Ariya

Ariya (rus. АРИЯ) is the first Russian Heavy Metal band. It plays unapologetic old school Heavy Metal (more precisely, New Wave British Heavy Metal), often compared to Iron Maiden. It's quite popular among Russian youth subcultures.

The band members:


 * Valeriy Kipelov: this guy was the Face of the Band for a long time. He's the most well known of Ariya's vocalists, and the most popular one; some people think the band was gone when he left it.
 * Arthur Berkut: the next vocalist, who succeeded Kipelov. He's a major Base Breaker; some people think he made the band better, and some think he's the spawn of hell.
 * Mikhail Zhitnyakov: the current vocalist. Formerly from the band Grand Courage.
 * Vladimir Holstinin: the guitar player. He was in the band from the start, and he's responsible for Ariya's guitars and its characteristic metal style.
 * Vitaly Dubinin: another old member of the band, kind of life partners with Holstinin and Kipelov.
 * Maxim Udalov: the drummer. This guy comes and goes. He was in the band during its very beginning in the 1980s, then left, then joined again. In between, the drummer role was filled by Alexander Manyakin.

Albums:


 * Megalomania and Who Are You With?: the unapologetic old school heavy metal. The lyrics were written by Alexander Yelin, whose pet peeve for the time was nuclear war, so these albums are full of anti-war protest songs.
 * Hero of Asphalt and Playing with Fire: these albums of the late 1980s were similar to the two previous ones, but they changed their poet: the lyrics were written by Margarita Pushkina and full of bikerism and supernatural symbolism.
 * Blood for Blood: the darkest album of this band. Contains congs about zombies, Antichrist, the afterlife, Pontius Pilate and the apocalyptic riders. Oh so full of evil imagery. The schoolboys approve.
 * Night is Shorter than Day, Generator of Evil, Chimera

(I'll finish that later. If anyone is willing to continue, feel free to do so.)