Шмели

Shmely (“The Bumblebees”) is a metal band formed in the city of Rivne (Ukraine). Their current style may be described as industrial//dark/folk metal, while their early music was influenced by punk rock. The lyrics are often mysterious or comic, utulizing (urban) folklore topics.

The band was founded about 1993 by Lyolya Zasedateleva (vocals, music) and Alexander “Shmel” Shmelyov (vocals, music, lyrics) who have been the only permanent members ever since. In 1999 they settled in Moscow (Russia) and lived there till their relocation back to Ukraine in 2018. Most of the time, the band pretty actively toured the post-Soviet states, averagely released 1-2 albums a year, and participated in various music projects either by their own or by other musicians (AntiVirus, Alan Waters, Abort Mozga, etc.)

Over the last years, Shmely have been closely working with Uroboros mini-theater based in Odesa (Ukraine).

Main discography

1998 - Дурацкие книжки (Foolish Little Books), Туловище (The Trunk), Тротиловые cказки (Trotyl Tales) 1999 - Пурга (The Blizzard), Петля Соблазна (The Loop of Temptation), Злорадостная опухоль (The Gloating Tumor), Вулканизация души (Vulcanization of the Soul) 2000 - Трахни небо (Fuck the Sky), Принцеssа Беz Труsоv (The Princess without Panties) 2001 - Спазмы рока (Spasms of Fate), Бомба в убежище (A Bomb in a Shelter) 2003 - Негатив Пространства (Negative of Space), Агрессивный покой (Aggressive Peace) 2004 - Тень сердца (The Shadow of the Heart) 2005 - Лёд (Ice), Восемь женщин на радуге (feat. Alan Waters) (Eight Women on a Rainbow) 2006 - Пуговица (The Button) 2007 - Кошкины обиды (The Cat’s Grudges) 2008 - Карамельные cтрахи (Caramel Fears) 2009 - М. Я. У. (Московская ярмарка удовольствий) (The Moscow Fair of Pleasures), Мощи (recorded in 2000) (The Relics) 2010 - Механическая балерина (The Mechanical Ballerina), Цех по реабилитации параноиков (The Paranoiacs’ Rehabilitation Department) 2011 - Топливо (Fuel), Театр уродов (The Theater of Freaks) 2016 - Я вернусь к тебе… (I’ll Come Back to You…), Пара трупов (A Couple of Corpses), Белый карандаш (The White Pencil), Злорадостная опухоль (The Gloating Tumor, a new version of 1999 album) 2017 - 16 Чудес (16 Wonders) 2018 - Территория Ноль (Territory Zero) 2020 - Твариною поруч (The Beast Nearby) 2021 - Ч​о​р​н​и​й Лic​ (The Black Forest) 2022 - Хаос Желаний (The Chaos of Wishes)