Contenders of the Young Artist Contest -

Antebellum este o trupa de rock alternativ din Bucuresti. Formata in iarna anului 2019 de solistul si liderul trupei, Teodor Voican. Trupa a participat la numeroase festivaluri cum ar fi: WishFest, PumpkinFest, Paragon Music Festival, Rise Up, Power Metal Day. In acelasi timp a castigat premii la concursuri de trupe precum CrossRoads, LaRock Avangarde. Antebellum aspiră să contribuie la o recalibrare estetică a industriei, printr-o angajare autentică față de inovația muzicală și prin cultivarea unui standard de excelență artistică ce își propune să inspire și să redefinească valorile predominante. “Cu totii ii recunoastem dupa sunetul aparte si creativitatea cu care canta rock!”

Brainwasher is a dance-punk/ post-hardcore/ “not real punk” band formed in Bucharest in 2024. Their style merges Death From Above-esque bass lines with noise driven guitars and beats that remind as much of bands like Gang of Four as they do of Snooper. With a sound that’s equally suited for moshing and dancing, the band promise a short n sweet, pedal to the metal, high octane show.

Cåtun is a hard rock band from Iasi, founded in 2024, that brings pure energy, powerful riffs and a genuine connection with the audience to the stage. We are more than just a band – we are a family that delivers memorable live experiences, always leaving fans with unforgettable memories. We have had the opportunity to electrify local scenes, including Rock’N’Iași, and have taken our music to cities such as Iași, Suceava, Roman, Piatra Neamț and Botoșani. With a 100% original repertoire, we guarantee a show of about an hour, where every song tells a story and every riff lifts the audience to a new level of energy. We take inspiration from Romanian bands such as Luna Amara, Coma and Alternosfera, but we add our own style, which defines and differentiates us from the others.

We’re Cayendo, a five-piece indie rock band blending raw emotion with genre-bending sounds, ranging from indie and blues to subtle touches of electronica. We originally formed in 2017 under the name The 17 (The Seventeens), but took a long break during the pandemic. In 2024, we came back with a new name, Cayendo, and fresh creative energy, playing nine shows in Moldova, including three festival appearances. This year, we’ve already played in Iași, with three more shows lined up in Bucharest, Timișoara and Cluj. Our debut album, Instant Relief, is coming out soon, something we’ve poured our hearts into and can’t wait to share. Our music is mainly built around reflecting on and making sense of human emotions and the human experience, beyond nationality, gender, or language. To us, culture is universal and accessible to everyone, just like music.

Cerebral Attack is Chișinău’s soul band. At our concerts, you feel however you want to feel. Cerebral Attack blends the raw energy of punk and hardcore with influences from Eastern European folklore and ritualistic rhythms. We’re a band driven by intensity, improvisation, controlled anarchy, and a deep connection with the audience. Our messages explore social, spiritual, and cultural themes, and our live shows are a mix of rebellion, horă (traditional circle dance), trance, and community.

Contratimp is a Romanian band formed in November 2021. Our sound blends influences from grunge, indie, and other alternative genres, creating a unique and emotionally charged musical identity. Since our formation, we’ve performed in various cities across Romania, building a strong connection with our audience through raw energy and honest lyrics. We’re currently working on our debut album, which we’re excited to share soon — it captures both the spirit of our live performances and the evolution of our sound.

DARK STRUCTURE is a deathcore band from Moldova, Chișinău, known for their raw, intense sound and a bold, defiant approach to music. Formed in 2023, the band channels frustration, disillusionment, and personal struggles into a brutal sonic experience that challenges societal norms and embraces the darker sides of the human condition. Their debut EP and the music video for the title track “Revenant” quickly captured the attention of deathcore fans with their unique blend of power, aggression, and emotional depth. As of 2025, DARK STRUCTURE is finishing new material set to push the boundaries of the genre even further. These new tracks will be revealed at their next shows, where they promise to deliver an intense and unforgettable performance.

