Sergey Mavrin
Encyclopedia
Sergey Konstantinovich Mavrin , nicknamed 'Mavrick' (Маврик) (born February 28, 1963) is a Russian
musician and composer, who is credited as one of the best guitarist
s of Russian metal
scene. His music style combines heavy metal
, progressive metal
and hard rock
, and often dubbed "MavRock".
Sergey had been a member of Aria
, Kipelov
, Chorny Kofe, Metallachord and Nazad v Budusheye, and founded a band 'Mavrik' (not to be confused with Maverick), though it is considered Mavrin's solo project since its latest albums are released with "Sergey Mavrin", not "Mavrik" title on the covers.
Since 2000, Sergey has his own radio show Iron Curtain on 'Yunost' radio channel. It is dedicated to rock music
.
and has been a fan of rock music since his childhood. He mentions Led Zeppelin
, Nazareth
and Deep Purple
as his early favorites. Mavrin studied to play piano and electric guitar, though he never received formal music education. After military service, in 1985 Sergey participated in 'Chorny Kofe' (Black Coffee), one of the first Soviet metal bands, and then joined 'Metallachord'.
's original lineup in 1987, Mavrin was invited to replace Andrej Bolshakov. He participated in three of the band's albums: Geroy Asfalta, Igra s Ogn'om and Krov za Krov, which are considered Aria's 'classical era'. Though Sergey wrote a very few songs for Aria, his guitar solos were one of band's dignities.
After a tour of Germany the band nearly broke up when their vocalist Valery Kipelov
tried to quit (Kipelov had to return because of his contract with Moroz Records, though). Protesting against it, Mavrin moved on to record an album with Alexey Bulgakov on vocals and left the band. He was replaced by Sergey Terentyev. Mavrin and Kipelov tried to start a band 'Nazad v Budusheye' (Back to the Future), but this project remained active only for two months. So as not to remain jobless, in 1996 Sergey played in concert troup of pop artist Dmitry Malikov.
Songs from this album became the main concert material for Sergey's new project: a band he started in 1998, which was entitled "Mavrik" due to his familiar nickname. Arthur Berkut
(ex-Autograph
) joined "Mavrik" as vocalist on its first album Skitaletz (Wanderer), where Mavrin played guitars, bass and keyboards. The genre of the album was progressive
/heavy metal
. Vladimir Holstinin was a guest guitarist on 'Skitaletz'. Shortly after the album's release and subsequent touring, Berkut left the band, to be replaced by classically trained vocalist Stas Vytart.
In 2000, the band released Neformat-1, which took the hard rock sound of Skitaletz in a more experimental direction, while displaying some hints of heavier guitar sound on tracks such as "Staya" ("The Pack"), "Ei Chelovek" ("Hey Man"), and "V Dikom Pole" ("In the Wild Field"). However, Vytart's stage presence did not seem to fit with Mavrin's concept of the band's live show, and shortly after the album's release he was replaced by Berkut, who returned to the band and played assorted shows in support of the album.
During the recording of the third album, Himichesky Son (Chemical Sleep, 2001), Artur Berkut often failed to show up in studio, and finally, Sergey had to fire him. When Berkut once was asked why did he left Mavrik, he replied: "You'd better ask Lena Mavrina about it" (meaning Sergey's wife). Artem Styrov was hired as the new vocalist. The album displayed a much heavier, guitar-oriented sound that was firmly within the heavy metal genre. Some of the songs are still live staples of Mavrin's set as of this writing. Since Chemical Sleep, all following albums are released as by artist 'Sergey Mavrin', not 'Mavrik'. This was done after consulting the IronD record label, which recommended them to take a more serious title.
' and Sergey decided to join it. Mavrik's bassist Alexey Hаrkov also merged into the new band. Mavrin participated in Kipelov's tour and in recording the 'Put Naverh' live album and then the 'Babylon' single. But seeing Kipelov not hurrying up to record a new album, he departed in the summer of 2004. A song 'Prorok' (Prophet) by Mavrin was included to Kipelov's "Rivers of Time" and Kipelov was given a permission to play some of Mavrin's songs.
Former members include:
On June 10, 2008, Pavel Pazon announced that he's no longer the member of Mavrik. Pavl Elkind returned to the band.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
musician and composer, who is credited as one of the best guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
s of Russian metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene. His music style combines heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, and often dubbed "MavRock".
Sergey had been a member of Aria
Aria (band)
Aria is a Russian heavy metal band that was formed in 1985 in Moscow. Although it was not the first Soviet band to play Heavy music, Aria was the first to break through to mainstream media and commercial success. According to several public polls, Aria ranks among top 10 most popular Russian rock...
