Draft:Belle Morte (band)

Belle Morte is a symphonic metal - gothic metal band from Minsk, Belarus, formed in 2015 by Anastasia Schebrova and Sergey Butovsky. The band has released one album, one EP, thirteen singles, four official music videos and four official lyric videos.

Formation and early years (2015–2018)
Belle Morte's history began as a studio project in 2015. The band's name is derived from the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton, where Belle Morte is a secondary character, a member of The Vampire Council.

Band's first single "Mercy" was released in 2017, followed by the first official EP Game on.

Crime of Passion (2018–2021)
After EP release the band focused on their first full-length album. In 2020, they evolved into a full-fledged band, forming a permanent line-up. Maria Shumanskaya, Ilya Rogovoy, Ilya Petrashkevich and Rostislav Golubnichiy joined the band.

In August 2020, unable to perform live due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions the band took part in the Bloody news online fest organized by Bloody News Metal Magazine and GlobMetal Promotions.

In 2021 the band signed a contract with Italian label Wormholedeath and released their first full-length conceptual album. The album called Crime of Passion was inspired by John Fowles’s novel “The Collector".

Global collaborations (2021– present)
During COVID-19 pandemic the band began recording their second studio album. The pandemic and limitations connected with the global lockdown inspired Belle Morte to involve other musicians from different parts of the world remotely and incorporate a range of folk instruments. During this period their music gains a strong folk component.

The first single Fallen Idol released in 2022 features jouhikko parts recorded by Finnish musician Tero Kalliomäki. The second single Krew features Ukrainian bandura by Джусь Ярослав Анатолійович, guest vocals by Alex Pilkevych, prog metal artist of Ukrainian origin and Ada Rusinkiewicz, Polish singer-songwriter (HETHET). The track combines Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish languages and is dedicated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

After Krew band released Exorcism single with morin khuur and Mongolian throat singing performed by Mongolian musician Ulziisaihan Horoldamba.

In Blame me single the band continues to experiment with their sound and combines symphonic metal with jazz influences and Armenian duduk, recorded by Lernik Khachatrian, clarinetist/dudukist of Armenian origin.

Black waters single was recorded in collaboration with Maulana Malik Ibrahim, a contemporary folk musician from Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia. Maulana Malik Ibrahim performed suling and gamelan parts and backing vocals in Sundanese.

The most recent release September features oud and bağlama parts by Portuguese multi instrumentalist Rúben Monteiro.

Current members

 * Anastasia Schebrova aka Belle Morte – vocals (2015-present)
 * Sergey Butovsky – bass (2015-present)
 * Maria Shumanskaya – keyboards, violin (2020-present)
 * Ilya Rogovoy – guitar (2020-present)
 * Ilya Petrashkevich – guitar (2020-present)
 * Rostislav Golubnichiy - drums (2020-present)

Albums

 * Crime of Passion (2021)

EPs

 * Game on (2018)

Singles

 * Mercy (2017)
 * Devilish Deal (2018)
 * Wintersleep (2018)
 * My Legacy (2018)
 * To Get Her (2019)
 * To Get Her (acoustic version) (2019)
 * Lace (2019)
 * Fallen Idol (2022)
 * Krew (2022)
 * Exorcism (2023)
 * Blame me (2023)
 * Black Waters (2023)
 * September (2023)

Videography

 * Mercy Directed by Jack Lytkin
 * Lace Directed by Jack Lytkin
 * My little demon Directed by Jack Lytkin
 * Who are you Directed by Jack Lytkin
 * Broken things
 * Krew
 * Black waters
 * September Directed by Riccardo Ceppari
 * Exorcism Directed by Riccardo Ceppari