Alisa (Russian band)

Alisa (Алиса ) is a Russian hard rock band.

History
Alisa was formed in November 1983 by bassist Svyatoslav Zadery. The band's name originated from Zadery's nickname. The band's lineup was finally completed in 1984, when new vocalist Kostya Kinchev (real name Konstantin Panfilov) and guitarist Petr Samoylov joined. Their debut album Energia was recorded between 1985 and 1986. Energia was released by the state publishing monopoly Melodiya in 1988.

The relations between Alisa's two leaders, Kinchev and Zadery, deteriorated, and Zadery left the band. This occurred just one hour before Alisa was to perform at a concert. Kino bassist Igor Tihomirov was asked to replace Zadery for one concert. Later, Zadery created his own band Nateh! (НАТЕ!). Zadery died on 6 May 2011 due to complications from a stroke at the age of 50.

Alisa had a fan community called the Army of Alisa, known for their rough behaviour at concerts. It led to animosity between the band and Soviet officials. In 1987, the newspaper Smena accused Alisa's leader Kinchev of Nazi propaganda and worshiping Hitler. Kinchev filed a suit for calumny and moral damage compensation.



In 1988, guitarist Igor "Chuma" Chumychkin joined the band. This change was followed by the heavier sound of next two albums, Shabash and For those Who Fell From the Moon. Alisa toured through Europe and Israel together with fellow Russian heavy metal band Aria. The album Black Mark, released in 1994, was dedicated to the memory of Chuma, who committed suicide by jumping from a window.

In the new millennium, with albums such as Seychas Pozdnee Chem Ty Dumaesh (It is Later Than You Think, 2003) and Izgoy (Exile, 2005), Alisa's sound became heavier.

Alisa ranked among the top ten most popular Russian rock bands according to a Romir survey from 2005, and ranked first in the list of the most influential Russian rock groups according to a Komsomolskaya Pravda readers' poll from 2004.

In 2022, the band supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Lyrical themes
Kinchev was baptized in 1992 after a series of concerts in Jerusalem. Although early Alisa lyrics were typical for Russian rock - social protest and rock 'n' roll hype - since the late 1990s their main theme has been ideas of Christianity, as well as Russian patriotism and nationalism.

Kinchev's fairly conservative religious-patriotic shift was viewed unfavourably by some old fans that liked Alisa for their original "rock" message.

Studio albums

 * Recorded with Svyatoslav Zadery on vocals, before Kinchev joined

Current line up

 * Konstantin Kinchev - vocals, additional guitar (1985–present)
 * Petr Samoylov - bass, backing vocals (1986–present), vocals (1983), guitar, backing vocals (1985—1986)
 * Dmitri Parfyonov - keyboards, programming, backing vocals, additional guitar (2000–present)
 * Andrey Vdovichenko - drums (2003–present), ex - N.E.P.
 * Pavel Zelitskiy - guitar (2018–present)
 * Alexander Pyankov — guitar (2019—present)

Former members

 * Boris Borisov - vocals, saxophone (1983)
 * Lyudmila "Teri" Kolot - vocals (1986)
 * Svetoslav "Alisa" Zadery - bass, vocals (1983–1986)
 * Pavel "Pol Khan" Kondratenko - keyboards (1983–1988)
 * Alexander Zhuravlev - saxophone (1987–1988)
 * Igor "Chuma" Chumychkin - guitar (1988–1993)
 * Andrey Korolev - keyboards (1989–1993)
 * Alexander Ponomarev - guitar (1996–1998)
 * Andrey Shatalin - guitar (1983–1985, 1986-1988, 1989-2003)
 * Mikhail Nefedov - drums (1983–2003)
 * Igor Romanov - guitar (2003-2018)
 * Evgeniy Lyovin - guitar (1998-2019)