, Kipelov
Kipelov
Kipelov is a Russian heavy metal band formed and led by former Aria vocalist Valery Kipelov.-Origins:In 2002, dissension in the heavy metal band Aria led to Aria members Valery Kipelov , Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin leaving that band and joining with former Aria member Sergey Mavrin...
, Chorny Kofe, Metallachord and Nazad v Budusheye, and founded a band 'Mavrik' (not to be confused with Maverick), though it is considered Mavrin's solo project since its latest albums are released with "Sergey Mavrin", not "Mavrik" title on the covers.
Since 2000, Sergey has his own radio show Iron Curtain on 'Yunost' radio channel. It is dedicated to rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
Early life
Sergey was born in KazanKazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
and has been a fan of rock music since his childhood. He mentions Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
and Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
as his early favorites. Mavrin studied to play piano and electric guitar, though he never received formal music education. After military service, in 1985 Sergey participated in 'Chorny Kofe' (Black Coffee), one of the first Soviet metal bands, and then joined 'Metallachord'.
In Aria
After the breakup of AriaAria (band)
Aria is a Russian heavy metal band that was formed in 1985 in Moscow. Although it was not the first Soviet band to play Heavy music, Aria was the first to break through to mainstream media and commercial success. According to several public polls, Aria ranks among top 10 most popular Russian rock...
's original lineup in 1987, Mavrin was invited to replace Andrej Bolshakov. He participated in three of the band's albums: Geroy Asfalta, Igra s Ogn'om and Krov za Krov, which are considered Aria's 'classical era'. Though Sergey wrote a very few songs for Aria, his guitar solos were one of band's dignities.
After a tour of Germany the band nearly broke up when their vocalist Valery Kipelov
Valery Kipelov
Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov (Валерий Александрович Кипелов (born July 12, 1958), is a Russian music artist and composer, who was the vocalist of heavy metal band Aria. Since 2002, Valery leads his own heavy metal band Kipelov.-Early...
tried to quit (Kipelov had to return because of his contract with Moroz Records, though). Protesting against it, Mavrin moved on to record an album with Alexey Bulgakov on vocals and left the band. He was replaced by Sergey Terentyev. Mavrin and Kipelov tried to start a band 'Nazad v Budusheye' (Back to the Future), but this project remained active only for two months. So as not to remain jobless, in 1996 Sergey played in concert troup of pop artist Dmitry Malikov.
Foundation of Mavrik
In 1997, Sergey offered to Kipelov (who was back in Aria) to record together the combined album, which might include their songs which were refused by Aria or did not fit into Aria's style. In 1997 they released the LP entitled Kipelov and Mavrin - Smutnoye Vremia (Time of Troubles), which included 10 tracks.Songs from this album became the main concert material for Sergey's new project: a band he started in 1998, which was entitled "Mavrik" due to his familiar nickname. Arthur Berkut
Arthur Berkut
Artur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev , better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut , is a Russian singer. Through his career he participated in numerous bands, most notable are Autograph, Mavrik, and Aria....
(ex-Autograph
Autograph (Russian band)
Autograph was a Soviet Russian art rock band, considered a pioneer of progressive rock music in Russia.The group was founded in 1979 by Alexander "Sasha" Sitkovetsky, and achieved a considerable success at the first Soviet state-sanctioned rock festival held in Tbilisi, Georgia with Sitkovetsky's...
) joined "Mavrik" as vocalist on its first album Skitaletz (Wanderer), where Mavrin played guitars, bass and keyboards. The genre of the album was progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
/heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Vladimir Holstinin was a guest guitarist on 'Skitaletz'. Shortly after the album's release and subsequent touring, Berkut left the band, to be replaced by classically trained vocalist Stas Vytart.
In 2000, the band released Neformat-1, which took the hard rock sound of Skitaletz in a more experimental direction, while displaying some hints of heavier guitar sound on tracks such as "Staya" ("The Pack"), "Ei Chelovek" ("Hey Man"), and "V Dikom Pole" ("In the Wild Field"). However, Vytart's stage presence did not seem to fit with Mavrin's concept of the band's live show, and shortly after the album's release he was replaced by Berkut, who returned to the band and played assorted shows in support of the album.
During the recording of the third album, Himichesky Son (Chemical Sleep, 2001), Artur Berkut often failed to show up in studio, and finally, Sergey had to fire him. When Berkut once was asked why did he left Mavrik, he replied: "You'd better ask Lena Mavrina about it" (meaning Sergey's wife). Artem Styrov was hired as the new vocalist. The album displayed a much heavier, guitar-oriented sound that was firmly within the heavy metal genre. Some of the songs are still live staples of Mavrin's set as of this writing. Since Chemical Sleep, all following albums are released as by artist 'Sergey Mavrin', not 'Mavrik'. This was done after consulting the IronD record label, which recommended them to take a more serious title.
