S.T.R.A.H. | |
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Origin | Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
Genres | Garage rock, power pop, gothic rock |
Years active | 1985 – 1991 |
Labels | Produkcija Slovenija |
Past members | Milutin Krstić Željko Debeljević Aleksandar Žikić Saša Ristić Nenad Ivković Aleksandar Timofejev |
S.T.R.A.H. (Serbian Cyrillic: С.Т.Р.А.Х.; trans. F.E.A.R.) was a Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade.
Inspired by American garage rock and British pub rock, Milutin Krstić (vocals), Željko Debeljević (guitar, vocals), Aleksandar Žikić (previously a music journalist, guitar), Saša Ristić (bass guitar) and Nenad Ivković (drums) formed the band S.T.R.A.H. The band chose their name after a fictional secret organization from the British comic The Steel Claw.
A year after the formation, Krstić left the band, so Debeljović took over lead vocals. The band performed rarely, but managed to gain cult status thanks to their innovative songs. In 1988, the band released their only release, the EP Mesec (The Moon), though Produkcija Slovenija record label. The EP, featured four songs, "Mesec (Lunarni Mix)" ("The Moon ("Lunar Mix)"), "Mesec (Vampire State Dub Mix)", "Noćas" ("Tonight") and "Vudu lutka" ("Voodoo Doll"). The songs lyrics were horror-influenced, and the album artwork featured horror images and the inscription Metus dominus unus est (Latin for "Fear Is the Only Master"). The back cover featured the logo and the address of the Count Dracula Fan Club from New York City.
After the release of the EP, Ivković was replaced by Aleksandar Timofejev. With the outbreak of Yugoslav Wars, the band disbanded, while in the middle of recording their full-length début.
Žikić continued his career as a journalist, writing for music magazines and working on television and radio. He wrote theatre plays Elvira je kul (Elvira Is Cool), Overdouz (transliteration for Overdose) and Ples aveti (The Dance of the Spectres). He wrote music books Fatalni ringišpil: Hronika beogradskog rokenrola 1959 - 1979 (Fatal Carousel: The Cronicle of Belgrade Rock 'n' Roll 1959, 1979, 1999), Mesto u mećavi: Priča o Milanu Mladenoviću (A Spot in the Blizzard: The Story of Milan Mladenović, 1999), and a book about whiskey entitled Vatra iz vode (Fire from Water, 2003). He also wrote a pull-out book Electrodeo: Almanah nove američke muzike (Electrodeo - The Almanac of New American Music) published by magazine NON.