Coma (Romanian band)

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Coma is a well known Romanian nu-metal band. The band formed around 1999, and so far they have released two albums “Somn” (2001) and “Nerostitele” (2006).

Marching from the very beginning on the idea of DIY the band never expected any help from “outside”.

In search of a record deal, Coma faced the problem of being a little hard for Romania in a time when easy dance summer hits were at the top of all charts. They were the first band in the Romanian rock landscape which alternated heavy riffs, profound lyrics and screamed and warm vocals. They were the first band to abandon the way old school rockers used to dress and gave Romania a glimpse of what was happening across its borders.

Finally a record deal landed from A&A Records a Warner Music licensee. While the record deal didn’t do anything for them, the guys worked hard at promoting their music in the old-fashioned way – as many concert appearances as possible. And the word spread quickly!

Their first video “Nu vreau fetito casa”, which appeared in March 2000, was a parody of the Romanian music scene back then. This video did its job very well and attracted a great deal of attention towards the band. In the meantime the band was working their album. When it came to recording new videos Coma turned to Marian Crisan (at that time also a beginner in the directing business) and they did a very good job. Their first album has 3 more videos: Bruzli vs. Vandam (November – December 2000), Stai (October 2001) and In mine in soapta (February – august 2002).

After the record label sold out all the albums, the band faced the refusal of getting out even more copies. Nobody wanted to take a chance in Romania with rock bands although they proved that they can sell. They didn’t sell much in comparison with foreign bands (4000 copies) but due to the lack of interest from the record label it’s a miracle they sold even this much.

Both the country’s economic factors and the age of the members determined them to take a break and search for other ways to develop a good and stable base for their lives. Although they were in a break the public didn’t forget them and they appeared as opening acts for Sepultura, Soulfly, Deftones and Born from Pain. Also in this time they had some club gigs. In all this time their public supported them and gave them a reason to continue what they started. Finally they re-started working on their second album.

The second studio album, "Nerostitele", has been released on November 30th 2006, with a special concert held in Bucharest's Fire Club. The album’s first video is for the song "Coboara-ma-n Rai", and has been made available at different websites, including YouTube and on www.myspace.com/nerostitele. This video is filmed entirely in infrared and it is also directed by their long time director friend Marian Crisan. They also have filmed videos for two more songs from this second album.

Due to the fact that the situation with the record labels didn’t improve Coma’s second album is a 100% independent product. Although independent the album has lots to offer, appearances from Faith No More bassist Bill Gould, and Adrian Despot - lead singer of Romanian alternative rock band Vita de Vie and also a collaboration with a Romanian hip hop artist – Brugner (BRG). The album contains 14 songs and has an approximate length of 60 minutes.

Band members

Cătălin Chelemen (vocals), Dan Costea (vocals), Calin Marcu (guitar), Sorin Petrescu (Bass), Razvan Albu (drums), Razvan Rădulescu a.k.a Dj. Hefe (turntable).