History of creation
The founders of Aria worked for a long time towards this project, simultaneously working on musical activity with other groups. Vladimir Kholstinin and Vitaly Dubinin met while studying at the university. MPEI students founded their own rock band “Magic Twilight”, where they invited Arthur Berkut as a soloist. But in 1982, Dubinin, absorbed in his studies, left Twilight, and then Berkut, who accepted an invitation from the Autograph group. "Magic Twilight" ceased to exist. Kholstinin began playing guitar in the group "Alpha", where he met bassist Alik Granovsky. It is these two musicians who are considered the founders of Aria. 
The beginning of the 80s was overshadowed by the authorities’ struggle against “illegal” musical groups. To avoid problems, musicians had to look for work in “approved” VIA. This is how fate brought together Dubinin, Granovsky, Kholstinin, as well as a member of the disbanded VIA “Leisya Pesnya” (it’s interesting that Nikolai Rastorguev started his career there) Valery Kipelov in the ensemble “Singing Hearts”. Victor Vekshtein, director of Singing Hearts, wanted to create a team that would better meet the needs of the time. He screened many aspiring artists, giving them the opportunity to express themselves, allowing them to show their individuality.
Although the future members of Aria were formally assigned to the Singing Hearts, since 1985 the musicians have been working on an alternative direction, recording songs in the heavy metal style, new to the USSR. The name was invented by choosing from words we liked, easy to pronounce and remember. What was needed was brevity and sonority without any subtext. Granovsky and Kholstinin supplemented the lineup with colleagues, closing the gaps in each of the positions: Igor Molchanov sat on the drums, and then retrained as a sound engineer, Kirill Pokrovsky was responsible for keyboards and backing vocals, and Valery Kipelov established himself as a soloist. Wekshtein became the artistic director of the group.
The main stages of creativity
The end of October 1985 - the final formation of the group and the final recording of the debut album “Delusions of Grandeur”. This was the start of the Aria story. The unusual sound quickly attracted attention to the band. They began to be invited to festivals and group concerts: the musicians performed at Rock Panorama-86 and Lituanika-86. The band also expanded: the help of a second guitarist was needed, who became Andrei Bolshakov. With this lineup, the musicians recorded the next album, “Who are you with?” (1986). 
However, soon, due to a conflict with Wekshtein, all the musicians left Aria except Kipelov and Kholstinin (the ones who left founded their own group “Master”). Alexander Elin, who wrote the lyrics, also stopped collaborating. But Dubinin expressed a desire to participate in the project, and since then he has not parted with the band - since 1987 he has been playing bass, singing along and writing music for “Aria”. Also at this time, drummer Maxim Udalov and Sergei Mavrin, a talented self-taught person who mastered the guitar and keyboards without special education, joined the group.
Mavrin took part in the recording of three albums, which, according to fans, represent the golden period of “Aria”: “Hero of Asphalt”, “Playing with Fire” and “Blood for Blood”.
In 1988, the third album “Hero of Asphalt” was released. The Melodiya company released more than a million copies of the record. The lyrics of the songs in the album were written by journalist and poet Margarita Pushkina.“Behind America” - the first video of “Aria” (1987)
During this period, the group begins to tour a lot, gaining a fan base. There was a tour of the USSR, as well as a visiting performance in Berlin at the Days of the Wall festival in 1988. At this time, Vekshtein was replaced by Yuri Fishkin: under his leadership, the following albums “Playing with Fire” (1990), released with a circulation of 850 thousand records, and “Blood for Blood” (1991) were recorded. After Vekshtein left, Udalov also left Aria; Alexander Manyakin became the new drummer.
Soon after the release of the album “Blood for Blood,” the USSR collapsed. This could not affect the circulation - only 40 thousand copies were sold in Russia. It was impossible to make a living from music in my homeland; Mavrin and Dubinin signed a contract with the German group “Lion Heart” and went abroad, Kipelov got a job as a watchman, Kholstinin began to work as a taxi driver.
