FANTASTIC! The Arkhangelsk group "Oblachny Krai" knew about the upcoming coup a year and a half before the August events — earlier than Shevardnadze himself! Otherwise, how can you explain the theme of the song "Wanted Freedom?" from the eponymous album, recorded way back in the spring of 1990?…
"WANTED FREEDOM?"
"OBLACHNY KRAI"
FANTASTIC! The Arkhangelsk group "Oblachny Krai" knew about the upcoming coup a year and a half before the August events — earlier than Shevardnadze himself! Otherwise, how can you explain the theme of the song "Wanted Freedom?" from the eponymous album, recorded way back in the spring of 1990? Moreover, the record sleeve features a monumental figure strongly resembling both Marshal Yazov and Joseph Stalin at the same time. One could have whipped up a decent scandal out of such brilliant foresight, but the "Melodiya" label, having learned partisan tactics from rockers, only released the "dangerous" album for sale in the fall of 1991, when everything was already over.
The debut vinyl from "Oblachny Krai" should appeal to both punks and metalheads, as it presents an interesting symbiosis of punk rock and heavy metal, close to what is known as "punk hardcore". The hurricane-like rhythm and the raspy, caustic voice of vocalist Oleg Rautkin have been well-known for a long time — "Oblachny Krai" has been around for over ten years.
During this time, while remaining a deeply underground band, OK managed to record seven cassette albums featuring hard-hitting, satirical songs aimed at those in power. The musicians periodically showed up in Moscow, and in 1987 they were invited to the second (and last) "Rock Panorama" at Luzhniki. However, their nerves, chilled in the North, gave out, and at the last moment, the guys overindulged in artistic pursuits with some gurgling "doping." The police lazily crawled out to arrest the offenders, tipped off by some old ladies. A. B. Gradsky, who had gotten into arguments over OK with every conceivable and inconceivable cultural official, almost strangled the Arkhangelsk residents, who had betrayed his high trust, with his old red scarf.
But the "Clouds" were safely dispersed with the help of their Moscow friends. They weathered all the storms and once again gave us their absolute all: just the song titles from the LP "Wanted Freedom?" alone are worth their weight in gold — "Little Girl, You Shouldn't Meddle in Politics", "Impressions from Visiting the Monument to the Ideas of Juche", "Rise Up, People, to Fight the Accursed Idol", and others. The author of the music and lyrics, guitarist Sergei Bogayev, skillfully weaves Russian folk melodies into the compositions, giving the record a special national flavor (something so highly sought after, mainly in the West).
OF COURSE, one can find flaws in the material presented by OK under such a formidable title. In particular, a certain monotony in the guitar riffs. But compared to its merits, all the missteps seem rather insignificant. The sleeve artwork, created by Sergei Supalov, arguably claims the title of "Most mind-blowing" of 1991.
«Moskovsky Komsomolets» 06.03.1992
