The long-postponed third edition of Lazarus Fest has finally been scheduled for October 23rd. After many well-known difficult circumstances, the time has come to revive Lazarus once again—this time in full compliance with all epidemiological measures.

What sets Lazarus apart from other festivals is its focus on “Banat hardcore” as a unique idiom—an aesthetic, ethos, and poetics that should be defended, developed, and preserved at all costs. Lazarus Fest aspires to be its bastion and beacon.

In that spirit, the third edition will host two bands that still carry this flame, bringing both freshness and modernity, bands that from the very beginning understood the importance of such an event and have become true friends of the festival, supporting it selflessly—FORGOTTEN SCREAM and DESOLATION. Forgotten Scream will promote their second album Hourglass, released earlier this year, while Desolation will present new songs and a new reinforcement—legendary Čvare (Overdrive) on vocals.

However, the story of Banat hardcore would be incomplete without its Kikinda branch, and so DOWNSTROY, a band with a 17-year legacy and unquestionable importance for the scene, will perform in Lazarevo for the very first time.

The Lazarus project also seeks to embrace all new phenomena on the wider Zrenjanin scene. This year it will welcome a new grunge band composed of seasoned musicians—DIRECT DRIVE—whose debut album is expected soon.

Moreover, anyone who has attended Zrenjanin gigs in recent years likely knows little Andrea Radojčić, our best child and, we all believe, our future pride. That child has grown up and formed a band, AFFLICTION, together with young drummer Viktorija Milošević from Smederevo, known to the public from Mina Petrović’s short documentary film Viktorija, 15, warmly received by critics, and who has recently also joined the band Replicunts.

Finally, the Lazarus crew has ensured that this year’s edition includes an essential generational vertical and the volume needed to place the festival firmly on the entire regional underground map. Legendary—once Sarajevo-based and now Belgrade-based—of unquestionable cult status, pioneers and innovators, founders of the speed/thrash metal sound aesthetic in ex-Yugoslavia during the second half of the eighties, whose immeasurable significance resonates even in global underground circles… it is enough to say: BOMBARDER is coming to Lazarus!