In November 1994, the group seemed to have gotten out of the dark period: they signed a contract with the independent rock label Moroz Records and went on tour in Germany. But due to a mistake by the organizers, the commercial benefit of the tour was zero. Perhaps this affected the deterioration of the atmosphere in the group. So, Valery Kipelov stopped appearing at the rehearsals of “Aria” and began performing with the “Master” group, citing a lack of money. At the beginning of 1995, Mavrin left after him, declaring that he did not want to play in a group without Kipelov. Subsequently, Kipelov and Mavrin recorded a joint album “ Troubled times”, which also included the famous composition “I am free”.
To work on the album “Night is Shorter than Day” (1995), the producers of “Aria” invited the lead singer of “Legion” Alexei Bulgakov. But the management of Moroz Records did not like the new vocalist. Kipelov was convinced to return to record a record (more precisely, a CD is the first Aria album released on this medium), and Mavrin’s place was taken by Sergei Terentev, who turned out to be not only a good guitarist, but also a poet. Several of his compositions were included in the album “Generator of Evil” (“Devil’s Heat”, “Dirt”).
During the concert tour in support of “Generator of Evil,” Maxim Udalov again took the place of the drums (Manyakin broke his arm).
Aria – Paradise Lost
The release of the album “Chimera” (2001) took place in a nervous atmosphere. Relations between the group members were cracking at the seams. The conflict led to the fact that the musicians recorded their songs and their parts separately (with the exception of the song “Chimera”, co-written by Kipelov and Kholstinin). In the spring of 2002, Kipelov announced his resignation. On August 31, the musicians played a farewell concert in Luzhniki, then Valery, Terentyev and Manyakin left the Aria.
“Veterans” Kholstinin and Dubinin began looking for new musicians. So new and old faces appeared in the lineup: instead of Kipelov, Arthur Berkut was now the soloist, and Maxim Udalov returned to play drums. The guitarist was Sergei Popov.
In 2003, the album “Baptism of Fire” was released, in addition, “Aria” celebrated its long-awaited victory in the “Chart Dozen” with the song “Colosseum”, the first single after the breakup of the group. The video for the song was clearly inspired by the film “Gladiator”, but at the same time it was ironic at modernity: well-fed patricians were compared with the owners of record labels, and the spitting and raging crowd was compared with listeners. Kholstinin admitted that the composition and video sequence are largely autobiographical:
We faced betrayal from our friends and fans, while at the same time receiving support. In general, we had a difficult period, so this is a rather autobiographical story.
Generally, new album, which was dominated military theme, was liked by both fans of the band and critics.Aria – Colosseum
In 2006 there were two significant events: new album “Armagdeddon”, which continued the “military” line and the 20th anniversary of “Aria”. Everyone took part in the large-scale anniversary tour former musicians"Arias", except for Valery Kipelov. As a gift, fellow rockers represented by Vadim and Gleb Samoilov,
« Classical Aria" - how it was
After the album “Through All Times” (2014), “Aria” focused on celebrating the group’s anniversary, as well as on joint and experimental projects, for example, performing with symphony orchestra on a tour called "Symphonic Aria" (2016).
Scandals
“Aria” changes its lineup quite often, and former musicians leave the band, but not from the stage. They continue to perform the group's songs, which their colleagues do not like and causes controversy, both public and personal, as well as legal. For example, in 2013, representatives of “Aria” filed a lawsuit against Arthur Berkut for using the compositions “Paradise Lost”, “Will or Reason”, “Street of Roses” and others at their concerts, demanding 840 thousand rubles from him.Discography
- "Megalomania" (1985)
- "Who are you with?" (1986)
- "Asphalt Hero" (1988)
- "Playing with Fire" (1990)
- "Blood for Blood" (1991)
- "Night is Shorter than Day" (1995)
- "Generator of the Day" (1998)
- "Chimera" (2001)
- "Baptism by Fire" (2003)
- "Armageddon" (2006)
- "Phoenix" (2011)
- "Through All Times" (2014)
Group "Aria" now
In 2018, the group performed at the “Invasion” festival, which they missed for five years for various reasons. The musicians not only performed new and old songs, but also staged a real pyrotechnic show on stage. In November, the group announced the release of a new, thirteenth album, “Curse of the Seas.” 
