Grai is a Russian pagan/folk metal band from Naberezhnye Chelny whose music is inspired by Slavic culture. The band combines male growled vocals with clean male and female vocals, flute and bagpipe melodies with heavy guitar riffs and an aggressive rhythm section. The group was formed on July 3, 2005, when its first rehearsal took place.
The band initially performed under the name “Raven Blood” and played its first concert at the Garage club in Naberezhnye Chelny in March 2006. During the same year, the musicians began replacing their English lyrics with Russian, while in November the name was changed to “Vorog”. In 2007, vocalist Daria Serdyuk and flutist Aliya Latypova joined the group. A four-track demo, “From the Source”, was completed in June that year and distributed independently at concerts, after which the band finally adopted the name “Grai”.
In 2009, Grai released their debut full-length album, “Wormwood-Grass”, through the Moscow label VOLH Records. Their second album, “About the Native Land”, was released by Sound Age Productions in 2011, while both albums were reissued by the Dutch label Vic Records in 2012 and 2013. Their third album, “Mlada”, was released on September 24, 2014, through the German label Hoizgate Records.
The release of “Mlada” was followed by the extensive European “Folk Metal Crusade” tour with Satanakozel, including performances in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Grai have continued to develop their distinctive combination of folk melodies, Slavic themes and heavy metal, establishing a presence within the international pagan and folk metal scene. In 2019, Grai vocalist Irina Zybina appeared as a guest vocalist on “Vetry Zlye”, a track from “The Heretics” by Greek metal band Rotting Christ.
Note: This biography was created with the assistance of AI and has been editorially reviewed.
Sources: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and official artist information.
