User:Trains rights/Sonic Death (band)

Sonic Death is a Russian garage rock band from St. Petersburg with frontman Arsenij Morozov (Арсений Морозов). It is one of the oldest groups belonging to the new wave of Russian rock [ru], which started in the late 2000s.

History
The band's frontman Arsenij Morozov started playing guitar at the age of 6 years. Additionally, he practiced it at a Pioneers Palace in Ozerki. In his childhood he mostly listened to Russian Rock, and the overseas bands Deep Purple and Jethro Tull. He also drew inspiration from Daniel Johnston. Since the beginning of his work, he contrasted it with classic Russian Rock.

The band emerged in fall 2011 with many of the same members as Padla Bear Outfit, except for their guitarist Pyotr Chinavat (Пётр Чинават). Both existed simultaneously until 2017, when Padla Bear Outfit disbanded. The same project has previously been put on halt from 2011-2016.

The members chose to start a new band because they felt stuck in their development and wanted to restart without their old band's associations. The name “Sonic Death” is meant to sound “standard”, meaning “the end of the sound era" . At some point, the band also thought of naming themselves "Puff Pastry Death", but decided upon "Sonic Death" in honor of the death of Fred "Sonic" Smith. The name has no relation to the American band Sonic Youth or their album Sonic Death, as Arsenij only found out about their existence afterward.

At first the band consisted of 2 people. Arsenijs other project, "Arsenij Krestitel'" (meaning "Baptist Arsenij") was formed spontaneously in 2016 and was initially not planned to be developed further and become its own project, but ended up doing so.

In the beginning of it's career, Sonic Death was an opening band for other groups like Samoe Bolshoe Prostoe Chislo and Kadavar. In 2013 their album HOME PUNK was awarded a place in the Top 25 list of the best Russian albums in 2013 by the magazine Afisha. At the end of the decade, it was rated as one of the 30 best Russian-language albums of the 2010s by The Village[ru](a Russian online newspaper), and as one of the 100 most important Russian albums of the 2010s by "Time Out".

In 2017 the group suffered a car crash while on tour, on their way from Kirov to Tolyatti. Nobody suffered injury, but the situation helped the popularization of the band. The band emigrated in March 2022 and has remained overseas since.

Sound
Most critics describe the band as garage rock, however because it experiments frequently, there are some songs with elements of black and psychedelic rock. Some also note punk and Stoner rock influences. In the beginning, the band's style developed along the lines of 70s New York underground and outsider music. Its members favour a DIY and Lo-fi sound, the first albums were recorded at home.

The group's leader listed Ty Segall, Meatbodies, Vant, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Crystal Castles, The Velvet Underground, and The Sonics as his favourite bands/artists; as well as the Russian bands and artists Boris Grebenshchikov, Kino (band) - and of the new wave, Kazuskoma (Казускома), Slackers, Prodavcy-konsul'tanty (Продавцы-консультанты), Glintshake, The Optical Sounds, and Koshatka. As his most hated, he listed Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains.

Discography
EP:


 * SONIC DEATH (EP, 2011)
 * POGRUSTI TOUR EP (2013)
 * † UGLY SESSION † EP (2014)
 * VECHERINKA DLJA LOHOV EP (2015)
 * LÄRM EP (2022)

LP:


 * GOTHIC SESSION (LP, 2012)
 * 1st BLOOD (LP, 2013)
 * HOME PUNK (LP, 2013
 * HATE MACHINE (LP, 2016)
 * ☆UNRELEASED ALBUM☆ (LP, 2017)
 * SPACE GOTH (LP, 2017)
 * PUNKS AGAINST MAFIA Vol. 1 (LP, 2018)
 * punks against mafia vol​.​2 (LP, 2018)
 * RUSSIAN GOTHIC (LP, 2020)
 * POSLE NAS TISHINA (ПОСЛЕ НАС ТИШИНА, literally "After us, there's silence") (LP, 2020)
 * Noch' Dlinnykh Ballad (Ночь Длинных Баллад, literally "Night of the long ballads") (LP, 2021)
 * OSYOL VOYNY (ОСЁЛ ВОЙНЫ, literally "Donkey of the war) (LP, 2022)