“Aria” is rooted in the youth of its future participants, when they were students at the Moscow Energy Institute. The trial group, created by the future Aria musicians, did not live long and soon disbanded. When, finally, Vladimir Kholstinin and Alik Granovsky, under the strict leadership of Viktor Vekshtein, formed their own team, luring Kipelov, Lvov and Pokrovsky to join them, and recorded their first studio album “Delusions of Grandeur” in 1985, then the legendary group was born.
A little later, Bolshakov came to Aria, and Molchanov replaced Lvov on drums. At first, the group led a somewhat underground lifestyle, but in 1986 they began active touring and recording a new album, “Who are you with?” V current composition. The group is gaining popularity, conquering the radio.
By next year the composition changes again. The ranks of the “Aryans” are replenished by Vitaly Dubinin and Maxim Udalov, the new drummer of the group. Mavrin also comes. The band is recording vinyl record"Hero of the Asphalt"
In 1988, the first video for “Aria” was filmed, for the song “Streets of Roses”. Before recording the next album, the band goes on large-scale foreign tours to Germany and Bulgaria. The conflict within the group is intensifying due to the musicians' dissatisfaction with the policies of Viktor Vekshtein. As a result, the group is forced to part with their manager. Transformations are also taking place in the composition of Aria, and the team is recording their fourth album with a new drummer, Alexander Manyakin.
Dubinin and Mavrin leave for Germany for several months, and during this time the group successfully tours with session musicians. Later investigation painstaking work The most famous albums of the “Aryans” are: “Blood for Blood” in 1991, then “Night is Shorter than Day” in 1993.
The year 1994 was marked for Aria with a major contract with Moroz Records. The band's old albums are being reissued. The first one was published in 1996 live album"Arias".
Next year the musicians are engaged in solo projects. In 1998, the group reconvened to record another record, “Generator of Evil.” In 1999, the group recorded the best ballads and covers in a single collection, “2000 and One Night.”
“Aria” meets the beginning of the new century with the new album “Chimera” of 2001, as well as the first performance at the “Invasion” festival. Valery Kipelov leaves the group along with Mavrin and Manyakin. Further work takes place in the following composition: Dubinin, Kholstinin, Berkut, Udalov and Popov.
By 2006, “Aria” was gaining increasing popularity, releasing singles and giving numerous concerts. The band's next album, Armageddon, is being released.
In 2008, for a large-scale tour dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the album “Hero of Asphalt,” the team teamed up with Kipelov and Mavrin. This was a significant event for both groups. In 2010, “Aria” gives a lot of major concerts in different cities Russia.
In 2011, a new vocalist joined the group, Mikhail Zhitnyakov. With this lineup, the group recorded its eleventh album, “Phoenix,” and continues to exist to this day, delighting its fans.
Contribution to the development of Russian rock music
"Aria" is a unique team with a long history. This group is one of the ten most popular Russian rock bands. She made a significant contribution to the development musical direction heavy metal in its traditional, English manner.
Former members of the team created their own musical projects and are successfully engaged in creative work in a similar direction. These are groups such as: “Kipelov”, “Mavrin”, “Master”, “Arthur Berkut” and “Artery”.
Why did Kipelov leave Aria? The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous, since making such a serious and responsible decision is rarely the result of an emotional impulse. The departure of lead singer Aria was no exception.
Kipelov’s decision to leave the band came long before the final break with Aria: the reason for this was the difficult relationship both with the management of the band and between the musicians themselves. The composition of Aria changed several times: the cult rock band experienced many shocks and splits. The departure of Kipelov, who became the “face” of Aria, meant the birth of a completely different team.
From the history of the rock ensemble
1. The basis of the future rock group was the vocal and instrumental ensemble “Singing Hearts”, whose director set out to create a fundamentally new team, meeting the modern needs of listeners.
