You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (May 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepLorGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Группа крови (альбом)]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Группа крови (альбом)}} to the talk page.
Gruppa krovi (Russian: Группа крови[ˈɡrupːəˈkrovʲɪ], lit.'blood type'/'blood group') is the sixth studio album by Soviet post-punk band Kino, first released in 1988. Released at the height of Perestroika and Glasnost, together with a crime thriller titled The Needle released in the same year starring lead vocalist Viktor Tsoi, it would go on to be the band's most popular album both inside and eventually outside the Soviet Union, with songs from the album, including the title track [ru], commonly being listed among top 100 lists of Russian music.[3]
Work on the creation began in 1987. Most of the recording took place with Georgy Guryanov, the work was completed at the studio of Alexey Vishnya. The sound of the recording is overstated compared to the albums, thanks to the use of a modern reverb in the studio.
The album was highly praised by critics upon release and continues to be considered a notable event in the history of Russian music. In 1999, Nashe Radio published list of "100 Best Songs of Russian Rock in the 20th Century", including several songs from this album and giving the song "Blood Type" the first place. In 2007, the editors of the Rolling Stone included the song "Blood Type" in their list of "40 songs that changed the world."
At the end of 1985, bass player Alexander Titov, who was also a member of the band Aquarium, left Kino as it became difficult for him to work in both bands, so Titov chose Aquarium. The musicians rarely commented on Titov's departure, considering it to be a betrayal to some extent. According to Kino drummer Georgy Guryanov, Titov did not fit into their team and always considered himself a member of the Aquarium, working with Tsoi's band only as a guest musician.[4]
After the Soviet release, the album was released in the United States in 1989 by Capitol Records.[5][6] The album's title song "Gruppa krovi" is about the constant selfless struggle for what is right, as well as a kind of anti-war anthem.[7][1] At the request of a U.S. fan, the song was also translated and recorded in English as "Blood Type".[citation needed]
"Gruppa krovi" was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV'ssoundtrack, but was removed in April 2018 after the ten-year license expired.
American heavy metal band Metallica covered the title track “Gruppa krovi” live at a concert in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on July 21, 2019, twenty nine years and a day after the band had last performed there live before Tsoi's car accident later in 1990.[8]
A remix of "Gruppa krovi" was used by the video game War Thunder in a trailer for the update "Drone Age".
Yuri Kasparyan – lead guitar, keyboards ("Poprobuy spet' vmeste so mnoy")
Igor Tikhomirov – bass guitar
Georgiy Guryanov – Yamaha RX-11 drum machine, backing vocals, bass guitar ("Zakroy za mnoy dver', ya ukhozhu", "Mama, my vse soshli s uma", "Poprobuy spet' vmeste so mnoy", "Prokhozhiy")
Additional personnel
Andrei Sigle – keyboards
Igor Verichev – backing vocals ("Prokhozhiy")
Alexey Vishnya – mixing and mastering, backing vocals ("Gruppa krovi")
^ abAllmusic review - "Listeners who did speak Russian could attest to Tsoi's subversively poetic lyrics…any Russian hearing it would think immediately of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which was still in progress as this song was recorded"