Aria

Formed in Moscow in 1985, Aria is the band that gave heavy metal a Russian voice and a place in the Soviet mainstream. Led by Vladimir Kholstinin and marked by the voices of Valery Kipelov, Arthur Berkut and Mikhail Zhitnyakov, it sang of heroes, wars and moral dilemmas over riffs in the Iron Maiden tradition.

Hero of Asphalt and Guest from the Kingdom of Shadows made it a reference for generations of Eastern European bands, in a career that outlasted the end of the USSR without losing its audience.