For this purpose, young musicians began to be invited to the ensemble, who were given complete freedom of creative self-realization and the use of the technical potential of the group. In 1983, Vitaly Dubinin joined the new ensemble for a while, later leaving it in order to qualify as a vocalist in the famous Gnesinka.
2. Two years later, Kholstinin (Kholst) and Granovsky (Alik) joined the ensemble, and after the collapse of the vocal-instrumental ensemble “Leisya, Song” it also acquired a new vocalist Valery Kipelov.
It was Granovsky and Kholstinin (former accompanying musicians of the group) who took the initiative to create a parallel group, trying their hand at the heavy metal style. At this point, Wekshtein still remained the director and manager of the new team.
3. The name “Aria” appeared thanks to Kholstinin, who spent three days studying a dictionary of foreign words in search of a definition that ideally reflected the essence of the music performed by the group.
The word aria, which he chose, captivated him not only with its sound, but also with the fact that it can be written in both Russian and Latin script. For ambitious young musicians, the recognition of not only domestic but also foreign fans was extremely important.
4. The first studio album, which was completed on the last day of October 1985, marked the birth of new group. This date is considered the official day of its creation.
5. On February 5, 1986, the first performance of the Aria group took place. The musicians first worked as a warm-up for the audience, performing new compositions in the style of heavy metal, and in the second part of the concert they appeared as members of the group “Singing Hearts”.
6. 1986 brought Aria success at two rock festivals at once: Lituanika-86 awarded the group’s performance with a special prize. “Rock Panorama-86” awarded the Aryans two awards at once: it received high praise technical support speeches and anti-war compositions.
7. Soviet television could not stay away from the emergence of a new interesting group and included a part of Aria’s festival program in the popular youth program “Jolly Fellows.” This is how Aria first appeared on television.
The double life of the "Aryans"
For almost six months, Aria, who does not have official status and does not have the approval of the cultural committee, was in a semi-legal position. The posters featured the Mosconcert-approved ensemble “Singing Hearts,” and two different groups performed at the concerts.
The first part was devoted to Aria's compositions, and during the second the same musicians accompanied the performance of Antonina Zhmakova. Such metamorphoses were possible only during tours in provincial towns, where there was no strict ideological control characteristic of the capital. Of course, such tricks were associated with enormous risk (both for the musicians themselves and for the director covering them).
Name of the group and its program solo concerts were officially approved by the commission of the Ministry of Culture in September 1986, largely thanks to the tricks of director Wekstein.
One of Weckstein's tricks was the attribution fraud. The author of one of the compositions was declared to be a member of the Union of Composers, David Tukhmanov, and the lyrics of the song “Torero” were allegedly written by Federico Garcia Lorca.
History of conflicts and schisms
The dissatisfaction of the musicians (related to financial issues and disagreement about the compositions they performed) accompanied the group throughout the entire period while Wekshtein remained in charge of the group.
In the fall of 1988, Aria in in full force leaves Wekstein and goes to manager Yuri Fishkin. The aria did not fall apart thanks to the position of Kipelov, who decided to maintain the integrity of the band and give in to the strict demands of guitarist Kholstinin and vocalist Dubinin, who by that time had created compositions for the new album.
In 1994, the group toured Germany for two weeks. Due to the incompetent organization, as a result of which the musicians did not even have decent living conditions, the “Aryans” did not receive a penny. The scandal that erupted over this, initially directed against the organizers of the trip, led to another split in the team.
After the German tour, Kipelov received an invitation to the Master group and performed with it for some time. This was a forced step aimed at solving financial difficulties. At that time, the singer did not plan to leave Aria forever. However, the rest of the “Aryans” took his departure painfully and accepted vocalist Alexei Bulgakov into the group as a replacement. This circumstance served as the reason for the complete cessation of relations between Kipelov and the “Aryans”.
For some time, Kipelov has been paired with guitarist Sergei Mavrin, who left Aria. The “Back to the Future” program was based on songs by Aria and cover versions of compositions by foreign rock bands.
