You many not know about Russia’s Mumiy Troll yet - but that is sure to change in 2009 if their American tour has anything to do with it.

If you don’t understand Russian at first listen you might be annoyed that you don’t know what singer Ilya Lagutenko is singing about. It’s easy though to appreciate Lagutenko’s vocals as another instrument of the band. Their newest CD Comrade Ambassador has a lyric book included with an English translation by Lagutenko himself.


Ilya Lagutenko & Eugene Zvidionny

The show at Chop Suey was sold-out and the crowd was overwhelmingly Russian. Not just people of Russian descent but Russians, from Russia, speaking Russian. It was like being in a different country for one night. Mumiy Troll’s fans were possessive of their spots in the crowd – no one milled around down in front and no one gave an inch – if you did, you’d lose your ground. They knew the lyrics and proved it by singing along. They danced and shouted and I was impressed by how dressed up the women were. Even the men were dressed up. And drinking hard liquor – not the usual beer of Seattle crowds. Two women down in front got into a fight.


Yuri Tsaler

Mumiy Troll as a live band is something you really need to witness. By the end of the show they had launched into a non-stop five strong song swell of something that was like a Led Zeppelin crossed with Nirvana crossed with Black Sabbath breakdown. It was, to put it mildly, awesome. Singer Ilya Lagutenko is a shocking showman – he uses every single atom to get across his emotion.

Koroleva Roka was brilliant - as were Vladivostok 2000, Utekai and Oh, Paradiso. My text editor mangles the Cyrillic alphabet but you can see the set list here. Mumiy Troll will return to the States with shows in Los Angeles and an appearance at SXSW.


Ilya Lagutenko

You can also get a taste of their albums by visiting their page on last.fm and myspace profile. I will also have my interview with Lagutenko ready very soon and check out more photos I took at the show here & here.