Biography (English translation)
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The backstory to the band's founding was the meeting of Artur Petrov (Budulai) and Alexander Gridasov (Gridas), both living in Daugavpils. Even before meeting in person, they had heard of each other and of the similarity of their outlooks. Before founding the band, Budulai was a novice solo musician playing covers of other bands at punk gatherings. Gridas played in the punk band Nevrasteniya. They met after Budulai visited a Nevrasteniya rehearsal. During one rehearsal, after complaints from the vocalist about Gridas's playing, Gridas told everyone off and quit the group. For some time they tried to convince Gridas to return, but it was already too late: having met, Budulai and Gridas resolved firmly to play the music of rebellion. Around that same time Budulai made his first onstage appearance, singing Grazhdanskaya Oborona's 'Lyuber' with Glazki Stekolshchika in June 1999. This event finally inspired Budulai and Gridas, and despite having no rehearsal space, their own songs began to emerge.
In the summer of 1999 they recorded the song 'Bey burzhuev' ('Beat the Bourgeois') in an apartment. The band was invited to perform at a rock concert on February 18, 2000, at the Center of Latvian Culture (CLK). The concert was a success. Right before the show they came up with a name, and thus 'Viselica' ('Gallows') was born.
Roles in the band: Budulai on lead vocals and guitar; Gridas on bass and backing vocals. Throughout the band's history they never had a permanent drummer of their own; drummers from other groups sat behind the kit. Viselica's sound was influenced by Grazhdanskaya Oborona and The Exploited alike: heavy punk rock with radical lyrics. In 2000 Viselica was invited to open for Egor Letov himself. Letov was denied entry into Latvia, which sparked an impromptu outdoor street concert by Viselica in the midst of a punk crowd that culminated in widespread riots. This cemented Viselica's underground fame and reputation as uncompromising nihilists.
The group went on to play several gigs across Dvinsk and Riga, usually ending with cut cables, expulsions from the stage, brawls, and other scandals. One gig even ended in municipal court after an American flag was torn up on stage. Alongside live shows, the band began recording albums. Their debut album, 'Ne ssy!' ('Don't Chick Out!'), was recorded live at the rehearsal studio of the metal band Disease in late 2000.
Their second album, 'Reznia' ('Massacre'), recorded in the summer of 2002, was on a noticeably higher musical plane. A gig celebrating the November 7th holiday was covered in a massive article in the national newspaper 'Chas'. The group began receiving invitations to tour abroad, including in the Lithuanian town of Visaginas. The year 2002 was also marked by Artur Petrov issuing a public newspaper challenge on August 27 to a duel against Aivars Garda, the publisher and editor of the ultranationalist newspaper DDD, for insulting the Russian people. Garda refused to meet.
Then came the central turning point in the band's history: on November 20, 2002, Artur Petrov was arrested by the Security Police of the Republic of Latvia on charges of storing TNT, calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order (the debut album 'Ne ssy!' was entered into evidence in the criminal indictment), and conspiring to assassinate the President of the Republic. The presidential plot accusation was dropped immediately; the remaining charges took a year and a half to be resolved, seven months of which were spent in Riga Central Prison. During this period the band became an underground legend, with two songs broadcast on the Russian television network RTR in a special report on left-wing radicals. Despite strict police supervision for a year following his release (daily check-ins at the station and an 8 PM to 10 AM curfew at his registered address), once Budulai was released the band resumed activities, performing at rock concerts. The group also launched their official website (www.viselica.lenin.ru), making almost their entire catalog freely available, including early acoustic demos and live concert footage.