Epidemia
| Эпидемия Epidemia |
|
|---|---|
Epidemia, 2015
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Moscow, Russia |
| Genres | Power metal |
| Years active | 1993 (unofficial), 1995–present |
| Labels | CD-Maximum |
| Associated acts | Mechanical Poet, Arda, Aria, Catharsis |
| Members | Yuri Melisov Eugeny Egorov Ilya Mamontov Dmitry Protsko Dmitry Ivanov Dmitry Krivenkov |
| Past members | Pavel Okunev Ilya Knyazev Roman Valeriev Pavel Bushuev Evgeny Laikov Roman Zakharov Ivan Izotov, Max Samosvat, etc. |
Epidemia (Russian: Эпидемия, sometimes referred to as 'Epi' by fans) is a Russian power metal band famous for doing the Elven Manuscript metal opera in 2004. It was formed by guitarist Yuri "Juron" Melisov in 1993, with the first songs made in 1995. The band was once nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award.
In 1993, the as-yet unnamed group recorded the demo album Phoenix, with Melisov performing both guitars and vocals. Melisov came up with the name "Epidemia" (Russian for epidemic) in 1995. Vocalist Pavel Okunev and guitarist-songwriter Roman Zakharov joined Epidemia to record the debut studio release Volya k Zhizni (Will to Live) a lo-fi EP with five tracks. The follow-up, Na Krayu Vremeni (At the Edge of Time) was the band's first full-length CD. It was recorded by the line-up of Yuri Melisov (guitar), Roman Zakharov (guitar), Pavel Okunev (vocals), Ilya Knyazev (bass) and Andrey Laptev (drums).
In 2000, Maxim Samosvat, who was a member of Mechanical Poet, replaced Okunev on vocals. Epidemia's first release with the new vocalist was Zagadka Volshebnoy Strani (Riddle of the Wonderland). A video was shot for the ballad "Ya Molilsya na Tebya" (I was Praising You) and aired on MTV Russia. Epidemia was nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award in 2002. New line-up changes came after Roman Zakharov (the band's second composer) departed, and Andrey Laptev left the band.
With the new line-up, Melisov decided to complete a conceptual metal opera. Originally, he had planned to create music for the Dragonlance series of fantasy novels, but Epidemia was unable to get rights. Melisov instead wrote his own storyline for the opera, which was similar to the Dragonlance series. In 2004 the conceptual album Elfiyskaya Rukopis (Elven Manuscript), featuring vocalists from Aria, Arida Vortex, Chorny Obelisk and Master, was released. The album was produced by Vladimir Holstinin of Aria fame. Epidemia's presentation of Elven Manuscript together with Aria on February 13, 2004 at the Friday 13 Festival was attended by around 6,000 people. The popularity of the band grew, and the track "Proydi Svoy Put" (Pass Your Way) from the opera held the top position on the Nashe Radio weekly chart for one month.
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