Nikolo Kotzev once decided to create a project. He named it Brazen Abbot. Brazen Abbot grew up and turned out to be a supergroup. To celebrate Brazen Abbot's 10th anniversary (or birthday) Frontiers Records released a live CD and a live DVD last November.
I am ashamed of admitting that I only watched A Decade Of Brazen Abbot DVD this morning. I was working till 5 a.m. and when I came home, after fooling around for a couple of hours, I thought it was a good time to put it in my computer's DVD player. Now that I'm writing these lines it's 9:52 a.m. and not only am I not sleepy but also in the proper mood to write a review of it!
Brazen Abbot are musically exactly of my taste; extremely melodic Progressive Rock with massive, old-fashioned keys and guitars that overwhelm with virtuosity. So, it was not a surprise that I enjoyed all the songs here. The surprise was that I enjoyed them as much as their studio versions.  Mr. Kotzev's choice to perform in front of his homeland's audience might have been made sentimentally but it proved to be wise. Bulgarian people were thrilled to watch Joe Lynn Turner on stage and at the same time proud that their own compatriot, Nikolo Kotzev, was responsible for those great shows that took place at Varna on the 27th of July, Plovdiv on 29th of July and Sofia on 31st of July of 2003. The crowd participates all through the shows, they never get tired applauding and in general their Balcan temper guarantees that this is not just going to be another recording of a band's live show.
Rationally, the band is inspired by this fantastic environment and everybody's performance is great. No need to say that Joe Lynn Turner conquers the stage and the soul of Brazen Abbot, Nikolo Kotzev, makes an exhibition of his huge playing and composing talent.
In detail, the songs contained are: Feeling Like A Rolling Stone from Live And Learn (1995), Road To Hell from Eye Of The Storm (1996) and Mr.Earthman, Slip Away, Supernatural, Guilty As Sin, I'll Be Free and One Life To Live from their last studio album, Guilty As Sin (2003). Of course Rainbow classics couldn't be missing (Stone Cold, I Surrender and Can't Let You Go).
Another, equally essential part of the DVD is a whole documentary directed by Nikolo Kotzev, abstracts of which are interposed between the songs. Narrated by him himself, it gives us information about the group's formation and explains how Goran Edman, Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner were involved and how Europe's members contributed. Short interviews of Edman, Hughes and Turner are also available. What is more, you can see part of Kotzev and Turner's appearance on the Bulgarian television, those two in part of an acoustic performance and many many more-even Wayne Banks stage diving and finally breaking the nose of a fan!
I won't say anything further. If you are Brazen Abbot's fans or Melodic Rock's lovers or if you just keep on Rock'N'Rolling, grab it!
- DVD Highlights: The whole thing!!!