Rock Monsters Romania

Text and photos by Ionela Pleșan

On February 8th, I arrived at Expirat for the launch of the album “Chrysalis” by Taking Back August. Despite experiencing a toothache so severe it felt as though I could grow a second head, I was determined to be there. I wanted to listen to what the boys had accomplished and determine how much they resemble Architects, if at all.

The evening promised to be a long one, with two opening bands, June Turns Black and Valak.

June Turns Black were the ones who kicked off the evening, despite the tardiness of the audience. I’ll never understand this, especially with the Romanian audience, particularly in the underground scene. If the concert is announced for 8:30 PM, why aren’t you there? Yes, I understand you only want to see the main act, but it would be cool to respect the opening acts and at least pretend to listen to them and be there.

June Turns Black consists of Ioana “Rach” Balaji on vocals, Cezar Stamate on bass, Dan Niculescu on guitar, and David Alin on drums. If you’re familiar with the underground scene, you surely know Rach and Dan from various projects. Personally, I remember them from Between Colors, a band I thought was cool when I was younger and listened to them. From their sound to their aesthetics, everything seemed different.

But back to June Turns Black, I never would have expected Rach to have the power she has and growl like I’ve rarely heard. She outdid many men I’ve heard trying to do the same. If you need guidance on how to growl properly, talk to Rach. What I liked the most was the chemistry they emitted on stage. She seems very confident, and with an attitude of “let’s do this”. June Turns Black had their own flow, and besides that, two bodyguards, if you will to call them that, in front of the stage, wearing hoods and simply standing there. Take it as a statement if you want. Dan ventured into the audience and sang from there, surrounded by people; they were a welcome act to kick off the evening.

After June Turns Black, it was Valak‘s turn. If I liked June Turns Black, I don’t share the same opinion about Valak. To me, their sound seems stuck in the past, with lyrics that would have appealed to me at 14. It’s not my kind of music anymore, but it clearly resonated with some members of the audience, and I think that’s important. Finding an audience that appreciates your work and focusing on them is crucial.

What I liked most about them is that they have a female drummer. A woman who, again, like Rach, can outperform many drummers I’ve seen or know. Valak consists of Dimitrie on guitar/vocals, Cristea on guitar/vocals, Mihai on guitar, Bogdan on bass, and Alexandra on drums. Despite my personal taste, the audience appeared comfortable, with people shouting and enjoying the band.

Then came the “guests of honor” of the evening, if you will, Taking Back August. My story with TBA begins in 2023, when I saw them opening for Coma where they absolutely killed it. I left that show thinking, “I have to see these guys live again.” Then followed the launch at Bandbook agency, where they played. The audience received them very well then and now. I already know the faces I’m going to see at metalcore concerts, ready to mosh, but to my surprise, at the TBA album launch, I saw many new faces, which made me extremely happy.

The boys opened strongly with the song “Another Day to Live,” and if you weren’t ready for a bass that doesn’t stop, you had no business being there at that moment in Expirat. What I like about TBA is how each of them moves and acts on stage. Somehow they seem to be from different movies, each with different musical influences, but somehow they meet halfway. I need an explanation for the ashes on them and what it means, but I think I’ll save that question for their next concert and pry it out of them. Unfortunately, they didn’t have Nicu de la Căzănești at the launch, as they said in the post-show interview at Bandbook launch led by Razvan Patachi, but I was satisfied even without Nicu de la Căzănești maybe next time.

If you remember, at the beginning of the year, I wrote an editorial about bands and people to watch in 2024, and TBA was on the list. They have immense potential, which I hope doesn’t deflate or get lost in the background. What I didn’t like about their concert at Expirat? Their crew’s baiting, I think, who was filming them. At one point, he even climbed on stage and stood with his back to the audience until Alin Halațiu from Expirat told him what he was doing wasn’t okay, and he didn’t go on stage again, but it still seemed invasive, as did a photographer from there who kept getting in the way. You couldn’t enjoy the song because either he was filming you, or he was getting in your way to take pictures, or even more annoying, you wanted to take a picture, and he kept getting in the way, but leaving aside the negativity. The boys continued to play with the same enthusiasm they’re known for. Claudiu does somersaults with the bass; how he manages to do that, I don’t know, and Alex Precup moves as if he hasn’t seen daylight for years. They continued with songs like “Butterfly,” “Is this the End,” and others.

What’s theirs is that they all sounded good and well-worked, even though they had a few sheets with tabs stuck to the stage. Everything went according to plan; they had guests, the audience was with them, but I was elsewhere. I couldn’t help but keep looking at Cătălin Chelemen from Coma, who stood on the left side of the stage, ready to climb on stage himself. As a fun fact about me, I love Coma, and I can’t say I wasn’t surprised at all when TBA released their only song in Romanian with Cătălin called “Anotimp.” The boys did their thing, and Cătălin on the flute made for a sensational moment. Maybe Coma will get inspired and release more hardcore stuff. It seemed very considerate and helpful to see Cătălin involved with TBA. Someone has to support this new generation coming up.

Taking Back August finished their album launch concert for “Chrysalis” in Bucharest after an encore, and they seemed quite satisfied with how it turned out, well, beside being tired. The audience was surely satisfied.

Okay, what should you do now? The guys from TBA are still on their album promotion tour around the country, so go to their concerts and buy their merch.