Diluvian Collapse is a deathcore band with progressive and slam elements, formed in 2018 and based in Timișoara, Romania. The band’s name and thematic foundation draw heavily from Sumerian and biblical deluge mythologies, symbolizing divine wrath against humanity’s transgressions and the subsequent cleansing of creation. This conceptual framework is reflected in their music, which explores themes such as human nature, the destructive impact of mankind, and the repercussions of its actions. Since their inception, the band has become a prominent presence on the local metal scene, performing at numerous venues and festivals, including Rock la Mureș, Gugulan Rock, and Rockfort. They have also shared the stage with renowned acts such as Jinjer and Skinned. In 2020, Diluvian Collapse released their debut album, “Divine Punishment”, a record that encapsulates their intense sound and thematic vision. In 2023, the band achieved a major milestone by winning the prestigious Posada Rock Contest.

Hello, We are Electric Humidity, a Hard Rock band from Bucharest. We formed in 2022, at the beginning of March, and since then we have set out to create a sound never heard before in Romania and to put on an incendiary show to offer the audience an unforgettable moment. We have played at numerous events so far, including the “The Freedom Bell” festival (I and II editions) in the Fabrica club organized for charitable purposes for Ukrainian refugees, the Iubim2Roti festival VIII edition taking place on Fundeni Island, KEMPES, in the Quantic club, Bikers for Humanity Rock Fest, album release concert in Quantic alongside White Mahala, RebelX Festival, Slowride Transalpina Fest, LaRock Festival

Hailing from Transylvania, FITTONIA brings a sound that weaves between fragility and destruction while dancing around the contemporary status quo with echoes from genres such as alternative, grunge and pop. Anchored in the theme of self reflection, the lyrical content explores personal trauma, addiction and burnout, issues that seem endemic in modern society, yet they do it in a detached, almost “padded walls room-way” with big 80s inspired choruses and bubbly verses.

Formed in 2015 in Iași, Romania, HIRAETH is a band which explores raw emotion and personal turmoil. The name itself evokes a deep, melancholic longing — an untranslatable word from Welsh that speaks to a profound, homesick yearning for something lost. At the heart of Hiraeth’s sound is an unrelenting exploration of inner struggle. The music serves as an outlet for intense feelings, which are given form through heavy-hitting breakdowns. With years of live shows and an ever-growing fan base, Hiraeth has become more than just a band — they are a relentless force that is driven by self-expression of emotions that are difficult to put into words – so they are put into music instead. For fans of emotionally charged, heavy music that explores the complexities of the soul, Hiraeth is a band that offers both a mirror and a sanctuary. The battle within is not just theirs; it’s everyone’s.

A five-piece modern metal/hardcore band from Brasov formed in 2023, HOSTVGE set out to deliver an adrenaline rush infused with dark electronic elements and unfiltered aggression. We released our debut single, “Prison Of My Mind” in January 2024, followed by “WNDD” in April 2024. More tracks in the oven for this remaining year and early 2025. We draw our inspirations from bands like Thrown, Knocked Loose and Darko US, as we aim to deploy our unique blend of energy to the scene.

We are a pop-punk band from Sibiu, Romania. We have 2 songs released with another one on the way. We debuted by organising a local event, “Punk’s not dead” in Sibiu last year in collaboration with 2 other local punk bands and we got a full house. We also played at two other local festivals, Sounds Festival and Viking Vibes. In december 2024 we participated in Radio Guerrilla’s “Nesemnatii” contest and won the 3rd place. We have 5 members: 2 guitars(Dio and Plesa), bass guitar(Cristina), vocalist (Ame) and drums (Paul). We would be very excited to be part of this contest as we are eager to be making connections with other young bands for future collaboratios and also because we really struggle financially and gear would really help us. Here is a link to our youtube channel:https://youtube.com/@hypnoceperco?si=wmCR8NXnkH75FNM1

Hypnotical is a project started in Chisinau, for 3 years we have been bringing to the Basarabian scene (and not only), a wave of “Hypnotizing” music. We like to combine the weight of Grunge music with the melody and emotion of Alternative music, our style being one that catches you like in a wave of emotions that you couldn’t feel anywhere else!

