Brazen Abbot

Brazen Abbot (in Bulgarian Бразън Абът, in the closest translation according to the band's frontman Nikolo Kotzev, Lustful Abbot) is a rock band founded in Finland by Bulgarian guitarist, producer and songwriter Nikolo Kotzev. He started the project after leaving the Swedish band Baltimoore in 1994. One of the defining features of Brazen Abbot was the use of different singers – each album was recorded with three or four vocalists, with Göran Edman and Joe Lynn Turner appearing on most. Nikolo Kotzev's original idea was for a band with only one vocalist, with Göran Edman as the lead singer. However, he could only record two songs due to other contractual obligations. Glenn Hughes was to record the remaining songs, but he too had commitments that allowed him to record only three songs.

Kotzev then contacted Thomas Wikström to record the rest of the album "Live and Learn" was released in 1995, in which Kotzev played guitar, produced, mixed and wrote all the songs. The album also featured Svante Henryson, who had previously played with Yngwie Malmsteen and Europe members Mick Michaeli and Ian Haugland.

Nikolo Kotzev liked the final result so much that he decided to keep this multiple singer model. The second album featured the same vocalists, with John Levén taking over on bass as Henryson had scheduling issues. Haugland and Michaeli completed the band and in 1996, "Eye of the Storm" was released. The same line-up recorded "Bad Religion" in 1997. After that, Kotzev and Turner did a short acoustic tour in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium with Jeff Paris and Heartland in November of that year.

Some of the band members also participated in the recording of Nikilo Kotzev's rock opera Nostradamus (2001), and during the writing and recording the band was temporarily separated. Then, in early 2002, Nikolo Kotzev began writing new songs for Brazen Abbot. In mid-2003, almost six years after the band's last album, "Guilty as Sin" was released. It was recorded by the same line-up that recorded "Bad Religion",

with the difference that Thomas Wikström was replaced by former Masterplan vocalist Jørn Lande.

The same year, the first concerts of the band in its full line-up – Nikolo Kotzev, Joe Lynn Turner, Wayne Banks, Lars Pollack and Thomas Broman – were performed in Bulgaria. After these, the band released the live album “A Decade of Brazen Abbot”, as well as a documentary DVD in 2004, on the band’s tenth anniversary.

After “Guilty as Sin”, John Levén, Ian Haugland and Mic Mikaeli returned to the re-formed Europe and did not participate in the subsequent albums. In their place, Nikolo Kotzev took Wayne Banks (who participated in the live album) on bass, drummer Matthias Knutas and organist Nelko Kolarov. Göran Edman, Joe Lynn Turner and the new recruits Tony Harnell (TNT) and Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse) recorded the vocals. In this line-up and with the participation of a string orchestra of 32 people, they created “My Resurrection” (2005).

Despite the formula including three singers, only one, usually Joe Lynn Turner, participates in concert performances.

Nikolo Spasov Kotzev is a Bulgarian guitarist, violinist, composer and arranger. He is best known for the band Brazen Abbot and the traditional Opera Joel, rock opera's Draconia, & Nostradamus.

Nikolo Kotsev was born on June 6, 1961 in Pazardzhik, but did not live there. He took violin lessons from the age of 5 and completed his primary education in Dimitrovgrad, at which time his father Spas Kotzev played in the Dimitrovgrad brass band.

In his teenage years, his interest in rock music arose and he began taking guitar lessons from his mother. He graduated from the music school in Stara Zagora. While still a student, he played as a guitarist in the band "Trayana". Then he played for several months in the band Impuls until 1985. After that, he was a guitarist in the band "Balkanton". In 1989, Nikolo Kotsev emigrated to Mariehamn, Åland Islands, Finland and met the Swedish singer Björn Lodin. He joined the band "Baltimoore". With this group he recorded two albums - "Double Density" (1992) and "Thought For Food" (1994).

A period of silence followed for the band, during which Nikolo Kotzev began to work on the rock opera Nostradamus. Due to various problems, including the bankruptcy of the German record company USG Records, which financed the Rock opera, the album was not completed until 2000. It was released the following year under the name Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus by SPV Records, featuring most of the members of Brazen Abbot and Jørn Lande (Masterplan), Alannah Miles and Sass Jordan. In 2002, Brazen Abbot reunited and released "Guilty as Sin" (2003).

The subsequent tour in Bulgaria was released as a live album in 2004 under the title "A Decade of Brazen Abbot". The following year, another studio recording was released, "My Resurrection". In addition to being a studio musician, Nikolo Kotzev produced and mixed albums by other bands, including Saxon (Killing Ground, 2001), Molly Hatchet (Kingdom of XII, 2000; Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge, 2005), Rose Tattoo and Messiah Kiss. He also worked with Robin Gibb (Bee Gees) as a guitarist and musical director of his backing band. In 2006, he began work on a new Rock opera - "Draconia".

In 2011, the musician founded the band Kikimora in Sofia. The project began in 2011 with the aim of performing on the Bulgarian stage with a repertoire in Bulgarian. The band also includes Alex Atanasov (solo vocals, guitars), Nikolay Todorov (drums, vocals), Nikolay Tsvetkov (bass, vocals) and Marin Ivanov (keyboard, vocals).

The band's first song, called "Mrasnitsa", (Filth) was first heard on the air of Z-ROCK radio on December 6, 2011. The lyrics of the song were written by Andrey Slabakov. In addition to it, the band has recorded two more songs - "Omerzen" and "Glupakat", and videos were shot for all three songs in a joint session. The band first performed the songs "Mrasnitsa" and "Omerzen" live on the show "Denis i Priyateli" on BNT on February 1, 2012, with the latter preceding the release of its studio recording.

Kikimora first performed the song "Glupakat" on Niki Kanchev's show on Darik Radio on February 16, 2012, where the band played several songs in an acoustic version.

The video for "Mrasnitsa" made its television debut on "Diema" on March 15, 2012 in the heavy music show "Fraktura". The studio recording of the song "Glupakat", along with a video for it, was released on May 2, 2012.

The band plans to continue creating original repertoire and begin a concert tour in the summer of 2012. The band has no plans to release an album, and for this reason their songs and videos are freely distributed on the internet and are available for download from the band's website.

Dear friends,

Eighteen, or so years ago, I started working on Draconia The Rock opera, back in 2006 when I started working on it, the record industry was going through tough times and it was readjusting to what we have now – CD’s don’t sell, music is being listened to through streaming platforms for a dime per a whole album. I could not find a budget or an interested company, so I abandoned Draconia, because I had no means to complete it in the size and shape I had in my head.

Now I realized, that Nostradamus was a special event in the cross-over genre, because for the past 23 years there’s been no other project like it. It stood the test of time and has just been released worldwide in three different shapes by Frontiers. Having this proof in my mind, I have decided to pick up Draconia from the drawer and put all my effort in completing it in one or another form.

It will be tough, but after all, I have to do what I have to do, regardless of the hardship I will have to endure while getting it done. So, hold your thumbs and wish me luck on this new journey. I hope it will lead me to another yet great achievement.

Rock On!

-Nikolo Kotzev

Brazen Abbot

Albums

Members

Former members

Nikolo Kotzev

Rock operas and production activities

Kikimora

Work on Draconia resumed