Ukrainian metal

Ukrainian metal is the metal music scene of Ukraine. The most common Ukrainian metal subgenres are black, pagan, folk and death metal. The most popular and well-known bands are black metal Nokturnal Mortum, Khors, death metal Fleshgore, Firelake, folk metal Tin Sontsia, Veremiy. Among the biggest festivals are Metal Heads Mission (Crimea), Carpathian Alliance (Lviv oblast), Global East (Kyiv), ProRock (Kyiv).

History

1980s

Adem was one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from Kyiv. They were pioneers of the style in Ukraine and former USSR in the middle of 1980's.

Adem was formed in 1985 by founding members Yuriy Fedoretenko (guitar) and Viktor Lukianov (bas guitar), later joined by the drummer Simon Rymar and second guitar Volodymyr Stetsenko. At the end of 1986 the group line-up was changed - Yuriy Fedoretenko and Volodymyr Stetsenko were replaced by Ihor Shilin (guitar, vocals) and Vadym Virvalsky (second guitar).

In late 1980's Adem recorded two studio albums: "Time of Maddness" (1988) and "Golgotha" (1989)

The band was well received on their first tour around Ukraine and Russia in 1987. The next tour to Rock Festival "Drama" in Gdańsk (Poland) took place in 1989.

In 1990 the group's line-up changed again. Ihor Shilin, Simon Rymar and Vadym Virvalsky left the band, and were replaced by Andriy Antonenko (guitars, vocal) and Yarik (drums). The new album "Fight Without Rules" was released in 1996. Adem stopped touring and recording sometime in 1997.

In 2003 ex-drummer Simon Rymar collected and restored previously recorded albums "Times of Maddness" and "Golgotha" at the Backstage studio (United States). The materials were used by Moon Records Studio recording company to release these two albums in the Ukraine in 2004.

New album "The Souls of Agression" was released in 2005. It includes best songs from the previous years.[1]

TOK was formed in 1986 in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR (today Dnipro, Ukraine).

1990s

Nokturnal Mortum at Hell Fast Attack festival, 2015

Nokturnal Mortum started as a death metal band called Suppuration in 1991,[2] then turned to black metal and changed name to Crystaline Darkness but "had to change the name back in 1993/94 to Nocturnal Mortum because there already existed a band with that name in western underground."[3] Then the band "changed the letter so that we wouldn't find a band with the same name again like it was the case with Crystaline Darkness."[3] Nokturnal Mortum gained their first Western recognition with the release of their album Goat Horns, their second full-length album, notable for having two keyboardists play on the album, often on the same song, and for mixing traditional Ukrainian music with black metal.

The band's first albums were released through The End Records and (as licence pressings) through Nuclear Blast,[4] but the label and band separated after releasing the album Nechrist and a re-release of the Lunar Poetry demo due to a disagreement. According to Varggoth, "We had a contract with The End Records but it was broken. We have different points of view. They didn't like our policy, we didn't like the way they do business. They owe us some money. That was enough for a conflict."

Band frontman Knjaz Varggoth is one of the foremost figures in Eastern European National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM) and has played in various NSBM bands, like Aryan Terrorism, Warhead and Temnozor. Nokturnal Mortum's albums "Weltanschauung" and "Live in Katowice" were released by No Colours Records, a German label associated with NSBM. In an interview with Frostkamp, Varggoth said that the album "Weltanschauung" is influenced by Miguel Serrano, a former Chilean diplomat, holocaust denier and major figure in Esoteric Hitlerism.[5]

Soulrest appeared in 1996 in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.

In the beginning, the band consisted of Doni (drums), Lemi (guitar, vocals) and Yasya (guitar). They prepared their first Demo, which contained compositions written mainly by Lemi. But after some discords Lemi left the band. In the end of 1996 Dyma (keyboards) and Carcass (vocals) joined the band. In November 1996, this new staff recorded three compositions: "Pathological Processes", "This is my life", and "Perpetual decay".

In the beginning of 1997 Ihor, the second guitarist, enters the band, and 5 new songs were recorded with him in April, 1997. At the end spring, 1997, Soulrest released the Demo "Pathological Processes", consisting of 8 compositions (40 min). Releasing the Demo, Soulrest taken part in many concerts and becomes the leading band in Transcarpathia. At the end of 1997, Carcass leaves the band, and Kasym becomes a new vocalist. With this staff, Soulrest had a concert in Slovakia on the Open Air festival. After a number concerts in Transcarpathia Kasym left the band and Soulrest continued to play without vocalist. In 1999 Doni left the band and the new members of Soulrest became Laci (bass) and Tibi (drums). The second album, "Sentenced To Suicide" was released in December 2001 with their participation.[6]

Firelake was formed in 1997 by Oleh Yavorskyi (guitar), Oleksiy Akulshyn (guitar) and Andriy Salnikov (drums). Under the influence of extremely popular at the time "Swedish wave" (bands like At the Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity), the first musical compositions of Firelake were created with a slant to classic melodic death metal.[7] After internal arguing, and difficulties to be produced, the band finally managed to find its own style, as melodic death metal.

