К середине 80-х годов в СССР государство organizedly struggled with manifestations of youth fashion in Western culture. This included rock music, as well as heavy metal, which was flourishing in Europe at that time.
However, the time of artistic councils and censorship is inexorablewas a thing of the past. February 5, 1986 in the House of Culture of the Moscow Aviation Institute was an amazing concert. The musicians, who called their band "Aria", played new, radically different from the usual motifs of the song. It was the first heavy metal that a Soviet listener could hear in their homeland. However, before this momentous event occurred, the young “Aryans” had to go through a thorny path.
Background "Arias" can be found as early as 1982,when Vladimir Holstinin and Vitaly Dubinin met - today this is the composition and leadership core of the collective. Students of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, united by their love of rock music, played together in the Magic Twilight amateur group. Dubinin was a bass player, and Holstinin was a guitar player. Arthur Berkut was invited to the role of vocalist, but he soon left the band in order to sing in “Autograph”.
"Magic Twilight" fell apart, so VladimirHolstein joined Sergey Sarychev and Alik Granovsky in the group “Alpha”. However, this composition did not exist for long, disintegrating in 1984. The musicians played hard rock, but even then Granovsky and Holstinin realized that they wanted to play heavier music.
Then they were lucky to meet with VictorVekshteinom - head of the vocal-instrumental ensemble "Singing Hearts". The team was created back in 1971, and many musicians passed through it, for example, Nikolay Rastorguev from Lyube.
However, by the mid-80s, Wekstein was looking for a newformat, so new young musicians under his leadership received creative freedom, which was not yet in the Union. Granovsky and Holstein, who came to Singing Hearts in 1985, were eager to play heavy metal. Viktor Vekshtein did not hinder their impulse and agreed to become the patron of the new project. This is how the Soviet and later Russian group Aria appeared. The name was coined by Holstinin, who randomly chose it in a dictionary.
For a full-fledged group of the duet was not enough.Therefore, the auditions began to complete the composition. As a result, Valery Kipelov was chosen as the vocalist, at the same time he sang in “Singing Hearts”. For keyboards sat Kirill Pokrovsky, known for the successful project "Accent". Alexander Lvov became the drummer, at the same time he was a sound engineer at “Singing Hearts”.
In order to make the first recording, the musiciansneeded a studio. Wekshtein provided all the technical conditions, and the album “Mania 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 a samizdat record. It was officially republished in physical media only in 1994.
Fundamentally new music has become a feature, withthrough which the Aria group became famous. The discography was later sustained in the heavy metal genre. A great influence on the musicians had a group of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and other British teams. Lyrics contain historical, mythological and social motives.
The following year in February was the debutconcert "Arias". The first time the performances were held like this: there was a message about “Singing Hearts” on the poster, while the musicians also played a set of heavy metal. Censorship still existed, and young people with their leader had to go for tricks and tricks.
Wekstein "beat off" dubious songs onartistic councils in different ways. For example, the text for the song “Torrero” was written by Margarita Pushkina, but the manager stated that this is a translation of the words of the Spanish poet Federico Lorca.
Claims caused and the name of the group.Therefore, real excerpts from opera arias were included. Finally, efforts were crowned with success. In the fall of 1986, the Ministry of Culture agreed on a concert program for Aria. In addition, the officials approved the name of the group.
At the same time there were rotations in the composition fororder to organize a real concert activity. A second guitar player, Andrei Bolshakov, appeared. Igor Molchanov sat behind the drums, while Lviv remained the sound engineer of the team.
New composer Bolshakov actively offered hisideas for new songs. In a duet with Granovsky, they wrote such hits as "Will and Reason", as well as "Stand up, overcome fear." The last song uses a riff from the composition of Judas Priest "Jawbreaker". The discography of “Arias” is replenished with the second studio album “Who are you with?”. It comes out in November 1986, and the group conducts extremely successful tours throughout the country, including in the Crimea.
However, despite external well-being, inside"Arias" 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 songwriting process.
The knot of contradictions could not be untied, thereforehe was hacked. Granovsky and Bolshakov left and created a new group "Master". This team was the first in a vast family of teams created as an offshoot from Aria. The self-titled debut album "Masters" was made in the genre of thrash metal and also had a great success among the audience.
In “Aria”, however, onlyHolstinin and Kipelov. An old friend of Vladimir Vitaly Dubinin was invited to the group, who played with him in “Magic Twilight” and received a bass. Sergey Mavrin became the new guitarist, and Maxim Udalov became the drummer. Both musicians left Black Coffee.
