Group "Aria": discography, photos, albums

By the mid-80s in the USSR, the state organizedly fought with manifestations of youth fashion in Western culture. It dealt with rock music, as well as heavy metal, which at that time experienced a flourishing in Europe.

However, the time of the artistic councils and censorship inexorably passed into the past. February 5, 1986 in the House of Culture of the Moscow Aviation Institute was an amazing concert. The musicians, who called their collective "Aria", played a new, radically different from the usual motifs of the song. It was the first heavy metal that a Soviet listener could hear in his homeland. However, before this landmark event occurred, the young "Aryans" had to go through a thorny path.

Origins

The prerequisites of "Aria" can be found back in 1982, when Vladimir Holstinin and Vitaliy Dubinin met - today it is the composer's and leader's core of the collective. Students of the Moscow Power Institute, united by a love of rock music, played together in the amateur group "Magic twilight". Dubinin was a bass player, and Holstinin was a guitarist. On the role of the vocalist was invited Arthur Berkut, who however soon left the band in order to sing in the "Autograph".

"Magic twilight" broke up, so Vladimir Holstinin joined Sergei Sarychev and Alik Granovsky in the group "Alpha". However, this composition did not last long, disintegrating in 1984. The musicians played hard rock, but even then Granovsky and Holstinin realized that they wanted to perform heavier music.

Then they were lucky enough to get acquainted with Viktor Vekshtein - the head of the vocal-instrumental ensemble "Singing Hearts". The team was created back in 1971, and through him passed a lot of musicians, for example Nikolai Rastorguev from Lube.

However, by the mid-80s, Vekshtein was looking for a new format, so the new young musicians under his leadership received creative freedom, which was not yet in the Union. Granovsky and Holstinin, who came to Singing Hearts in 1985, were eager to play heavy metal. Victor Vekshtein did not interfere with their impulse and agreed to become the patron of the new project. So there was the Soviet, and later the Russian group "Aria". The name was invented by Holstinin, who at random chose him in the dictionary.

"Megalomania"

It was not enough for a full-fledged duo. Therefore, the auditions began in order to complete the composition. As a result, the vocalist was chosen by Valery Kipelov, who also sang in "Singing Hearts". For keyboards, Kirill Pokrovsky, known for his successful project "Accent". The drummer was Alexander Lvov, at the same time the former sound engineer at The Singing Hearts.

In order to make the first recording, the musicians needed a studio. Vekshtein provided all the specifications, and the album "Mania of Greatness" was ready on October 31, 1985. The same day was the birthday of the group.

At first it was distributed on magnetic cassettes in the form of samizdat recording. Officially it was reissued on a physical medium only in 1994.

A fundamentally new music has become a feature with the help of which the band "Aria" became famous. Discography in the future was sustained in the genre of heavy metal. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and other British teams had a great influence on the musicians. The lyrics contain historical, mythological and social motifs.

Organization of speeches

The following year, in February, the debut concert of Aria was held. The first time of the performance was as follows: on the poster there was a message about "Singing Hearts", while the musicians also played a set of heavy metal. Censorship still existed, and young people with their leader had to go to tricks and tricks.

Vekshtein "beat off" questionable songs on the artistic councils in various ways. For example, the text for the song "Torrero" was written by Margarita Pushkina, but the manager stated that this was a translation of the words of the Spanish poet Federico Lorca.

The claims were caused by the name of the group. Therefore, the speeches included real fragments from opera arias. Finally, the efforts were crowned with success. In the fall of 1986, the Ministry of Culture agreed to a concert program for the "Aria". In addition, the officials approved the name of the group.

"With whom you are?"

At the same time, there were rotations in the composition in order to organize a real concert activity. There was a second guitarist Andrei Bolshakov. Igor Molchanov sat behind the drums, while Lvov remained the sound engineer of the collective.

The new composer Bolshakov actively offered his ideas for new songs. In a duet with Granovsky they wrote such hits as "Will and Mind", as well as "Arise, overcome fear". The last song uses a riff from the composition of Judas Priest "Jawbreaker". Discography "Aria" is replenished with the second studio album "Who are you?". It comes out in November 1986, and the group conducts extremely successful tours throughout the country, including in the Crimea.

First split

However, despite the external well-being, inside the Aria there were growing conflicts. Granovsky and Bolshakov were unhappy with the guardianship of Vekshtein. In addition, the new guitarist quarreled with Holstinin because the latter was removed from the process of composing songs.

The knot of contradictions could not be untied, therefore it was cut. Granovsky and Bolshakov left and created a new group "Master". This team was the first in a vast family of teams created as offshoots from the "Aria". The self-titled debut album "Masters" was performed in the genre of thrash metal and also had a frenzied success among the audience.

In "Aria" from the first lineup there were only Holstinin and Kipelov. The group was invited to Vladimir's old friend Vitaly Dubinin, who played with him in "Magic Twilight" and received a bass. The new guitarist was Sergey Mavrin, and the drummer was Maxim Udalov. Both musicians left the "Black Coffee".