In the summer of 1995, Bulgakov left Aria, as a result of which the group was again left without a vocalist. Alexander Morozov (whose company signed a five-year contract with Aria) demanded Kipelov’s return to the team under the threat of paying a large penalty for breaking the contract. Having taken part in the recording of the new album, the singer reunites with the group.
When did the group lose its lead singer?
By the end of 2001, the relationship between the “Aryans” was so tense (while recording the album “Chimera”, the musicians recorded and mixed their parts separately) that Kipelov proposed temporarily disbanding the group and giving solo concerts.
Kholstinin (Kholst) and Dubinin (Dub) flatly refused this proposal, arguing that new songs for the next album were almost ready. In response to this categoricalness, Kipelov refused to take part in this recording.
Farewell tour of the old composition of Aria (dubbed “ Green Mile") took place in the summer of 2002. Aria's final concert took place on the last day of August at the Luzhniki Stadium. Its name (“Judgment Day”) was symbolic, since it was after it that Kipelov (Kip), Manyakin (Manya) and Terentyev (Terya) left Aria.
On September 1, 2002, the musicians who left Aria created a new group, Kipelov. They were joined by Sergey Mavrin and Alexey Kharkov.
Kholstinin tried to return Valery Kipelov to Aria. Negotiations took place, but ended in nothing, since Kipelov agreed to return only with Terentyev and Manyakin, and they were refused to return to the group.
Final departure from the stage
Why did the group Aria break up?
The leading role in the final split of the team belongs to Rina Li (who became the administrator of the Kipelov group). Her arrival at Aria was marked by a scandalous dismissal former director. Aria of that period was already one of the cult groups, but the prices for its performances were extremely low.
A year later, Harley-Davidson offered sponsorship to the group. At the same time, producer Yuri Sokolov began working with the group, with light hand in which one of Aria’s compositions becomes the song of the year after being played on New Radio. As a result of this cooperation, the team's rating increased significantly. The musicians received an offer from Sokolov to sign a contract.
The contract with Sokolov weakened Rina Lee’s position, therefore, taking advantage of her close relationship with Kipelov, she played a double game. After sold-out concerts in a number of big cities and three triumphant performances at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium in the summer of 2002, she persuaded Terentyev and Manyakin to take part in a new project.
Kipelov’s final departure from Aria was due to ongoing conflicts with one of the group’s leaders, guitarist Kholstinin, since 1995.
The constant financial conflicts that arose both between the group members and in relations with the administrative group also played a significant role in the collapse of the team.
By the mid-80s in the USSR, the state organized an organized fight against manifestations of youth fashion in Western culture. This also applied to rock music, as well as heavy metal, which was flourishing in Europe at that time.
However, the time of artistic councils and censorship was inexorably becoming a thing of the past. In 1986, an amazing concert took place at the House of Culture of the Moscow Aviation Institute. The musicians, who called their group “Aria,” played new songs that were radically different from the usual tunes. This was the first heavy metal that Soviet listeners could hear in their homeland. However, before this significant event took place, the young “Aryans” had to go through
Origins
The prerequisites for “Aria” can be found back in 1982, when Vladimir Kholstinin and Vitaly Dubinin met - today this is the compositional and leadership core of the group. Students of the Moscow Energy Institute, united by a love of rock music, played together in the amateur group “Magic Twilight”. Dubinin was a bassist, and Kholstinin was a guitarist. Arthur Berkut was invited to play the role of vocalist, but he soon left the band to sing in “Autograph”.
“Magic Twilight” broke up, so Vladimir Kholstinin joined Sergei Sarychev and Alik Granovsky in the “Alpha” group. However, this line-up did not last long, breaking up in 1984. The musicians played hard rock, but even then Granovsky and Kholstinin realized that they wanted to perform heavier music.
Then they were lucky enough to meet Viktor Vekshtein, the leader of the vocal and instrumental ensemble “Singing Hearts”. The team was created back in 1971, and many musicians passed through it, for example Nikolai Rastorguev from Lyube.
