My history is my religion.

FCG was born on the 5th and describes himself as having been “prepared for facing the humanity in a small village in Bukovina – a German colony.” He is currently based in Constanţa, near the Black Sea, where he performs as vocalist and lyricist for the German–Romanian extreme metal duo The Wake. The project made its full-length debut with “Earth’s Necropolis” in 2017, following an earlier appearance on a 2015 compilation issued by Legacy magazine.

Earlier in his career, FCG was a key member of the Romanian extreme metal band Protest Urban, releasing two acclaimed albums in 2005 and 2006, as well as the EP “Don’t Disturb Me When I Need You”, co-written with Romanian guitarist and visual artist Costin Chioreanu. His past collaborations also include The Flood Speaks, Semiosis, Kendo and Deviant, and more recently a guest contribution to Night In Gales on their album “The Last Sunsets”.

Between 2005 and 2012 he collaborated with Bastardized Recordings, handling promotional campaigns for several international metal acts (Japanische Kampfhörspiele, Glass Casket, Since The Day and Six Reasons To Kill). Since 2002, he has also managed Blood & Fire Productions, a distribution company and occasional label dedicated to metal, progressive and experimental music.

www.bloodandfire.ro

Discography

  1. FCG – BLE (2027)
  2. The Wake – Apostle Of The Wolves (2027)
  3. Protest Urban – aLIVE On The 5th (2027)
  4. FCG – RA (2026)
  5. FCG – Walpurgisnacht (2026) Legacy #162
  6. FCG – Reinterpretations (2025)
  7. FCG – Reinterpretations: Cluster II (2024)
  8. FCG – Reinterpretations: Cluster I (2020)
  9. The Wake – Born In 84, Died In The 84th Year (2020)
  10. The Wake – Pillars Of Serpents (2020)
  11. The Wake – Earth’s Necropolis (2017)
  12. The Wake – The Wake (2015)
  13. The Wake – Earth’s Necropolis (2015) Legacy #99
  14. Semiosis – P​.​F​.​D. (2011)
  15. Protest Urban – Don’t Disturb Me When I Need You (2008)
  16. Protest Urban – January 25th, 2007 (2007)
  17. Protest Urban – I Can’t Find A Question To Survive The Answer (2006)
  18. The Flood Speaks – The Flood Speaks (2006)
  19. Kendo – Kendo (2006)
  20. Protest Urban – The Only Problem In This Case Is The Solution (2005)
  21. Protest Urban – Mine & Me (2004)
  22. Protest Urban – Schimbare (2004)
  23. Machine Gun Kelly – Live (2002)
  24. Downfall – Downfall (2002)

Guest appearances

  1. Night In Gales – “In Pain, In Silence” (2018)
  2. Mihnea – “Simptome Naţionale” (2013)
  3. Breathelast – “Weapons” (2011)

“What do Romanian metal bands have in common? This could be the start of a joke from the series of those about musicians, for musicians. Unfortunately, many have in common the lack of a way to stay in the spotlight and keep the shop open. Nevertheless, there are a few names that managed to record at their peak of motivation, and they did well, because that way we can document a movement with a few remarkable productions. I am referring here to Protest Urban, who, if you listen to their album “I Can’t Find A Question To Survive The Answer,” make you wish you had the opportunity to see them in concert several times a year, somewhere near the top of the extreme metal festival lineup, so you could say, “Hey, look, it’s my guys.” I enjoyed listening to it from start to finish, it has everything it needs. Multicolored growls, blast beats, healthy riffs that stand out from the generic, and a production that brings everything into clear detail, helping the playing and giving it pressure. Florian Cotan–Grigorean‘s mark is clear, as in all his projects. I’m just thinking about FCG, where we can hear, among other things, the most unexpected cover of “Ani de liceu” (“Lyceum Years“), in a much more realistic light, closer to what I experienced before ’89. Once again, well produced, amazingly creative, and entertaining on top of that. Florian has a studio, a record label, I don’t know why he doesn’t go on tour with the band, to blow us away on stages that deserve him. Protest Urban continued with “Don‘t Disturb Me When I Need You,” an album released in 2008, and then there isn’t much else to document, so we are left with the pleasure of listening to it again. Luckily for the three good productions, otherwise they would have disappeared like hundreds of other bands that rehearse more than they play. Talent needs tension, the right moment to complete an artistic achievement. Who knows, maybe Florian will get another impulse and surprise us. It would be a shame if he didn’t…”

Berti Barbera
Bucharest, 2025