Tumulus is progressive

Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

 folk metal

Folk metal

Folk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music...

 band from Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. They were formed from the ashes of cult doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

/viking metal

Viking metal

Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness and dramatic emphasis on lyrical themes of Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age...

 band Scald

Scald (Russia)

Scald were a folk metal band from Yaroslavl, Russia. After the death of their singer Agyl on September 6, 1997, the remaining members decided to end Scald and later formed a progressive/folk metal band Tumulus.- Line up :...

, after the death of Scald's frontman Agyl. From the beginning, Tumulus moved away from Scald's doom metal roots and played folk metal, combining metal music with traditional Russian folk and incorporated instruments as flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, tambourine

Tambourine

The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....

 and balalaika

Balalaika

The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...

.

History

Russian Tumulus (not to be confused with the German viking/pagan/black metal band Tumulus) was founded in the fall of 1997 in Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 by ex-members of cult doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

/viking metal

Viking metal

Viking metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness and dramatic emphasis on lyrical themes of Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age...

 band Scald

Scald (Russia)

Scald were a folk metal band from Yaroslavl, Russia. After the death of their singer Agyl on September 6, 1997, the remaining members decided to end Scald and later formed a progressive/folk metal band Tumulus.- Line up :...

 that split up due to the death of the singer and leader of the band Agyl. The name of the new band – Tumulus – is a tribute to his memory and also a title of one of the songs from “Will of the Gods is Great Power” album. Tumulus started working on their own music by putting together elements of ethnic Russian music

Ethnic Russian music

Ethnic Russian music specifically deals with the folk music traditions of the ethnic Russian people. It does not include the various forms of art music, which in Russia often contains folk melodies and folk elements or music of aother ethnic groups living in Russia.-History:The roots of Russian...

, progressive rock

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...

 and progressive metal

Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

, ambient music

Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...

 elements.
Tumulus musicians describe their music as "art progressive folk metal"; they use clear leading vocals and folk instruments in the studio and live. Lyrics are written in Russian, ancient Slavonic and English. The lyrics is based on Slavonic spell formulas, rites and everyday magic (that mostly are traditions of northern regions of Russia).
After recording two demos - “Krada” (1999) and “Vo Luzeh” (2000), Tumulus started co-operation with a Russian label Wroth Emitter Productions that released their studio albums “Winter Wood” (2004) and “Sredokresie” (2005). Guest vocals on both albums were performed by Marina Sokolova of a folk band Sedmaya Voda – a Russian folk songstresses.
At the end of 2006, Tumulus went on their “Folk Art Path” tour and performed live in Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 and Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. One of those live shows, which took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, was recorded and released later, in December 2006, as a live album called “Live Balkan Path” (also on Wroth Emitter Productions). At the end of 2008 the band released a new EP called “Kochevonov Plyas”.
In the beginning of 2010 on a label "2S Productions" is realised new album "Vedai" (by the limited edition - only for Russia).
In the summer of 2011, this album was re-released under the title "Vedai - Sacred Knowledge of the Bearland" by Romanian label "Ygghdrassil Productions" for distribution outside of Russia. This re-release contains two exclusive bonus tracks, unavailable on the previous Russian edition.

Current members

• Kuchma – lead vocals, flute
• Velingor – bass, tambourine, percussion, backing vocals
• Kurbat – guitars, backing vocal
• Yish – guitars
• Ottar – drums & percussion

• Chernig – studio & concerts session keyboards & samples
• Masha Chirkova – studio & concerts session female vocals & flutes
• Marina Sokolova – studio session female vocals

Former members

• Harald – guitars
• Igreny – guitars, balalaika
• Zus Obmorokh - guitars
• Karry - guitars
• Vigdis – keyboards
• Vechernica (Lilith) – keyboards
• Al'virius - keyboards, balalaika, back vocal

Discography

• Krada (demo, 1999)
• Vo Luzeh (demo, 2000)
• Winter Wood (full-length, 2004, Wroth Emitter)
• Sredokresie (full-length, 2005, Wroth Emitter)
• Live Balkan Path (live album, 2006, Wroth Emitter)
• Kochevonov Plyas (EP, 2008, Wroth Emitter)
• Vedai (full-length, 2010, 2S Prod; limited edition for Russia only)
• Vedai - Sacred knowledge of the Bearland (full-length, 2011, Ygghdrassil Prod.)