavy stoner, with a pinch of psychedelia. Whatever the folks from Novi Sad take on, it always sounds world-class, and in tune with the moment. Though some ill tongues (some licking cyanide) would say that stoner is monotonous and quickly loses charm, “Cheap Moonshine” refutes this with their persistence in pushing the sound, also noting we still have critically few bands in that branch (my wards Madvro, who are on pause, Northern Revival, quite active and sounding much more compact, and if I forgot one, damn it now).
Mogila Deathcult (PO) – Descended from the band Grobdanište, as a rejuvenated force in the hellish sounds of ear-pain of the petty bourgeoisie called death metal – Mogila Deathcult seizes the stage and mercilessly thrashes. I’ve heard them several times and each time they amaze me, so I place great hopes in them. They were also in Subotica in June this year (RAZOR festival #1), even in as small a space as that was (a DIY affair), they gave their maximum.
Forgotten Scream (ZR) – As a band from the local corps, Zrenjanin’s guys smashed their set in a somewhat more modern metal sound, baptized with honest metalcore from the late first decade of the 21st century. I know, it sounds ancient, but that’s what it is.
I grew up on that, as well as nu-metal, so Forgotten Scream gave me a bit of nostalgia, and I almost wasn’t allowed to shed heroic tears, because I nearly had corpse paint on my face the whole evening (thanks, Magdalena :D), both because of the masquerade (otherwise traditional, as part of the festival), and because of the big desire to paint my then state of consciousness.
Oathbringer (KG) – If Kragujevac weren’t just my two friends named Aleksandar (that means something to me, not necessarily to you), this close-to-me town produced Oathbringer too, as a marker of past times in the form of heavy/power metal machinery. They crushed the performance, I really enjoyed it, and I wasn’t left with the impression that I was watching and listening to Dickinson in a somewhat more obscure arrangement, steeped in the underground – and not just because of Miloš “Priestkiller”, but because of the whole atmosphere.
Svartgren (BG) – Along with The Stone, Svartgren is another significant Serbian black metal band, and they honored the audience with their presence at the festival. I wouldn’t philosophize much, because there’s no need: black metal is simply what it is, you stand and stare in trance, you bang your head, while blast beats and vocals tear your brain cortex. The older guard does not give in!
The Bloody Earth (NI) – First among equals in the world of doom/funeral doom bands in our parts, The Bloody Earth showed they are still present. Not to mention I sound too nepotistic because of the EP whose promotion was essentially experienced on Lazarus, named Crnoslovlje. As much as the audience was stirred during previous performances, grave silence and nearly small hours covered everything with a veil of mystery, while TBE consecrated the stage with heavy riffs, with symphonic undertones.
As with black metal, you simply must surrender to doom, without movement, only hands like a gentle breeze, while tons of black sand and heaviness, powerful and cathartic, crash into your ears. The Niš crew never disappoint, and now, the fact that I, being from up north, especially love them as locals, that’s another story.
Worm Man (Opovo) – Initially in the shadows, announced as the surprise of the festival, Worm Man have nothing to be ashamed of – their torment and utterly degenerate, but very successful combination of synthpop, post-Sovietwave (and other coldness) and destructive industrial vocals cannot leave people indifferent.
Two youngsters, a lot of crazy southern Banat brothers, I adore them and I’ve never managed to bring them to Subotica, because something always gets messed up, to speak strictly in Vojvođan dialect, but oh well! Their performance marked the end of the wild ride that Lazarus can put on, so there was dancing of tired bodies, hehehe.
As part of the festival there were many vendors: Crnoslovlje, Smudge Custom Screenprints, Pannonian Sea Fish Tattoo, Nanny Goat Dark Shop, Lucija Clothing, as well as a mini-exhibition of hand-monsters by Smiljana Mirkov and Sofija Lalović. Such a gathering of artists of different kinds, not even at bigger events.
See you at the SEVENTH Lazarus in a month! If you haven’t yet, start with the blasphemy as soon as possible!
Daniel Tikvicki (Helly Cherry Webzine)
