(Today we have an excellent discussion between two Russians — our interviewer-in-chief Comrade Aleks and Andrey Novozhilov, the principal figure behind Olhava and a participant in Trna as well.)

The number of bands performing atmospheric/post-black metal only grows, and even I, who hardly and rarely deal with bands faster than Ahab, cannot ignore it. A few weeks ago we did an interview with the Russian one-man band Rye / Рожь, and its head Vladimir Frith advised me to check his mates and neighbours Olhava. And so I did.

This band was formed five years ago by Andrey Novozhilov who has played all instruments and performed vocals since then, with the help of Timur Yusupov who joined him as a drummer in 2019. Today they have a contract with the Italian Avantgarde Music (that gives certain quality guaranties by default) and four albums, including the fresh one Frozen Bloom.

This truly atmospheric, almost meditative, music demands a predisposition, but if you ask, everyone needs a break to take a breath of relatively clean air. So that’s it. And recently we had a good conversation with Andrey about Olhava’s background and more. Continue reading »