Archive for Below the Sun

Top 10 Best Russian Bands, According to Native Son The Collector of Malist and Crimson Crown

Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 10/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Bet you probably didn’t guess when we launched this series unofficially dubbed The Bad Penny Passport that our search for the best bands in countries around the world would include Russia, did you? We didn’t either. But thanks to one of our dearest friends, The Collector – mastermind behind badass black-metal projects Malist and Crimson Crown – we’re able to do just that, bringing you his list of recommended Russian bands we can virtually guarantee will not ring a bell (to you, at least).

In one of our more treasured entries in this series, we hand over the reins to The Collector – who remains anonymous for obvious reasons – to inform us about what he considers to be the greatest heavy bands spanning the country that spans more than 6.6 million miles and boasts a population of anywhere from 143 to 146 million citizens, depending on whether you consider Crimea to be part of it.

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