In Kipelov
After the 'Judgement Day' breakup of Aria in 2002, Valery Kipelov, Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin formed the band 'KipelovKipelov
Kipelov is a Russian heavy metal band formed and led by former Aria vocalist Valery Kipelov.-Origins:In 2002, dissension in the heavy metal band Aria led to Aria members Valery Kipelov , Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin leaving that band and joining with former Aria member Sergey Mavrin...
' and Sergey decided to join it. Mavrik's bassist Alexey Hаrkov also merged into the new band. Mavrin participated in Kipelov's tour and in recording the 'Put Naverh' live album and then the 'Babylon' single. But seeing Kipelov not hurrying up to record a new album, he departed in the summer of 2004. A song 'Prorok' (Prophet) by Mavrin was included to Kipelov's "Rivers of Time" and Kipelov was given a permission to play some of Mavrin's songs.
Mavrin:
'There were artistic differences. This is normally, a common situation for any band, here or in other countries. We were misunderstanding each other. I couldn't understand what he wants, he couldn't understnand why do I compose the songs, what I do. Artistic differences reached the boiling point and led personal relations to a dead end. We could have just been touring and still playing Aria's songs, taking care to nothing. But I longed for creativity. I wished it had been changed anyway. But it happened as it had to happen."
Back to Mavrik
In 2004 Sergey Mavrin reunited his own band. Artem Styrov decided to come back, though Harkov stood with Kipelov. Alexander Shwetz from Russian band Nephilim became the new bass player. The same year Zapreshennaya Realnost (Forbidden Reality) was released, which became the most commercially successful album for Mavrin. The band started touring all over Russia with the new material. In 2005 Styrov was dismissed due to his health problems - he struggled to sing the long 2-hour gigs. His successor was 18-year-old Andrey Lefler. Mavrin and his band participated in Aria's twentieth anniversary gig and the bands toured together in Ukraine in the winter of 2005. After it, Mavrin released a new album Otkrovenie (Revelation).Mavrik/Sergey Mavrin
- Skitaletz (Wanderer, 1998)
- Neformat (Non-format, 2000)
- Himichesky Son (Chemical Sleep, 2001)
- Odinochestvo (Loneliness, 2002)
- Zapreshennaya Realnost (Forbidden Reality, 2004)
- Obratnaya Storona Realnosti (Other Side of Reality, 2005)
- Otkrovenie (Revelation, 2006)
- Live (2007)
- Fortuna (Fortune, 2007)
- Neformat 2 (Non-format 2, 2010)
- Moya svoboda (My freedom, 2010)
Aria
- Geroy Asfalta (Hero of Asphalt, 1987)
- Igra s Ogneom (Playing with Fire, 1989)
- Krov za Krov (Blood for Blood, 1991)
Kipelov
- Smutnoye VremiaSmutnoye Vremia (album)Смутное Время is a standalone album by vocalist Valery Kipelov and guitarist Sergey Mavrin, both formerly of Aria . Alik Granovky, former Aria bassist, was a guest musician on "SV", but composed no songs for it...
(Time of Troubles, 1997) - Put Naverh (Way to the Top, 2003)
- Vavilon (Babylon, 2003)
Lineup
Current:- Sergey Mavrin (guitar)
- Artem Styrov (vocals)
- Yuri Alexeyev (guitar)
- Leonid Maksimov (bass)
- Dmitiy Zavidov (drums)
Former members include:
- Arthur BerkutArthur BerkutArtur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev , better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut , is a Russian singer. Through his career he participated in numerous bands, most notable are Autograph, Mavrik, and Aria....
(vocals) - Andrey Lefler (vocals)
- Ilya Lemur (vocals)
- Alexey Kharkov (bass)
- Pavel Elkind (drums)
- Stanislav Vitart (vocals)
- Alexander Mosinian (bass)
- Pavel Chinekov (drums)
- Alexander Schwetz (bass)
- Pavel Pazon (drums)
- Alexander Karpukhin (drums)
- Rinat Mukhametjanov (drums)
Lineup changes through the years
- I: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, bass, keyboards), Arthur Berkut (vocals), Pavel Chinyakov (drums). This line-up recorded the album Skitaletz.
- Ia: Sergey Mavrin (guitar), Arthur Berkut (vocals), Alexander Mosinian (bass), Pavel Chinyakov (drums), Gennadiy Matveyev (keyboards). This was the line-up of the very first Mavrik gig which took place on February 20, 1999. They played some amount of club gigs that year.