We are IMPRUDENT, a Metalcore band from Iasi founded in 2020. We have released 3 albums, (“Alt Om”, “Critik Crisis” and “ReBorn”), albums with which we have impressed many people, even if some were not fans of the genre. We draw a lot of inspiration from bands from the west of the country, such as As I Lay Dying, Architects, Spiritbox, Polaris or While She Sleeps. We want to bring a genre of music that is missing to Romania, to show that more than Folk or Alternative is possible. Our goal is to make ourselves heard in as many areas of the country as possible, as well as abroad. Through our message, we want to inspire people to believe in themselves, not to let problems, hate, depression, etc. bring them down and to believe that there is someone who can always help them.

IN//DERIVA is a modern metal band from Bucharest that blends heavy, old-school metal-inspired riffs with progressive-style polyrhythms and vocals that shift between melodic passages and hardcore-influenced screams. Originally formed under the name Eternal Strike, the band released an album in 2022 titled “Chains of Society”, heavily influenced by thrash and death metal. Over time, driven by a shift in musical direction and a desire to write lyrics in Romanian, the band began transitioning toward a new sound. This transformation will culminate with the release of their upcoming album. Adopting the name IN//DERIVA felt like a natural evolution. Our new songs feature Romanian lyrics and a style that departs from what we’d recorded under the old name, so updating our identity became essential—while preserving the same creative core: the four of us. This transition will be fully realized with the release of our next album, which will capture the energy that IN//DERIVA represents.

Jaxcore is a Hard Rock/Heavy Blues band founded in 2022 at the mythical point CSS in Chişinău, Moldova. We try our best to bring back the rock music, being inspired by bands such as: Timpuri Noi, Guns N’Roses, Rage Against The Machine and Judas Priest. Up to this point we managed to play at festivals like: Dacii Liberi Moto Fest and Rock N’Haret. We are also proud to say that we played at the legendary Moldovan venue Pro Sănătate Bar & Grill multiple times.

Hard rock/alternative band formed in 2022 by guitarist Alex G Shaman. After many line up changes, the band has achieved a cult following in Bucharest in 2024. They released 9 singles so far and are currently writing music for their first album.

MXM is an alternative rock band from Bucharest, composed of young and enthusiastic musicians, known for their energetic live performances. After experimenting various covers, the band released seven original songs and continues to compose. They are currently working on the completion of their first album. Over time, MXM has evolved at corporate events, festivals and competitions, among which: Angel Voice Festival – Belgrade, where they won the Grand Prix at the band section; qualification for WCOPA USA 2020; Crossroads Battle of the Bands 2022 and 2023 (1st prize and trophy); Saving Rage (1st prize); At the Rock Festival (1st prize); Analogue Festival; SINGFEST. They were opening act for Antract, Scarlet Aura, Taylor, Anton and Dirty Shirt. They also sang alongside established names of Romanian rock in the Power Metal Day festival, where the headliner was the German band Dark Sky MXM has performed live concerts at venues such as The University Pub, Fabrica, Old Mike, B52, Quantic, et

NOMOREMORSE is a new metalcore band pushing the boundaries of heavy music. The band fuses elements from nu metal to deathcore, delivering intense vocals, powerful lyrics, and dynamic melodies. In November 2024, NOMOREMORSE released their debut album Price of Eternity, a project crafted over two years featuring 11 tracks and several music videos. Currently, the band is working on new material, aiming to evolve their style even further and offer listeners a truly immersive sonic experience.

