Welcome!

If you are wondering why you are being friended, here's the reasons: We like your music, taste in art/films/music, we think you are interesting in some way we find you fascinating, or because we wish to learn more about you. If you don't want to friend us back, that's fine, because we just wanted to express our appreciation and share our work with you. Thanks for your understanding. -The Puppeteers

Zoya Malama Welcomes You to the Upir's Mark Website

In a parallel universe, not all that dissimilar from our own, a band was born out of hope for the future and complete despair over the present. Sometimes, this band visits our universe in the form of demonic puppets, but today we tell a story about their parallel world:

Iruktsk native, Dmitri Shapinov was booted out of Nickel, a government sponsored boy band, despite his popularity and obvious vocal talent in 1988. He was considered far too old to perform. He quit school shortly after his dismissal. Unable to find work in the increasingly fragile economic environment of the crumbling Soviet Union, the sixteen-year old boy took on a job as a clandestine disc jockey for illegal parties.

It was at one of these small parties, that he met and got into a brutal fight with Zoya Malama, a runaway punk musician. As it turned out, she was a long-time fan of his work with Nickel. She and Dmitri shared a thirst for blood and two hearts full of lust. Thus began their tumultuous, violent and artistically rich, love-hate relationship.

Zoya and Dmitri spent much of their time listening to foreign records and watching horror flicks. After watching a bootleg video of GG Allin in concert, Zoya and Dmitri were inspired to come up with their own stage show. Zoya named the concept Upir's Mark, after a particularly bad hickey that her then sharp-toothed boyfriend left on her neck earlier that day.

The music of Upir's Mark, a perverted combination of Russian folk music, Soviet propaganda, demonic prayers, political commentaries, techno and metal, caused outrage and excitement in underground circles in Eastern Europe and beyond, from 1989 through 1996, the year of Zoya's spectacular, murder (or suicide) on stage.

For more information about the band visit the official Upir's Mark site.

FAQ

Q: The music is cool, but the Russian grammar is incorrect. I thought this band was really Russian?
A: Upir's Mark is very much from Russia in a parallel dimension. This Russia is very similar to Russia in this dimension, but isn't the same. Because of this, one may notice some cultural and linguistic differences.

Q:Why are the members of Upir's Mark puppets, 3D renderings or drawings? Is this a fake band?
A: Upir's Mark is a true band with real people in their parallel dimension. However, because of our meager technological progress in multidimensional travel, we must resort to magickal tools to share their music. Puppets and the symbolic language of the arts are absolutely essential in bridging the gap between our world and their world.