However, by the mid-80s, Wekshtein was looking for new format, therefore, new young musicians under his leadership received creative freedom, which did not yet exist in the Union. Granovsky and Kholstinin, 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. This is how the Soviet one appeared, and later Russian group"Aria". The name was invented by Kholstinin, who chose it at random from a dictionary.
"Megalomania"
A duet was not enough for a full-fledged group. Therefore, auditions began in order to complete the lineup. As a result, Valery Kipelov, who was also singing in “Singing Hearts,” was chosen as the vocalist. Known for the successful Accent project, he sat down at the keyboard. The drummer was Alexander Lvov, who at the same time was the sound engineer for Singing Hearts.
In order to make the first recording, the musicians needed a studio. Weckstein provided everything technical specifications, and the album “Delusions of Grandeur” was ready on October 31, 1985. The same day became the group's birthday.
At first it was distributed on magnetic cassettes in the form of samizdat recordings. It was officially re-released on physical media only in 1994.
Fundamentally new music became a feature with which the Aria group became famous. The discography was subsequently maintained in the heavy metal genre. The musicians were greatly influenced by Iron Maiden and other British bands. The lyrics contain historical, mythological and social motifs.
Organization of performances
The following year, in February, the debut concert of “Aria” took place. At first, the performances went like this: 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 resort to tricks and tricks.
Vekshtein “discouraged” dubious songs at artistic councils in different ways. For example, the lyrics for the song “Torrero” were written by Margarita Pushkina, but the manager stated that this was a translation of the words of the Spanish poet Federico Lorca.
The name of the group also caused complaints. Therefore, the speeches included actual excerpts from opera arias. Finally the efforts were crowned with success. In the fall of 1986, the Ministry of Culture agreed to concert program for "Aria". In addition, officials approved the name of the group.
"Who are you with?"
At the same time, there were rotations in the lineup in order to organize real concert activities. A second guitarist, Andrei Bolshakov, appeared. Igor Molchanov took over the drums, while Lvov remained the band’s sound engineer.
The new composer Bolshakov actively proposed his ideas for new songs. In a duet with Granovsky, they wrote such hits as “Will and Reason” and “Stand Up, Overcome Fear.” Last song uses a riff from Judas Priest's "Jawbreaker". The discography of “Aria” is replenished with the second studio album “Who are you with?” It was released in November 1986, and the group carried out extremely successful tours throughout the country, including Crimea.
First split
However, despite the outward prosperity, conflicts grew inside Aria. Granovsky and Bolshakov were dissatisfied with Wekshtein's guardianship. In addition, the new guitarist quarreled with Kholstinin due to the fact that the latter was removed from the songwriting process.
The knot of contradictions could not be untied, so it was cut. Granovsky and Bolshakov left and created a new group “Master”. This team became the first in a large family of teams created as branches of Aria. The Master's self-titled debut album was made in the thrash metal genre and was also wildly successful among the audience.
In Aria, only Kholstinin and Kipelov remained from the original cast. Was invited to the group old friend Vladimir, who played with him in “Magic Twilight” and received bass. Sergey Mavrin became the new guitarist, and the drummer - Both musicians left Black Coffee.
"Hero of the Asphalt"
After the split, problems began with the repertoire. The group could not play Bolshakov's songs live. Therefore, the musicians hastily record a third album. It was published by Melodiya, a state monopolist. Therefore, minor censorship changes had to be made to it. In particular, it was rejected original title"In the service of the forces of evil." Instead, the phrase “Hero of Asphalt” was chosen. It was received with a bang by the audience. The circulation amounted to more than a million records.
“Hero of Asphalt” is recognized by many fans and critics as the best recording of the group. These are fast songs with non-trivial melody. The ballad “Rose Street” and the action movie about motorcyclists “Hero of Asphalt” are considered classics of the genre.
