Band:	Aria
Album:	Игра С Огнём
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	1989
Guest review by:	Ch'ti

01. Что Вы Сделали С Вашей Мечтой?
02. Раскачаем Этот Мир
03. Раб Страха
04. Искушение
05. Игра С Огнём
06. Бой Продолжается
07. Дай Жару!

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Bruce Dickinson had been born in the Motherland?

Aria is unfortunately a band that is too little known in the scene, even though their discography has plenty of material. So that you can better imagine their style, I'll let you know that they are nicknamed "The Russian Iron Maiden", and rightly so!

Many of their riffs are reminiscent of Iron Maiden, although they also add a Russian touch to the whole thing. So, don't worry; they don't totally milk the style of Iron Maiden. In fact, the further we listen, the more the band detaches itself from this influence, and Игра С Огнём evolves in a rather unexpected way. The album ends with a track much closer to rock than the rest of the album, and, strangely, it goes very well with the dominant style.

The Russian vocals make a rather interesting mix with the rest of the instruments, and we get some rather memorable choruses. In addition to the very catchy riffs and choruses, we also have many solos that are worth the detour. I'm thinking in particular of the 4th track "Искушение", but also of the subsequent song "Игра С Огнём", which has a masterful guitar solo.

We really have all the elements for an excellent and memorable heavy metal album, and, thus, Игра С Огнём largely meets our expectations. For a Russian heavy metal band influenced by Iron Maiden, Aria is far from the redundant heavy metal bands of the 80s/90s and proves to us with Игра С Огнём that they are the leaders of the Slavic heavy metal scene. This album is truly a must-have of the genre, and I recommend it to everyone.