The cult Russian group "Korol i Shut" began its ascent to the musical Olympus in the late 80s, but acquired its name only in 1990. The creative backbone of the team was the author's tandem of two original soloists - Mikhail "Gorshka" Gorshenyov and Andrey "Knyaz" Knyazev. In their unique style, they managed to combine punk, hard rock, folk motifs and texts based mainly on fairy tales and fantasy stories.
The first serious work of the group is the album "Stone on the Head", released in the fall of 1996. This disc, like the disc “Korol i Shut” released a year later, almost entirely consisted of two-minute horror stories that crossed punk rhythms with Russian melodies.
The original sound was noted by the "Acoustic Album" of 1999, which became the beginning of the group's real popularity and heavy rotation on Our Radio. In a number of songs, the vocals of the guest vocalist Marina Kapuro sound, the violin sounds, the music has become quieter, the arrangements are more skillful, the tracks are dedicated to lyrical experiences in a tragicomic vein. While touring the country with the "Acoustic Album", the less successful "Heroes and Villains" were recorded, where the "King and the Jester" again began to sound like a real guitar band.
The most beloved among the fans of the group are the discs "Like in an old fairy tale" and "It's a pity there is no gun", released at the beginning of the 21st century. Scary and melodic stories here received even heavier arrangements, but this did not prevent the songs from these albums from topping the Russian charts. The "Riot on the Ship" that followed them, presented after a short break in 2004, sounded almost like hardcore, some of the songs were devoted to the sea.
In 2006, "Korol i Shut" recorded the LP "Seller of Nightmares", which was remembered for its new melodic compositions. The disc "Shadow of the Clown", which was released in 2008, was called by critics as teenage, some numbers on it were dedications to the authors' favorite fantastic works. The latest album of the classic line-up - "Demon's Theater" surprised with acoustic sound, lyrics in the spirit of the Silver Age and references to films.
In 2011, Knyaz left the group and founded his own project "KnyaZz". Pot with the new line-up of The King and the Fool recorded a two-album punk-style opera TODD based on the London legends of Sweeney Todd. After the tragic death of Mikhail Gorshenyov in 2013, the group actually ceased to exist. The remaining musicians of the King and the Jester, led by guitarist Alexander Leontiev, began to perform under the name Northern Fleet.
So we present to you the best songs "King and Shut" according to the site:
Forester
Album: King and Jester (1997)
Stone on the head
Album: Stone on the head (1996)
Dance of the Evil Genius
Album: Demon Theater (2010)
Cursed old house
Album: Like in an old fairy tale (2001)
Hunter
Album: King and Jester (1997)
The executioner's bride
Album: Heroes and Villains (2000)
The group "Korol i Shut" ("KiSh") can rightly be called the most famous punk band in Russia. Organized by Mikhail Gorshenev ("Pot") and Andrey Knyazev ("Prince") at the very beginning of the nineties, this team achieved wide popularity only by the start of the 2000s. The amazing world of sorcerers, evil spirits and scary stories, intertwined with beautiful musical arrangements, have become the hallmark of the King and the Jester. Even the most eerie plot of their songs is absolutely not perceived gloomily, the talent of the musicians lay in the fact that they created a whole work of art with their music and manner of performance, filling it with the mood they needed, from lyrical to cheerful and provocative.
Despite the fact that, unfortunately, the group has now ceased to exist, its musical heritage has not been forgotten and is appreciated not only by old fans, but also by new listeners. We have selected the best songs of the "Korol i Shuta", having compiled a list of the ten most, in our opinion, iconic compositions of this wonderful group. In our article, you can not only see the list of songs, but you can also listen to them online on this page. So let's get started.
10. Two monks in one night
Opens our top 10 best songs of "The King and the Jester" - "Two Monks in One Night". This composition was released in 2001 on the album "Like in an old fairy tale." A very unusual story with really great, masterful music.
9. Gardener
In the next place is the composition "Gardener", released on the first studio album "Stone on the Head" in 1996. One of the band's first semi-professional clips was filmed for this song, but despite the amateur quality, it looks very interesting.
8. Northern Fleet
Eighth place is occupied by the song "Northern Fleet" from the album "Revolt on the Ship", released in 2004. The band's frontman Mikhail Gorshenev wanted to record the material in a harder rock sound for a long time. This is exactly what the seventh studio album of the team turned out to be. It is noteworthy that after the death of "Pot", the remaining musicians decided not to continue playing under the name "King and Jester", but took the name "Northern Fleet", with which they record albums and tour to this day.
7. Bear
On the next step of our list is "Bear" from the album "It's a pity there is no gun" in 2002. Gorshenev was inspired to write the text for this song after reading Evgeny Schwartz's play "An Ordinary Miracle". This composition once again shows how "Pot" was a talented and versatile musician.
6. Magician
In sixth place is the song "Magician" from the group's tenth studio album "Theater of the Demon", released in 2010. The style of this album was new for the band, it can be described as art-punk. "Potty" has long attracted the theatrical scene and in 2011, he will take part in the musical component of the horror opera "Sweeney Todd". Here he is still trying on this genre. It is noteworthy that the famous Russian actor Gosha Kutsenko starred in the clip of "The Magician".
5. Fool and lightning
In fifth place is the composition "Fool and Lightning" from the album "Stone on the Head" in 1996. The trademark punk sound of this album, conveyed by this song, is beautiful in its simplicity and enthusiasm, and the eccentric lyrics perfectly complement the musical sequence.
4. Rum
The next in our list of the best songs of the group "Korol i Shut" is the composition "Rum", released on the eighth studio album "Seller of Nightmares". The song is very fond of lovers of noisy feasts and fun parties.
3. Forester
The top three is opened by the composition "Forester", released on the album called "The King and the Jester". This is one of the band's most famous and iconic songs. Its text was invented by Andrey Knyazev back in 1991. The song changed its name several times before being released on the album. In 2013, she took 1st place in the hit parade "500 OUR Best Songs" on "Our Radio".
2. Cursed old house
Second place goes to "Cursed Old House". This composition was released on the album "Like in an old fairy tale." For almost half a year, "The Cursed Old House" took first place in the "Chart Dozen" in 2001. Mikhail Gorshenev's brother Alexey performs it at every concert together with his group "Kukryniksy" in memory of the "Pot".