"Hero of asphalt"

After the split, problems with the repertoire began. The band could not play Bolshakov's live songs. Therefore, the musicians hastily record the third album. It was published by "Melody" - the state monopolist. Therefore, it had to make small censorship changes. In particular, the original title "At the service of the forces of evil" was rejected. Instead, he chose the phrase "Hero of Asphalt". He was received by listeners with a bang. The circulation was more than one million records.

"Hero of asphalt" is recognized by many fans and critics as the band's best record. These are fast songs with non-trivial melodies. The ballad "Street of roses" and an action movie about motorcyclists "The Hero of Asphalt" are considered classics of the genre.

The success was fixed by tours around the country and abroad. "Aria" goes to Germany, where music journalists call the team "Russian Iron Maiden", as well as "Cossacks with guitars".

The peculiarity of "Aria" is that the lyrics are not written by musicians. For the first plates, the authors of the poems were professional poets Alexander Elin and Margarita Pushkina. After the creation of the "Master", the first one goes to Granovsky. Pushkin remains the same author for the group today.

"Playing with fire"

After the tour in support of the "Hero of Asphalt" musicians are in conflict with the manager Viktor Vekshtein. First, the leader insisted that the group should move away from heavy metal. Secondly, musicians and staff were paid only a quarter of the royalties.

Against this background, Udalov leaves Aria, and Alexander Manyakin takes his place. Conflict with the manager ends with the fact that the musicians in full force made a demarche and went to the producer Yuri Fishkin, who also had equipment for recording a new album and live performances.

In 1989, the discography of the group "Aria" received a new album "Playing with fire". The perestroika was thundering, and the lyrics were mostly devoted to social conflicts and shocks. The title track was dedicated to the fate of the composer Paganini, who sold the soul to the devil in exchange for talent. This is the longest song of the group (9 minutes). Valery Kipelov in one of her passages draws the letter "o" for 17 seconds, which is a sign of irreproachable skill.

The rights to the name of the band still belonged to Viktor Vekshtein, but he did not object when the musicians released a recording under this signboard. On the tour they used the name "Aria-89". The situation was incomprehensible, and it was solved in a tragic way. Viktor Vekshtein was killed in 1990, suffocated by exhaust fumes in his own car.

90th

In the early 90's, the economic crisis raged, which hit the group. In particular, Mavrin and Dubinin tried to settle in Germany, where they toured with another band. However, the voyage failed, and the musicians already in 1991 released the fifth album "Blood for Blood". There were a lot of songs about mysticism in it. The title song told about the earthly destiny of Jesus Christ.

In the 90s, the blossoming that the group "Aria" was experiencing began. Discography received new albums after the contract with Moroz Records. The composition remained stable. Already then the team got a cult significance as the creator of a new genre at home. This was the status that the Russian group Aria deserved. Reviews, even despite the comparison with Iron Maiden, for the most part remained positive.

Periodically stopped activities, which led the Russian group "Aria". The solo albums of the participants were different in style, but they were certainly accepted with success.

Care of Kipelov

For many years, "Aria" remained popular due to the inimitable voice of her vocalist. However, in 2002 there was a conflict, because of which Valery Kipelov left the project. He created his own group, which he named by his last name. Discography of the group "Aria" and "Kipelov" as an antithesis cause a lot of controversy about who is better. Sometimes musicians get together at retrospective concerts. They together perform songs that were written in the Aria group. The discography of the band continued to be replenished. Dubinin and Holstinin were invited to the group of Arthur Berkut, who sang with them back in the 80's in "The Singing Hearts".

Zero

With her second vocalist, "Aria" released two albums: "The Baptism of Fire" and "Armageddon." In addition, musicians on the rights of famous figures were invited for guest participation in the records of other groups. For example, in 2004, "Epidemic" released the country's first metal opera "The Elven Manuscript." Berkut and Holstinin participated in the recording.

Solo projects continued. Mavrin, who left shortly before that, also built a successful career, the beginning of which was the Russian group "Aria". Solo albums of the musician were recorded in a similar genre.

What now?

In 2011, it was announced that Arthur Berkut was leaving the group "Aria". Discography in the same autumn received a new album "Phoenix". He was recorded with Mikhail Zhitnyakov from the Gran Kurazh. Soon the first concerts of the band in the USA were given.

With him, the popularity continues, which is preserved by the group "Aria". The albums were replenished with the latest record "Through all times". It was released in 2014 and was an important milestone, which was experienced by the discography of "Aria".

In autumn, the permanent guitarist Vladimir Holstinin suspended his activity in order to undergo a course of treatment and improve his health. The musician promised to return soon to the system. His place before the return took guitarist of the group "Gran Kurazh" Mikhail Bugaev. In 2015, "Aria" celebrates its thirtieth anniversary with anniversary concerts and a thematic tour.