KYPCK ( Volapuk rendition from Russian " Курск", "Kursk" in the Western Alphabet) is a Finnish

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band. They were formed in 2007 and sing entirely in Russian. The band is composed of singer Erkki Seppänen, ex-

Sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. Lead guitarist Miika Tenkula was the band's vocalist for the first album, but du ...

members

Sami Lopakka Sami Lopakka (born 17 January 1975) is a Finnish guitarist and author. He was one of two guitarists for the metal band Sentenced until it disbanded (1989–2005). He was the band's main lyricist and was also considered to be the spokesman for t ...

and

Sami Kukkohovi Sami Kukkohovi (born 26 July 1974) is a Finnish musician, best known as the bassist of the metal band Sentenced. He joined the band in 1996, replacing Taneli Jarva, and stayed with Sentenced until they disbanded in 2005. He was originally only a ...

(guitar), bassist Jaakko Ylä-Rautio, and drummer Antti Karihtala, who replaced original drummer

Hiili Hiilesmaa Kai "Hiili" Hiilesmaa (born December 1966) is a Finnish record producer and musician. He is the vocalist of the rock band The Skreppers, former drummer of the doom metal band KYPCK and former keyboardist of the rock band Daniel Lioneye. He has ...

History

KYPCK formed in 2007. The band's vocalist Erkki Seppänen speaks fluent Russian after his years at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and working in the Finnish embassy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The band's debut album '' Cherno'' ("Black") was released in 2008, their second album '' Nizhe'' ("Lower") in 2011, their third album '' Imena na Stene'' ("The Names on the Wall") in 2014, and their fourth album ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

'' in 2016. KYPCK's distinctive live performances have included

Soviet Era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

video projections and peculiar instruments like bassist Ylä-Rautio's one-stringed bass Kypcklop, and guitarist Lopakka's six-stringer, built by Amfisound Guitars, around a genuine Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle. KYPCK created their own genre called "Doomsday Metal" and have broken numerous barriers on their way: The first album sang entirely in the Russian language to have been released worldwide; the lengthiest Russian tour ever by a Western band – from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

to Siberia's

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

; songs on the playlist of Russia's biggest rock radio station, who have strictly ruled out including non-Russian bands in their playlist rotation. In 2015, the band was banned from entering

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, until February 2018, when they played a concert in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Belarus. All of KYPCK's albums include

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

Russian lyrics and English translations in the booklet of the album. In 2024, the musicians went on a farewell tour, after which the group officially ceased to exist under the name KYPCK. The new group will have the same musicians, but the band will play in
different style and under a different name

Members

;Last lineup *E. Seppänen – vocals (2007–2024) * S.S. Lopakka – Lopashnikov six-string instruments (guitars) (2007–2024) *J.T. Ylä-Rautio – one-string instruments (one-string bass guitar) (2007–2024) * S. Kukkohovi – six-string instruments (guitars) (2011–2024; touring 2008–2011) *A.K. Karihtala – batteria (drums) (2011–2024) ;Former members * K.H.M. Hiilesmaa – batteria (drums) (2007–2011)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Cherno'' ("Black") (2008) * '' Nizhe'' ("Lower") (2011) * '' Imena na Stene'' ("The Names on the Wall") (2014) * ''

'' (2016) * ''Prestupleniya protiv chelovechestva'' ("Crimes Against Humanity") (2023)

Singles

* ''1917'' (2008) * ''Imya na Stene'' ("The Name on the Wall", 2014) * ''All About Us'' (

t.A.T.u. t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian reco ...

cover) (2016)

Videography

* ''1917'' (2008) * ''Stalingrad'' (2009) * ''Alleya Stalina'' ("The Alley of Stalin", 2011) * ''Imya na Stene'' ("The Name on the Wall", 2014) * ''Deti Birkenau'' ("The Children of

Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

", 2014) * ''Ya svoboden'' ("I Am Free", 2016)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Finnish doom metal musical groups Musical groups established in 2007 Finnish musical quintets