Why I was drawn to these Russian rock bands as a child.

As a child, I listened to a wide variety of music, and much of my current playlist was influenced by my older brother. It was he and his friends who would bring home CDs with music from different bands, music videos, and albums. I would often sit with my brother’s friends, enjoying and discovering new tunes. As I got older, my music preferences became more specific, but I still found myself drawn to some of the music from my childhood. My brother and I even started going to concerts of the bands we loved back then.

So, today, I’d like to share with you 5 Russian rock bands that shaped my musical tastes as a child. It’s going to be an interesting journey down memory lane.

the first band

The very first band I always remember from my childhood is King and the Jester. A brief history of the band: King and the Jester (abbreviated as KiSh) is a Russian horror punk band from St. Petersburg.

The band was formed in Leningrad in 1988. After the death of its leader and one of its founders, Mikhail Gorshenev, on July 19, 2013, the band ceased to exist, but its legacy continues through the rock musical TODD.

What set them apart was their unique take on classic punk rock. The band’s songs were often small, complete stories, many of them fantasy, mystical, or historical in nature. Their stage image was constantly evolving and frequently included makeup that matched the themes of their songs. The band was often described in the media as “cult.”

Initially, the band’s sound was rooted in rhythmic horror punk, but it gradually expanded beyond that style, incorporating many other musical elements. They ventured into folk rock (Acoustic Album), art punk (Demon Theater), hardcore punk (Riot on the Ship), hard rock (Like in an Old Fairy Tale), and more. In the early days, The Beatles had a strong influence on their sound.

What I loved about KiSh was their energetic sound and lyrics that felt like terrifying, dark tales, much like the original stories of the Grimm Brothers. I particularly remember how my whole group of friends would sing their songs at the top of our lungs—it was such an awesome feeling! Later, after KiSh disbanded, Andrei Knyazev, one of the core members of the band, went on to form his own group, Knyazz. The new band carried forward the themes of King and the Jester with the same energetic music and vocals, ensuring the legacy of KiSh lives on.

the second band

The next band is somewhat similar in terms of lyrical themes. Their songs also draw from fairy tales, myths, legends, and the folklore of various peoples.

Mill is a Russian folk rock band from Moscow, founded on October 15, 1999, by the musicians of the disbanded group Til Uhlenspigel. The band’s vocalist, harpist, and main songwriter is Helavisa (Natalya Andreevna O’Shay). Over the years, Mill has created seven full-length albums, becoming a truly unique phenomenon in both folk music and the Russian music industry as a whole.

Their journey from small clubs to large stadiums took about ten years. Along the way, they experienced significant lineup changes, radio successes, growing public recognition, and numerous live performances. Mill managed not only to change how people view folk music but also to make it as popular as we see it today in Russia.

Though Mill is often labeled as a folk rock band, that description is a broad one. Their albums feature a wide range of styles, from chamber harp performances to grand rock compositions, jazz influences, and even elements of pop music. The band has always refused to be confined by genre boundaries, creating what could be called Mill-Style, a term that could stand for their eclectic mix of sounds.

What sets Mill apart is their ability to blend folklore melodies with rich, lyrical themes. Their songs—often filled with mythical and fantastical tales—are beautifully intertwined with the sounds of guitar and harp. There were many times I found myself wanting to escape into a forest and listen to their music, feeling as if I were part of a fairy tale.

Another notable aspect of Mill is that they were among the first groups to embrace the genre of folk rock in Russia. So, if you haven’t heard them yet, I highly recommend giving them a listen!

the third band

Now, I’ll tell you about another band.

Beasts is a Russian pop rock band founded by Roman Bilyk in 2001. The band has won the MTV Russia Prize and the Debut Prize, and at the Muz-TV awards, they’ve been awarded “Best Rock Band” 9 times. The group was formed by Roman Bilyk, who is known under the stage name Roma Beast. The producer was composer Alexander Voitinsky, who had previously worked with Ivan Shapovalov, the producer of the Tatu group. They recruited musicians through ads on the Internet.

In 2001, Beasts released their first music video for the song “For You,” followed by another video in 2002 for “Just Such Strong Love.” These videos helped launch their debut album, Hunger, which included hits like “Rain Pistols,” “Ring,” “For You,” and “Just Such Strong Love.” These songs gained significant success on the Chart Dozen charts. That same year, the band performed for the first time at the Invasion Festival.

In February 2004, the band released their second album, Neighborhoods, which catapulted them to fame. Several of their music videos, including “Everything That Concerns,” “Drinks Are Stronger,” and “South Night,” were regularly played on Muz-TV and MTV Russia. Following the album’s release, the band went on a two-year concert tour across Russia and the CIS.