2000s

Fleshgore is a death metal band formed from Kyiv. It was formed in late 2000 and has gone through a number of line-up changes. Guitarist Ihor Lystopad is the only original member. In their touring history, they have played 19 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden and Germany, where they played Wacken Open Air in 2006.

Tin Sontsia at Basovišča festival, 2007

Tin Sontsia is a Ukrainian folk metal band from Kyiv. Primarily the band's style was close to alternative rock, but in 2003 they have come to so called Cossack rock. Almost all of the lyrics are in Ukrainian except couple of Belarusian songs.

Kroda is a pagan/black metal band formed in 2003 in Dnipropetrovsk. The band’s primary lyrical themes are paganism, nature and history.[8] Their sixth full-length album was released on May 1, 2015.[9][10][11]

The band was formed by two musicians, Eisenslav and Viterzgir, in March 2003. The name of the band was taken from the Old East Slavic language and means "The fire of burial bonfire". According to legend, when the bodies of the warriors burned, their souls were carried away with the smoke to the Heavenly Palaces of the Gods. The smoke was a kind of a guide to the Rod. In Sanskrit, the word kroda means anger, rage. Thus, the meaning of the name reveals the concept of the band.[12]

In May 2004, Kroda released their debut full-length album Поплач мені, річко... (Cry To Me, River...) on Stellar Winter Records.[13]

Their second album До небокраю життя... (Towards The Firmaments Verge Of Life...) was recorded from January to April 2005, and was released on 20 July the same year.[14] In 2012 it was remastered and reissued on Purity Through Fire Records in Germany.[15]

In August 2007, Kroda made their first live performance at the Ukrainian metal music festival "Svarohovo Kolo II", which was held in Sevastopol.[16] On December 22, the band participates in the "Kolovorot Fest" in Kharkiv.[17]

Polynove Pole

Polynove Pole (Ukrainian: Полинове Поле, "The Wormwood Field") was a gothic metal band from Ukraine. It was formed in 2004 in Lviv, Ukraine. The music style of the band can be described as melodic gothic metal, with several songs referring to symphonic metal and doom metal.

Having created their first material, in the early 2005 the musicians recorded a demo, which included four songs. In a couple of months "Polynove Pole" already started to participate in concerts and rock festivals in Lviv and other cities. After the considerable changes in the cast at the beginning of 2007 their music changed in a way. It has become tangibly heavier, more melodic and closer to the formerly chosen gothic metal style. New members joined the band (amond them – the soloist of Lviv Philharmonic Marianna Laba). That enabled he band to develop a new quality of composing music and onstage performance.

Since autumn of 2008 the musicians have got down to work on studio records, where they create their first official release – a short-lasting album "Pure souls". The second official release, a complete album On Seven Winds was brought out in spring 2009, combining the best of the band from all the previous years. Throughout the year 2009 they carry on with concerts and a new musical material. In September, 2009 Polynove Pole performed on the biggest in Eastern Europe gothic festival "Children Of The Night: The Black Council". In October they started working on the third short-lasting album, Under The Cold Stone, released in December 2009. During their stage activity, the band has plated on the same stage with such famous Ukrainian and European bands as Komu Vnyz (Ukraine), Lake of Tears (Sweden), Torhaus, Cemetery of Scream (Poland).

Beginning from 2010 the band stopped their activity due to members discordance about creative approaches.

On July 3, 2012 the demise of the band was officially declared.[18]

2010s

Make Me Famous performing live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. in August 2012

Make Me Famous were a Ukrainian metalcore band. They were founded in 2010 by rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist Denis Shaforostov, who gained popularity through his YouTube channel "above92".[19] They have released one studio album, titled It's Now or Never.

Notable Ukrainian metal bands

Sunrise performing live in Kyiv, 2016

Black metal:

Deathcore:

Death metal:

Death-doom metal:

  • Apostate (Lviv, 1993-2001, 2009–present)
  • Crimson Sky (Rivne, 1998–present)
  • Tyranny (Berezne, 1998–present)
  • Mournful Gust (Kryvyi Rih, 1999–present)

Folk metal:

Gothic metal:

Groove metal:

  • Contrabanda (Lviv, 1995–present)
  • Temptation (Rivne, 1993-2000)

Hardcore:

Metalcore:

Power metal:

  • Conquest (Kharkiv/Kyiv, 1996–present)
  • Majesty of Revival (Uzhhorod, 2009–present)
  • Sunrise (Kyiv, 2003–present)
  • Witch Hunter (Kyiv, 2001–present)

Thrash metal:

  • Adem (Kyiv, 1985–present)
  • Disarm (Lviv, 1995-2000, 2003–present)
  • Chromondead (Dnipro, 1993–present)
  • Exact Division (Kyiv, 1992–present)
  • Metalforce (Dnipro, 1993–present)
  • Reactor (Vinnytsia, 1988–present)
  • Trashmachine (Odesa, 1987-?)

Traditional heavy metal:

  • Bila Vezha (Kyiv, 2002–present)
  • SAD (Dnipro, 1982–present)
  • TOK (Dnipro, 1986–present)
  • W.H.I.T.E. (Kyiv, 2005–present)

See also

References

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