After the split, problems with the repertoire began.The group could not play live songs Bolshakov. Therefore, the musicians quickly recorded the third album. It was published by Melody, the state monopolist. Therefore, it had to make small censorship changes. In particular, the original name “At the service of the forces of evil” was rejected. Instead, the phrase “Hero of Asphalt” was chosen. He was accepted by the audience with a bang. Circulation is more than a million records.
"Hero of asphalt" is recognized by the multitudefans and critics of the best recording group. These are fast songs with non-trivial melodies. The Street of Roses ballad and the asphalt hero motorcyclists are considered classics of the genre.
Success was reinforced by touring the country and abroad. "Aria" falls in Germany, where music journalists call the team "Russian Iron Maiden", as well as "Cossacks with guitars."
A feature of "Aria" is that the lyricsnot written by musicians. For the first records, the authors of the poems were professional poets Alexander Elin and Margarita Pushkin. After the creation of the "Master" the first one goes to Granovsky. Pushkin remains the same author for the group today.
After the tour in support of the “Hero of asphalt” musiciansConflict with manager Victor Vekshtein. First, the leader insisted that the group needed to move away from heavy metal. Secondly, the musicians and staff were paid only a quarter of the due fee.
На этом фоне Удалов уходит из «Арии», а его место takes Alexander Manyakin. The conflict with the manager ends with the musicians at full strength staged a demarche and went to the producer Yury Fishkin, who also had the equipment to record a new album and live performances.
In 1989 the discography of the group “Aria” receivednew album "Playing with Fire". Perestroika was rattling, and the lyrics were devoted mainly to social conflicts and upheavals. The main song stood out, narrating the fate of the composer Paganini, who sold his 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 pulls the letter “o” for 17 seconds, which is a sign of impeccable skill.
Rights to the name of the group still belongedVictor Vekstein, however, he did not object when the musicians released a recording under this sign. On the tour they used the name "Aria-89". The situation was incomprehensible, and it was resolved in a tragic way. Victor Wekstein died in 1990, suffocating exhaust gases in his own car.
In the early 90s, an economic crisis raged,who hit and on the band. In particular, Mavrin and Dubinin tried to settle in Germany, where they toured with another group. However, the voyage did not succeed, and the musicians already in 1991 released the fifth album “Blood for Blood”. There were many songs dedicated to mysticism. The title song told about the earthly fate of Jesus Christ.
In the 90s, the group began to flourish"Aria". Discography received new albums after a contract with Moroz Records. The composition remained stable. Even then, the team received a cult value as the creator of a new genre in their homeland. 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 the activity, which led the Russian group "Aria". The solo albums of the participants were different in style, but they were certainly accepted with success.
For many years, "Aria" remainedpopular thanks 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 called by his last name. The discography of the group "Aria" and "Kipelov" as an antithesis causes a lot of controversy about who is better. Sometimes musicians get together at retrospective concerts. Together they perform songs that were written as part of the group “Aria”. The discography of the team continued to grow. Dubinin and Holstinin called in the group of Arthur Berkut, who sang with them back in the 80s in “Singing Hearts”.
With her second vocalist, Aria released twoalbum: "Baptism by fire" and "Armageddon". In addition, musicians on the rights of famous figures were invited to participate in guest recordings of other groups. For example, in 2004, Epidemic released the country's first metal opera, Elven Manuscript. The record involved the Golden Eagle and Holstein.
Solo projects continued.Mavrin, who left shortly before, also built a successful career, the beginning of which was the Russian group Aria. Musician solo albums were recorded in a similar genre.
In 2011, it was stated that Arthur Berkutleaves the group "Aria". The discography that same autumn received a new album "Phoenix". He was recorded with Mikhail Zhitnyakov from the Grand Kurazh. Soon the first concerts of the group were given in the USA.
With him continues the popularity thatsaves the group "Aria". Albums were replenished with the last recording “Through all times” at the moment. It was released in 2014 and became an important milestone that Arias’s discography went through.
In the fall of the permanent guitarist Vladimir Holstininsuspended its activities in order to undergo treatment and improve health. The musician promised to return to the system soon. His place before the return was taken by the guitarist of the Grand Kurazh band Mikhail Bugayev. In 2015, Aria celebrates its thirtieth anniversary with anniversary concerts and thematic tour.
