| Verka | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Delčevo, Macedonia |
| Genre: | Macedonian metal |
| Years Active: | 1999 - present |
| Current Members: | Vlatko Nushev – Dalton Mars Marsovski Mazdrak Hristijan Nikolovski - Hiko |
| Past Members: | Brane Antovski – Blackie |
Verka (Macedonian: Верка) is a music group from Delčevo, Republic of Macedonia. They play metal combined with elements of traditional Macedonian music,[1] including folk instruments such as folk drum, kettle drum, bagpipes, clarinet and bendir. The members of the band are Vlatko Nushev (Dalton) on drums, Mars Marsovski on guitar, Mazdrak on bass guitar and vocals, and Hiko on folk and kettle drums.
Verka was formed in 1999 by Mazdrak (synthesizer, vocals), Mars Marsovski (bass guitar) and Vlatko Nushev, also known as Dalton (drums), and they began playing gigs throughout Macedonia. When Mazdrak's synthesizer was stolen after a show together with its entire programming, he started playing the bass guitar. Mars moved to playing the guitar, and a new member, Brane "Blackie" Antovski, joined them and started playing folk instruments (folk drum, kettle drum, bagpipes, clarinet, bendir).
In 2001, Verka won the first prize from both the jury and the audience at Rock Fest music festival in Skopje. As winners, they recorded several tracks at the M2 Studio of Macedonian Radio Television, which were later released as their demo EP. That same year, as winners of the Demo Taksirat Festival, they were invited to play at the Taksirat 1+2 festival in Skopje.
In 2002, the band released their first album, Dzaga (Macedonian: Џага) through Lithium Records of Skopje, and it became one of the best-selling albums of the year.[2] After the release of Dzaga, they performed frequently at clubs and festivals, including one show as a support band for Soulfly in Skopje.
Following a dispute with their Lithium Records, in 2003 the band took an unintended break that was used to write new music.
In 2009, Verka returned with a video for their new song, "Ogin". In December 2010, the band self-released their second album, entitled Motorni Pesni (Macedonian: Моторни песни) after a poetry book by the Macedonian poet Nikola Vaptsarov.
During 2011, the band promoted the new album with several concerts around the country. In June 2012, Verka went on a Balkan tour to promote its latest material, performing in Subotica, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Kranj, Beltinci, Sarajevo and Podgorica.
In August 2012, Brane Antovski left the band, and was replaced by Hristijan Nikolovski (Hiko). In 2013–2014 the band went through some further lineup changes, with Mazdrak replaced as vocalist by Sime Zlatkov and as bassist by Zlatko Andonovski. The new lineup released another album in 2015 entitled Werk.A, via Miner Recordings.
Demo is an EP that consists of 5 tracks recorded at M2 Studio of the Macedonian Radio Television. The tracks were released in collaboration with the record company Lithium Records and handed out for free. Shortly after, the EP was reissued by the fanzine Cor, Cordis and distributed together with the magazine.
Track listing:
Dzaga was the debut album by Verka released in September 2002 through Lithium Records. That year, the album became one of the best-selling albums in Macedonia. The album consists of 10 tracks which are written in Macedonian and English.
Track listing:
Motorni Pesni was Verka's second album, self-released in 2010. The title of the album as well as its cover are taken from the poetry book by the Macedonian poet Nikola Vapcarov. Two tracks titled Pesni and Gjerdanot contain verses from Vapcarov's poems A Farewell and The Very Last, respectively. The album consists of eight tracks and all of them are written in Macedonian.
Track listing:
The third album from the band, recorded and produced by Vlatko Nushev, later reissued by Miner Recordings in May 2015, contains nine songs, some in English some in Macedonian. This was the first album following several line-up changes. Dame Zlatkov, older brother of current vocalist Sime Zlatkov, is a guest vocalist on "Ortoma".
Track listing: