ZARATUSTRA is a melodic black metal band from Varna, created in the mid-90s of the last century by Kiril Bakardzhiev and Rosen Grudev. The name of the group is taken from the work of Friedrich Nietzsche "Thus Said Zarathustra". In just one week, the two created five songs and were soon joined by Nina Petrova and Mihail Parushev. The demo "? In Bleakness" was released in 1996 and attracted the attention of the underground. The texts are by Kiril Bakardzhiev and are influenced by the above-mentioned philosopher. In 1998, the Czech label View Beyond Records reissued the 100-CD demo of the CD-R (with a different tracklist from the original). The band signed a contract with Counter Attack Records, who also reissued the cassette demo. All three options have different artwork. In the fall of 1998, they recorded their first album, It Was A Night. which comes out in the spring of next year via Counter Attack. Three of the texts are entirely based on "Thus Said Zarathustra." Soon after its release, ZARATUSTRA began work on material for a second album. The working title is "Idols and Fools", but soon after the band disbanded.