Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Metal Metal Land: Siberian Winter: A Look at the Russian Metal Scene


Hey folks! Glad to be back! Sorry I haven't been cranking out stuff in a while. It's been hectic since I've arrived at my new home in Southern California. The past few weeks have mostly been me applying for jobs and stuttering my way through interviews, but it's paid off since I'll be starting up my summer job at the end of the month. With that in mind, I might not be able to put up as much stuff up here during this summer, but I'll try my best!

Couple months ago, I got a message from a band to check out their music. The band was Tacit Fury from Moscow, Russia and my interest was piqued. I liked what I was hearing. I was happy to know people on the other side of the globe were giving my humble blog a their attention, so I figured I'd return the favor and shed some light on some epic metal over there.

I had no idea Russia even had a real metal scene. My experience with it was limited to Pseudogod and Tvangeste, and I thought the latter was Swedish when I first heard them. I asked the front man from Tacit Fury, Enoth, about the scene. Most bands comes out of the cities in the western quadrant of the country, particularly Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Not many bands have broken out of the local scene, but a few exceptions are the folk metal band Arkona and the heavy metal bands Aria, Catharsis, and Epidemia. I attempted to get in contact with these groups for questions, but, alas, I couldn't reach them.


When it comes to music, there are two things that immediately come to mind when it comes to Russia: folk and protest. Arkona, and many other bands on this list, integrate the rich history and culture of the Slavs into their art. There's plenty of similarities with the Nordic culture that has nearly become synonymous with metal-- thanks to some crossover from the Varangians: warrior storm gods, great heros, and the ever-constant struggle between paganism and Christianity.

As for  protest, Russia's government and its people have had a complicated relationship. One need only look at the punk rock collective Pussy Riot. The band has fought for years for women's rights and against a regime they deem tyrannical. Their arrest on account of "hooliganism" and the coverage failed to extinguish them-- it only fueled the fire more. Now I don't know if any of the bands I'm about to talk about have a political slant to their lyricism, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone was saying something important. That's my take on it, at least.

But enough of my attempts to analyze. I'll have to have a chat with people and maybe visit the scene sometime before I can really dig deep. Now, let's take a look at some of these badass bands! I've decided to add the specific sub-genre in as well. Figure this'll be a favor who like or dislike particular styles. My old way was more of a gamble. I like to live dangerously.

Moscow
Death Metal
Ryazan
Black Metal
Bryansk
Funeral Doom 
 
Woodscream
Saint Petersburg
Folk Metal
Surgut
Death Metal
Lyubertsy
Crust Punk
Novosibirsk
Post-Black Metal
Moscow
Proggy Thrash Metal
Antimelodix
Petrozavodsk
Black Metal/Crust Punk
Vladivostok
Black Metal
Moscow
Melodeath
Anapa
Melodeath
Voronezh
Black metal
Krasnoyarsk
Proggy Doom Metal
Ryazan
Black Metal/Crust Punk
Podolsk
Death Doom
Voronezh
Melodeath
Kostroma
Melodeath
Saint Petersburg
Grindcore
Moscow
Gothic Metal
Kursk
Black Doom
Tver
Funeral Doom Metal
Samara
Death Doom
Krasnoyarsk
Progressive Metal

So that's that! What do you guys think? Ready to make a trip to Moscow, or do you hope a glacier comes along and decimates the world's biggest country? Know any bands over there I should look into? Now that'd be brutal in a horrifying way... I gotta say I'm loving what our Slavic brothers and sisters are making out there. Shame our attention is so focused on places like America, the UK, and Sweden. We're missing out.

Stay heavy, my friends.

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