OverBurn is a metalcore/hardcore band that brings a fresh sound to the Romanian metal scene with complex and catchy compositions brought together by a mix of clean vocals and growls in insane, energy-filled live shows. They started out as a thrash/groove metal band in 2021, with four singles that would later become the EP “Night of Horror”. As the members’ music tastes grew and expanded, so did their music. Since the beginning of the year, OverBurn released the first three singles from their upcoming album “Taste of Reality”, completely switching up their music genre and going metalcore/hardcore with progressive metal influences. OverBurn has played individually organized shows alongside other underground bands, a few Romanian festivals(RebelX, Posada Rock Festival Contest, biker festivals) local charity fundraisers, as well as opening slots for Gothic(RO), Nest of Plagues(HU) and Among Ruins(GR).

Re-education is a rock band from Moldova, formed in 2021. The band plays energetic, guitar-driven music rooted in punk rock, with elements of pop-punk and raw alternative sound. Re-education has released one studio album and an EP, and has recently completed their second full-length album, currently pending release. The lineup has changed twice over the years, specifically in the guitar position, but the band has remained consistent in its creative direction and live presence. Known for their active involvement in the local scene, Re-education has performed at numerous concerts and festivals across Moldova, including Festivalul Lupilor, IarnaRock, and others. Current lineup: Maxim – vocals, guitar Denis – guitar Andrei – bass, backing vocals Denis – drums

A four-piece modern rock band from Iași, formed in 2018, The Voodoo Child blends hard rock, metal, and blues influences into a raw, genre-crossing sound. With high energy, emotional depth, and a style rooted in classic rock but driven by a fresh, youthful edge, they bring intensity and authenticity to every stage. They started at Brezoi Open Air Blues Festival and grew with national tours and festivals. Won Muza Awards (2019, 2020) and 2nd place at 2023 Constelații Rock, with Romina & Teodor winning best vocal and drummer. They’ve released two albums so far: the debut laid the foundation, but From The Dark (2023) took things to another level – a concept album about a love story spiraling into chaos. In 2024, they took a new step with their first songs in romanian, Vin and Plec, two sides of the same story: one about longing and love, the other about letting go. With a growing fanbase at home and abroad, The Voodoo Child continues to evolve loud, honest, and impossible to ignore.

Ultimul Etaj is a band from Brașov that has captured the attention of the underground music scene with our unique style and the vibrant energy they bring to every gig. Approaching a combination of hard rock, metal and punk, our music is characterised by memorable guitar riffs, melodic bass lines and lyrics that reflect personal and challenging themes. The band was founded by the guitarist in 2019, and in 2024 we have released our first EP. Ultimul Etaj has distinguished themselves with memorable performances at prestigious events such as Brașov Jazz&Blues Festival, INKFEST, and themed parties at Aftăr Hours Pub, such as „Halloween Party” and „Party like the old times”. Each gig was an opportunity to attract and impress a diverse audience, thus cementing our reputation in the underground music scene.

Vandaal was formed in 2022, based on the strong chemistry between the three musicians, who had previously collaborated on another project, and the raspy energy of the band’s new vocalist. We experimented with psychedelic and stoner influences in our first songs, and now we are excited to join the heavier side. Our lyrics are equivalent to a walk through the museum of problems we face daily, from addictions to anxieties and much more. We express in a raw manner, there s something inside of us that screams every time we make music. “We like our sound to be analog all along.

Walking to the Moon is an indie-rock band from Romania, formed by young members, passionate about bringing a new sound to the music scene. Our music, self-titled Dracula-Funk, is a combination of alternative rock, funk, jazz and electronic, inspired by the cultural heritage and atmosphere of the legendary Dracula. Our aim is to explore our cultural roots in a modern way, constantly asking ourselves “What would Dracula listen to today? Each song is an invitation to introspection and exploration, inspired by the experiences and challenges of young people in modern society. Our fans find in Walking to the Moon a band that harmoniously blends diverse styles and creates a captivating atmosphere in which they can find genuine emotions. The band members bring a unique blend of experience and musical influences that define our Dracula-Funk style.