The success was consolidated with tours throughout the country and abroad. “Aria” ends up in Germany, where music journalists call the team “Russian Iron Maiden”, as well as “Cossacks with guitars”.
A special feature of “Aria” is that the lyrics are not written by musicians. For the first records, the authors of the poems were professional poets Alexander Elin and Margarita Pushkina. After the creation of “The Master,” the first of them goes to Granovsky. Pushkin remains the constant author for the group today.
"Playing with Fire"
After a tour in support of “Hero of Asphalt,” the musicians clash with manager Viktor Vekshtein. First, the manager insisted that the band needed to move away from heavy metal. Secondly, the musicians and staff were paid only a quarter of their due fees.
Against this background, Udalov leaves Aria, and Alexander Manyakin takes his place. The conflict with the manager ends with the musicians in full force making a demarche and going to producer Yuri Fishkin, who also had the equipment for recording a new album and live performances.
In 1989, the discography of the Aria group received a new album, “Playing with Fire.” Perestroika was thundering, and the lyrics were mainly dedicated to social conflicts and shocks. The title song stood out, telling the story of the fate of the composer Paganini, who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for talent. This is the band's longest song (9 minutes). Valery Kipelov in one of her passages draws the letter “o” for 17 seconds, which is a sign of impeccable skill.
The rights to the group's name still belonged to Viktor Vekshtein, but 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 unclear, and it was resolved tragically. Viktor Vekshtein died in 1990, suffocated by exhaust fumes in his own car.
90s
In the early 90s, an economic crisis raged, which also hit the group. In particular, Mavrin and Dubinin tried to get a job in Germany, where they toured with another group. However, the voyage was not a success, and in 1991 the musicians released their fifth album, “Blood for Blood.” It contained many songs dedicated to mysticism. The title song told about the earthly fate of Jesus Christ.
In the 90s, the Aria group experienced its heyday. The discography received new albums after a contract with Moroz Records. The composition remained stable. Even then, the team gained cult significance as the creators of a new genre in their homeland. This was the status that the Russian group "Aria" deserved. Reviews, despite comparisons to Iron Maiden, remained largely positive.
The activities carried out by the Russian group "Aria" periodically stopped. The solo albums of the participants were different in style, but were certainly received with success.
Kipelov's departure
For many years, "Aria" remained popular thanks to the inimitable voice of its vocalist. However, in 2002, a conflict occurred, because of which Valery Kipelov left the project. He created own group, whom he named by his last name. The discography of the group "Aria" and "Kipelov" as an antithesis cause a lot of controversy about who is better. Sometimes musicians get together for retrospective concerts. They perform songs together that were written as part of the Aria group. The band's discography continued to expand. Dubinin and Kholstinin invited Arthur Berkut to the group, who sang with them back in the 80s in “Singing Hearts”.
Zero
With its second vocalist, “Aria” released two albums: “Baptism of Fire” and “Armageddon”. In addition, musicians with the rights of famous figures were invited to guest participate in the recordings of other groups. For example, in 2004, Epidemic produced the country's first metal opera, The Elven Manuscript. Berkut and Kholstinin participated in the recording.
Solo projects continued. Mavrin, who left shortly before, was also building a successful career, which began with the Russian group Aria. The musician's solo albums were recorded in a similar genre.
What now?
In 2011, it was announced that Arthur Berkut was leaving the Aria group. The discography received a new album, “Phoenix,” that same fall. It was recorded with Mikhail Zhitnyakov from Grand Courage. Soon the band gave its first concerts in the USA.
With him, the popularity that the Aria group maintains continues. Albums were replenished with the latest on at the moment recording "Through all times". It was released in 2014 and became important milestone, which the discography of “Aria” has survived.
In the fall, permanent guitarist Vladimir Kholstinin suspended his activities in order to undergo treatment and improve his health. The musician promised to return to duty soon. His place was taken by the guitarist of the group “Grand Courage” Mikhail Bugaev until his return. In 2015, “Aria” celebrates its thirtieth anniversary anniversary concerts and a themed tour.
