The symphonic metal band CLAYMORE was created during the summer of 1999 Ruse, Bulgaria. The founding members of the band are Kamen Manev (drums) and Martin Manev (guitar). After three hard mouths searching for a keyboard player, Tsvetelin Baltov was found and chosen to be a part of CLAYMORE. During the year 2020

Kremena Gancheva and Preslava Velikova joined the band as vocalists and together with Daniel Nikolov, CLAYMORE found a colorful palette of voices. The last addition to the band is the bassist Hristo Gochkov.

CLAYMORE ‘s complex and dynamic sound along with their resonating performances helped them to quickly rise to prominence amongst the Bulgarian metal scene. The group likes to mix different styles in the music genre such as black and death metal combined with classical elements and the lyrics tell twisted stories with deep meanings.

Following the release of their first EP “Released” 2002, CLAYMORE

composed, mixed and mastered five songs that would describe their style and will become a part of their set lists for festivals.

They write and produce their first album “Prolonged Active Antagonism” 2008 and shortly after were invited to the “Black Curse Over Europe” touring together with Lord Belial, Graveworm and Eastern Front. The album was released from D.O.P (Bulgaria) and the official distributer of the mp3 are “Forces of Satan” (Norway) and “Toxicity Records” – Vodafone Live (Bulgaria).

Performing in support of major touring acts has become a well-rehearsed routine for CLAYMORE. They have performed in numerous festivals such as:

“Trash till Death”, “Heatwork Festival”, “Heart Rock Festival”, “Chaos Fest”, “Massacre Fest”, “Legacy Open Air Fest”, “Barock Fest”, “Nightmare Fest”, “Ost Festival”, “Sea Black Festival”, “Urpin Fest” etc. where they shared the same stage with world famous bands like:

Destruction, Dimmu Borgir, Primordial, Jorn Lande, Mystic Circle, Napalm Death, Sinister, Lord Belial, Eastern Front, Graveworm, Exumer, Negura Bunget, Izegrim, Spoil Engine, Zombie Inc etc.

After the completion of their second album “Vengeance is Near” in the year 2014, CLAYMORE made a big step into their music career when they caught the eye of Japanese record label “Red Rivet Records” and signed with them. The song “Centuries of Chaos Part II” in the album was featured in a compilation from the magazine “Terrorizer”.

The band spend the rest of the time on the road, kicking things off with their first European tour – “Vengeance is Near” (2014) - passing though Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. Followed by another two tours “Between Two Worlds” (2015) and “Ghost Stories from the Myst” (2017) that visited the great Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Germany.

As of now CLAYMORE is in the midst of writing and recording their third album with a new single coming out “Theater of Horror”.

The new album’s diverse sound defies categorization, while delivering a blend of captivating stories, classical melodies, elegant aggression and a futuristic flair.

The Shortest Straw @ Slanj-a-va Feat. Smokey Trotters

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