- II: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Stanislav Vitart (vocals), Alexander Mosinian (bass), Pavel Chinyakov (drums). Berkut left the band somewhere in late 1999, during rehearsals of what ultimately became Neformat. Stanislav Vitart was brought in to record vocals (it's said that for audition he recorded Queen's Bohemian RhapsodyBohemian Rhapsody"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
in full, including all choir sections). Berkut is still credited on Neformat as the co-writer of one song. - Ib: Sergey Mavrin (guitar), Arthur Berkut (vocals), Alexander Mosinian (bass), Pavel Chinyakov (drums). Vitart quit after playing just two gigs, saying that "it wasn't really his cup of tea". Shortly after that, Berkut returns. Somewhere during 2000, Yuri Alexeev also joined the band, and the 5-piece format was never changed afterwards.
- III: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Artem Styrov (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexey Kharkov (bass), Alexander Karpukhin (drums). In the late 2000, during the early sessions of Himicheskiy son, Berkut quit again, taking Mosinian and Chinyakov with him to form the self-titled band, Berkut. Mavrin recruited two young students of Sergey Zadora School, Kharkov and Karpukhin, to fill the rhythm section slot, and started auditioning vocalists. According to various sources, when Artem Styrov first sent his demo, Mavrin said it was awful, but Mavrin's wife Elena persuaded Mavrin to invite Styrov down to his studio for an audition. Styrov did a good job there, and Mavrin hired him.
- IV: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Artem Styrov (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexey Kharkov (bass), Rinat Mukhametjanov (drums). After completion of Himicheskiy son in late 2001, Alexander Karpukhin quit Mavrik (the band changed its legal name to "Sergey Mavrin" by then, but everyone kept calling it by its initial informal name) and joined another prominent Russian metal group Master. Rinat Mukhametjanov replaced him. The band did a bit of touring in support of the album, and in 2002 they released Odinochestvo - a compilation of ballads and slow tracks from previous Mavrik and Sergey Mavrin albums, with instruments partially re-recorded by the current line-up.
- V: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Artem Styrov (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexey Kharkov (bass), Pavel Elkind (drums). Mukhametjanov was replaced with Elkind around Spring 2003, and Elkind made his debut on 31 May 2003. That gig was also significant due to the very first performance of the material from the upcoming album Zapreschennaya realnost.
- Va (band inactive): Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexey Kharkov (bass), Pavel Elkind (drums). The fifth line-up lasted only for two gigs due to Mavrin and Kharkov's commitments with Kipelov. Soon after the second one (31 January 2004) Artem Styrov was fired from the band, and an open audition for a vocalist was declared. The applicants should have had recorded a difficult track Poka bogi spyat (While Gods Are Asleep) from the new album Zapreschennaya realnost and send the recording to the band. Little else was happening - Mavrin and Kharkov were still very heavily engaged with Kipelov's band.
- VI: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Artem Styrov (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexander Schwetz (bass), Pavel Elkind (drums). In the Fall 2004 Mavrin parted ways with Kipelov and soon after announced the new lineup of his own band: Alexey Kharkov (who preferred to stay with Kipelov) was replaced by another Zadora student Alexander Schwetz, and, apparently dissatisfied with the demos sent to him, Mavrin invited Styrov to come back. This line-up recorded an EP Obratnaya storona realnosti and toured relatively extensively in early 2005.
- VII: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Andrey Lefler (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Alexander Schwetz (bass), Pavel Elkind (drums). The change of vocalists was surrounded with much secrecy. Unhappy with Styrov's form, Mavrin again thought of replacing him. Accidentally finding an old audition tape from 2004, Mavrin gave it a listen, thought it was good and contacted the singer - then 18 years old Andrey Lefler. They rehearsed several times in secret, and Lefler got the job. Styrov apparently was formally fired somewhere in early August, right before the Nashestviye open air festival. This line-up was the only one that released more than one album: Otkroveniye and Live, and it's overall the longest lasting line-up of the band (more than two years, from 9 August 2005 to 5 January 2008). The band mounted some very intensive Russian and Ukrainian tours during that time.
- VIII: Sergey Mavrin (guitar, keyboards), Andrey Lefler (vocals), Yuri Alexeyev (guitar), Leonid Maximov (bass), Pavel Pazon (drums). On 5 January 2008, Schwetz and Elkind unexpectedly quit the band (and soon joined the instrumental project Jin). Mavrin had to cancel a planned festival where he was going to headline, and had to seek replacements once again. His choice fell on Leonid Maximov and Pavel Pazon, two young aspiring musicians.
On June 10, 2008, Pavel Pazon announced that he's no longer the member of Mavrik. Pavl Elkind returned to the band.