Dobromir Ganchev of Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey uses a megaphone during their Hills of Rock 2025 performance in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
At Hills of Rock 2025, Bulgaria's premier rock and metal music event that takes place annually in Plovdiv, Sofia’s hardcore veterans Urban Grey transformed a festival set into a statement of defiance. In a country where corruption scandals, rising costs of living, and mistrust of institutions regularly send people into the streets in protest, their music channeled those frustrations into a blend of raw sound and rallying cries.
Dobromir Ganchev, vocalist of Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey, performing at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
Formed 25 years ago by guitarists Nikolay “Bebo” Berberov and Chavdar “Chavo” Valchev, the band has spent more than two decades building a reputation for independence. “We live here, we’re children of the city…[we call ourselves] Grey, because we don’t try to make ourselves visible at all costs,” Bebo once explained. Their choice to stay outside the commercial music machine has gone a long way to keeping their message uncompromised.
Nikolay “Bebo” Berberov, guitarist of Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey, performing live at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
That message often takes aim at Bulgaria’s realities. In “The Solution is the Problem,” from their 2014 album Age of Awareness, vocalist Dobromir Ganchev spits, “Banks, bills, taxes — we’re debt slaves for life.” The song echoes the widespread frustration over the country's low wages and predatory lending patterns. Songs like 2014's “Freak Show” tackle financial manipulation, while 2022's “Control” warns of authoritarian tendencies — themes that resonate in a country still reckoning with democratic backsliding and concentrated media ownership.
Even earlier tracks, such as “Behind the Mask of Justice” (2008) and “Treachery” (2014) confront political deceit, offering a critique that has remained relevant through years of corruption scandals and mass protests, including the anti-corruption demonstrations of 2020.
Dobromir Ganchev of Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey punctuates the beat with a hard stomp on the Na Tumno stage at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
On the Na Tumno stage, a phrase that roughly translates to “in the dark,” suggestive of the more underground and intimate experience it offers as compared to the Main Stage, these themes became a setlist designed for impact: “Freak Show”, “P.I.G.”, “Compromised,” “Control,” “Behind the Mask of Justice,” and “Treachery.” For longtime fans, this was more than entertainment — it was a musical version of protest slogans shouted in unison.
Sonja Traussnig, bassist for Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey, performs on the Na Tumno stage at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Her hair whips through the air in mid-motion as she leans into the performance, bass guitar angled forward. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
One hardcore music fan, Redji, summed it up as “expressing the everyday problems you see on the news — road deaths, political theatre in parliament, rising prices, and above all the constant injustice in the air.”
A young audience member jumps with a fist raised during Urban Grey’s performance at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The black-and-white image captures the intensity of the Na Tъмno stage crowd, with fellow hardcore and metal fans immersed in the moment. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
Such injustice has been a recurring flashpoint in Bulgaria, from demonstrations against corruption to public anger at lenient sentences for violent crimes. At Hills of Rock, the crowd’s response — fists raised, voices joining Ganchev’s megaphone shouts — emphasized how Urban Grey manages to seamlessly bridge music and message.
Fans enjoy Urban Grey’s performance at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The black-and-white image captures a man with a mohawk and beard, wearing a band shirt, with his arm around a woman in a harness-style top and bold makeup. Both are smiling and singing, reflecting the energy and camaraderie of the hardcore and metal community. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
For the band, the connection begins with sound. Bebo believes that “true art happens when a band follows its own ideas,” explaining, “Modern trends are fleeting. What lasts is authenticity.” The band members see themselves less as political actors and more as musicians whose style naturally channels rebellion. Just as death metal bands embrace gore, Urban Grey use hardcore to amplify resistance.
Fans at Urban Grey’s performance on the Na Tumno stage at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, raise their fists and shout along to the music. The black-and-white image captures the intensity and solidarity of the hardcore and metal crowd, with audience members of various ages fully immersed in the moment. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
Their music has gathered a community that treats concerts like rallies. “Awareness of human values, and never giving up on your goals” is how Redji describes the ethos. The band agrees, urging younger musicians to first focus on rehearsals, then “say everything you think — experiment, be brave.”
Dobromir Ganchev, vocalist of Bulgarian hardcore band Urban Grey, raises his fist mid-performance on the Na Tumno stage at Hills of Rock 2025 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The black-and-white image captures an intense and emotional moment, with Ganchev’s expression and body language conveying the raw energy of the band’s politically charged set. Photo by Diana Nikolova, used with permission.
At Hills of Rock, that ethos resonated with their biggest audience yet. For Urban Grey, the sound always comes first, but in Bulgaria’s climate, the message is impossible to ignore.
Find a playlist of Urban Grey's music below and to see more eclectic music from around the world, check out Global Voices’ Spotify account.
