"Black obelisk" - the legend of the domestic underground

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The famous Moscow group "Black Obelisk" was officially formed on August 1, 1986 by Anatoly Krupnov. Prior to that, he participated in the jazz-rock band Prospekt, but the group soon broke up, and Anatoly created a new project on its ruins. The early work of "Black Obelisk" can be compared with "Black Sabbath": the same gloomy and heavy atmosphere, which is felt even physically and puts a lot of pressure on the psyche. The very first song of the group was the composition "Apocalypse", written by Krupnov, as well as the subsequent songs of the group at the initial stage of development and formation.

Over time, Krupnov became a fan of the work of Baudelaire, Brodsky and Verhaarn, which, of course, was reflected in the lyrics of the new works of the Black Obelisk group. However, the gloomy creations of these authors were most harmoniously intertwined with Krupnov's own poems and the heavy rhymes of "Obelisk". The team gave their first concert in September 1986, after which the guys were noticed by the Moscow "Rock Laboratory". Group practicallywas immediately enrolled in the ranks of the organization and began to regularly take part in all "metal" concerts.

The group did not stay long in its original composition, and in the same 1986 the guitarist left the band, replaced by Alexis, who had previously played in the Metal Corrosion group. Oddly enough, it was he who became Krupnov's creative partner and co-author of many songs. The first album of the group "Black Obelisk" was released in December 1986, and it was called "Apocalypse", in honor of the first song of the group. The album was recorded "live", as the band did not have the proper equipment. Several copies of this recording have survived to this day, but only the truly lucky ones can boast of having them.

After the release of the album, the group began to gain popularity. Despite many changes in the composition, the team did not break up and continued to delight fans with characteristic gloomy music, inherent only to the Black Obelisk group. The fans had to pick the chords of their songs themselves, but now they can be easily found. However, on February 27, 1997, a misfortune happened: the founder of the group, Anatoly Krupnov, died of a heart attack. But even after that, the team continued to exist, and in 2000 began to collaborate with the group of Sergei Mavrin. The band performed in clubs throughout the next year with new material, after which they released a full-length album called Ashes.

Shortly after starting cooperation withMavrin "Black Obelisk" joins the "Energy of Roads" movement, within which he participates in many festivals and concerts. In the summer of 2002, a grandiose event was to take place both in the life of the group and within the framework of the Russian metal scene. Moscow was supposed to host an international festival of famous rock bands such as "Uriah Heep", "Sodom", "Doro", "Gamma Ray", "Primal Fear" and others. However, unfortunately, the organizers were unable to complete the matter, and the festival never took place.

The presentation of the album "Pepel" took place in 2003 in a Moscow club. In the summer of the same year, the band starts writing new material, which is included in the next full-length album called "Nerves". To date, the group can please fans with the release of a new single "Up!", The sound of which, as always, is beyond praise. This group rightfully bears the title of "Legends of Russian Rock" thanks to extraordinary music and truly deep and philosophical lyrics.