This is just a brief overview of the band, but in my opinion, their numerous awards were well-deserved. Their music is very emotional, and it resonated strongly with young people at the time, making the band unforgettable for many. So, give them a listen, and I’m sure you’ll find something that connects with you.

the fourth band

Now, let’s talk about one of the oldest and most iconic bands — Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie is a Soviet and Russian rock band that gained widespread popularity in the mid and late 1990s. It was founded in 1985 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) by Vadim Samoilov, Alexander Kozlov, and Peter May under the name VIA RTF UPI. However, the band officially traces its history back to their concert on February 20, 1988. During the recording of their album Second Front in early 1988, Vadim’s younger brother Gleb joined the group. Over time, the band’s lineup changed several times, but the Samoilov brothers remained the core of the band, both as leaders and vocalists. Together with Alexander Kozlov, they wrote all the songs for Agatha Christie.

The band’s music is diverse and blends various subgenres of rock, including gothic rock, post-punk, alternative rock, psychedelic rock, glam rock, art rock, and hard rock. This eclectic mix helped the band stand out and gain a wide following.

Some of the band’s most famous songs include “Viva Kalman!,” “How to War,” “Hysteria,” “Opium for No One,” “Fabulous Taiga,” “Black Moon,” “Sailor,” “Carpet-Helicopter,” and “Secret.” These tracks became anthems for many rock fans and are still cherished today.

Agatha Christie released ten studio albums, five compilation albums, two remix albums, three maxi-singles, and a total of eighteen music videos. In 2009, the band announced their dissolution and embarked on a farewell tour across Russia and neighboring countries. By the summer of 2010, their final album Epilogue was recorded, and they played their last concert at the Invasion Festival to mark the end of an era.

After Agatha Christie disbanded, Gleb Samoilov, along with keyboardist Konstantin Bekrev and drummer Dmitry Khakimov (who had joined Agatha Christie in 2008), formed a new band called Gleb Samoilov & The Matrix (later simply The Matrix).

The band’s name, which has become synonymous with their legacy, was suggested in 1987. Initially, Vadim Samoilov proposed naming the band after Jacques-Yves Cousteau, whose work he admired at the time, but this idea was rejected. Alexander Kozlov then suggested using the name of the famous English author Agatha Christie, despite not being particularly fond of her detective novels. One possible reason for the name choice was that the initials A.K. coincided with Kozlov’s own initials.

Agatha Christie became known for their unusual lyrics, distinctive sound, and the innovative way they presented their music videos. The band’s eccentricity set them apart from others in the rock scene, making them a unique presence in Russian music. Personally, my favorite songs are “Secret” and “Like in the War”.

the fifth band

The last band I want to talk about today is Bi-2.

Bi-2 is a Russian rock band that originally formed in 1988 in Bobruisk, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and later became a Belarusian group. The founders and permanent members of the band are Shura Bi-2 (guitar, vocals) and Leva Bi-2 (main vocals). As of 2021, the band’s lineup also includes Andrei Zvolov (guitar), Max Lakmus (bass), Boris Lifshits (drums, percussion), and Jan Nikolenko (backing vocals, keyboards, flute, percussion).

In September 1999, Leva and Shura moved to Russia to further establish Bi-2’s growing fame. However, despite their early success, the band struggled to secure a contract for releasing an album. Complicating matters, the original Australian members of Bi-2 could not make it to Russia, so Shura and Leva had to search for musicians in Moscow. Alexander “Heap” Ponomarev, who had previously worked with the band Spleen, helped to promote Bi-2.

Leva Bi-2 shared, “We did acoustic concerts, and then we came up with a clever idea: we invited journalists to our dacha, played our songs for them over vodka and barbecue, and that caught people’s attention. They started looking for musicians for us. We recruited bass player Vadim Ermolov from the Zhuki group, along with drummer Grigory Gaberman (who had worked with Kvartal) and keyboardist Nikolai Plyavin. They learned the material from the album and added their own flair to it.”

The new lineup’s first major performance took place on December 10, 1999, at the inaugural Invasion festival, held at the Gorbunov recreation center. The band made its first TV appearance in February 2000 during a live broadcast on Dmitry Dibrov’s Anthropology.

In 2000, Bi-2 participated in creating the soundtrack for the hit Russian film Brother 2 by Alexei Balabanov, even making a cameo appearance in the film as themselves. The song “Nobody Writes to the Colonel,” which featured in the movie, became an instant hit and remains one of the band’s most iconic tracks to this day.

After the release of the video “Barbara” and the radio single “No One Will Come,” Bi-2 signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Russia on April 13, 2000. As a result, their album, recorded in Australia, was released in Russia on May 20, 2000, under the name Bi-2 (though the track order and album design were altered).

Today, Bi-2 is still active and continues to produce some of the most unique and captivating sounds in Russian rock. Their music is known for its diverse sound, as Leva emphasizes the emotional nuance in every song, singing in various ways to match the mood of each track. While the band’s style evolves, there are always recurring motifs that make their music unmistakably Bi-2. In particular, it’s worth mentioning how their songs sound when performed with a symphony orchestra — watching the videos and listening to those performances is truly an experience.

I’ve shared a bit about the bands that have shaped my musical tastes since childhood. Of course, tastes evolve over time, but sometimes hearing a song from your past can bring back memories with a wave of nostalgia. I’ve focused mainly on Russian rock today, but I’ll share more about foreign music influences with you later.