"Aria" is a Russian band that plays music in the style of British heavy metal. This is one of the most successful and oldest metal bands in Russia. In 2007, she was the winner of the Fuzz Award for best live band. The participants of "Aria" created many famous bands(“Mavrin”, “Master”, “Artery”, “Kipelov”), constituting a galaxy whose name is “Aria’s family”.
Most of the lyrics for the group were written by poets: Alexander Elin and Margarita Pushkina.
Background :
The future musicians of “Aria” Vladimir Kholstinin and Vitaly Dubinin met while studying at MPEI, where the amateur rock band “Magic Twilight” was created. Initially, Dubinin acted as a bassist, then Arthur Berkut became a vocalist. In 1982, Dubinin left the group to finish his education. After a while, Berkut was invited to take the place of the vocalist in the popular art-rock group “Autograph”, and “Magic Twilight” broke up.
Bass guitarist Alik Granovsky and Kholstinin became members of the Alfa group, which performed hard rock. The group existed for only a few years. In 1982-1984, when there was a fight against amateur groups, musicians were forced to look for work in official VIA. In 1985, Dubinin, Kholstinin and Granovsky joined the Singing Hearts ensemble. Valery Kipelov from the disbanded ensemble “Leisya, Song” also moved there. A few months later, Dubinin left the Singing Hearts group to study at the Gnessin Academy to become a vocalist.
Early history :
In parallel with their participation in “Singing Hearts,” Granovsky and Kholstinin created a side project, which implied the creation of a group performing heavy metal. Artistic director and Viktor Vekshtein, who was the director of Singing Hearts, became the manager of the new group. He made his studio available to musicians. The name of the group was invented by Kholstinin.
Subsequently, the musicians and fans of the group began to be called “Aryans.” Kholstinin, Wekshtein and Granovsky began selecting the composition of the group. During this period, vocalist Nikolai Noskov, guitarist Sergei Potemkin, and keyboard player Alexander Myasnikov auditioned for the group. The permanent vocalist of “Aria” was approved in February 1985, he became Valery Kipelov. The place of the drummer was taken by Alexander Lvov, who was the sound engineer of “Singing Hearts”, and Kirill Pokrovsky became the backing vocalist and keyboard player.
October 31, 1985 is considered the band’s birthday; it was on this day that the band’s first studio album, entitled “Delusions of Grandeur,” was created. The material, which was released by samizdat on a magnetic cassette, was traditional heavy metal in the spirit of American and English bands such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, which were fashionable at that time. This album was recorded with only one guitarist Kholstinin in the lineup. But for concert activities Nevertheless, they invited the second guitarist Andrei Bolshakov. In addition, on drums, Lvov, who remained the group's sound engineer, was replaced by Igor Molchanov.
On February 5, 1986, Aria’s first concert took place at the MAI Palace of Culture. They played as the opening act for Singing Hearts. In the same year, the group took part solo in the Lituanika-86 and Rock Panorama-86 festivals. “Aria” was received very favorably at festivals, and the group even won several awards and Underground popularity.
The following year, Aria recorded a second album entitled “Who are you with?” Unlike the first, this album had a heavier sound. Most of The compositions were written by Bolshakov, who was a fan of Judas Priest, so the style of this group was present in his compositions. For most of the songs, the lyrics were written by Alexander Elin (with the exception of “Without You” and “Memory of...” - Margarita Pushkina), which is why the album had an acute social and anti-war theme (“Get up, overcome fear”, “Will and Reason” , “Games are not for us”, “Who are you with?”). Alexander Lvov, who was the drummer in the group, again acted as the sound engineer.
After a series of sold-out concerts in the group, a conflict arose between managers Viktor Vekshtein and new guitarist Andrei Bolshakov. Apart from Kipelov and Kholstinin, all other members of the group sided with Bolshakov and broke off relations with Vekshtein, but Victor retained the rights to the name. Molchanov, Granovsky, Pokrovsky and Bolshakov created the group “Master”, and their first self-titled album, which included several songs from Aria, was released in 1987.
