Annihilator Gun: The Ufa Rocker Behind the Meme
In the center — Andrei Bred Matveev, on the left — Evgeny Spltn Napalkov, on the right — presumably Damir Prince Shekkegruber Khafizov
Do you remember the viral video with a screaming rocker from Ufa who looked like Kurt Cobain? The one about the «Annihilator Gun»? This musician and his band could have been forgotten, like many other little-known punk rockers from the nineties, but thanks to the meme video, these Ufa residents are still remembered decades later.
On the right — Bred, on the left — presumably Spltn
Not to mention that a devoted fan community had already formed around Annihilator Gun, even if it was small. The band members themselves, by the way, did not consider themselves punks and liked to remind people that they had higher education and skills in various genres, up to jazz.
Bred at one of the concerts
Wild Youth
One of the performances of the band«s »golden lineup«
It cannot be said that the band was very popular, but in narrow Ufa circles its status was often described as cult. On the RockUfa forum, for example, in a review of one of Annihilator Gun«s later concerts in 2010 (after the death of lead singer Andrei Bred Matveev), one can see the following words:
Judging by the guitarist«s T-shirt, the photo was taken at that very performance for the LDPR
«However you look at it, Annihilator Gun is the only Ufa cult at the moment,» a fan shared. «God grant some younger band achieves such status, with such a devoted and honoring fanbase.»
That very viral video
As guitarist of the Gun Evgeny Spltn Napalkov (also known as Napalm) wrote on his website and as Bred himself said in a 2000 interview published in the Rock Powerground public, the band formed in the winter of 1991. The first lineup, besides Spltn and Bred, included guitarist Igor Burdukov, drummer Tagir, and bassist Sakhar.
The «intellectual» interview
The original source of the aforementioned interview with the Gun members is now hard to establish, but its authenticity was confirmed in comments by one of the later members of the band, bard Rustam Nuriev, and the leader of the band Zverofirma, Dmitry Diamond Andreev, so we will refer to it for some nuances.
According to the musicians, the full name of the band is «Annihilator Gun of Automatic Aiming.» It was supposedly borrowed from the works of Kir Bulychev, but which specific work inspired the artists is not specified.
Napalkov said that the Gun«s first concerts took place at the House of Children»s Creativity in the Kirovsky district, where «something like a rock club» operated. Due to «Bred»s drunkenness and messiness,« the guitarist said, the band»s early performances «looked pretty awful,» but over time the singer «calmed down more or less.»
In the spring, Sakhar left the band, and Burdukov took up the bass. In this lineup, the «annihilators» went to the Polygon-91 festival in Sterlitamak. In January 1992, the musicians recorded a demo album «In Sleepy Ravines,» consisting of «three things.»
Soon the bassist and drummer left the band, and until 1993 it ceased activity. The departed members of the Gun wanted to play jazz, and Burdukov, as mentioned on social media, later even taught improvisation at a music college.
«The coolest thing started when [backing vocalist] Damir Haffi Khafizov (also mentioned under pseudonyms Prince Shekkegruber and Comrade Haffindor. — Ed. note) and Askar Valeev (also known as Major Zemlechko, Oscar Wilde, and Izgorod. — Ed. note) joined our band — a very experienced drummer who has been playing at school discos since age 12,» Napalkov said.
From the previous lineup, Bred and Spltn remained. They were in the same class as the new drummer, who had played in the band Dinosaurs of the Full Moon before the Gun. In addition, according to Napalkov«s recollections, guitarist Rustem Akai Sattarov joined the band.
Second Wind
Spltn, like the band«s fans, noted the special role of »bitter drunkard and slob« Damir Khafizov in its revival. He brought to the band»s performances a characteristic feature that a fan in the review at the beginning of this article called «the signature Khafizychev unique dances and grimaces.»
The band had no permanent bassist then; the guitarist of the band Crazy Moonlight under the pseudonym Krolik helped with this. In this lineup, the Gun recorded the tracks «Nuclear Hairdresser» and «Buratino.»
«By the way, about Buratino,» Napalkov said. «Despite the name, it was a very vicious and heavy thing, telling about a sinister uncle creating wooden killer clones.»
According to the guitarist, the band was soon invited to Polygon-93, where the musicians «got drunk to unconsciousness» and could not go on stage. They also hooliganized at a concert in Uchaly in the spring of 1994, organized by «a good acquaintance.»
«The reception in this city was magnificent,» Napalkov recalled. «They booked us a hotel and rented a cafe for a day, where they fed us pelmeni and mercilessly plied us with champagne and vodka.»
According to him, everything went great, except for «classic rock-and-roll incidents in the hotel»: Bred and Prince Shekkegruber wandered the building at night, pestering people and «bawling drunken sailor songs.»
The musicians« behavior displeased Krolik, who was »the most patient and harmless person in the band,« so the rowdies had to be locked in a room until morning. However, in the end, the band still parted ways with their session bassist.
«Krolik constantly whined and became simply unbearable,» Napalkov said. «He urgently needed to be replaced. Soon a permanent bassist was found — Betr (Dmitry Zakharov. — Ed. note), who had played in some little-known bands before. By the way, he fit us very well, as he also often stuffed himself with booze.»
In the summer of 1994, the band recorded their first album — «Delirium Tremens.» Then the musicians dispersed until autumn. Returning to rehearsals after that, Napalkov recalled, they met somewhere the secretary of the regional branch of the LDPR, who invited them to perform at their conference.
One escapade after another brought the band scandalous fame, because of which at some point the «annihilators» were kicked out of their rehearsal space «at a base in a medical institute,» and later they had to travel to Chishmy for rehearsals.
The Gun Fell Silent to Fire Again
The very video that made the band famous in the early 2010s was published online by Ufa blogger Rais Gabitov. As he said in his LiveJournal, it was filmed before the band«s concert at the Salavat cinema in 1995. Judging by the design, it was shown in the »Ufa-TV« block on Channel Three: the video shows the TV company logo used in 1992–1997.
Less known remained an interview with the members of Annihilator Gun, filmed, it is claimed, in 1995 for the program Vzglyad. In it, the musicians behave much more calmly and talk about their work in an «intellectual manner,» addressing each other by first name and patronymic.
«By the way, we all have higher education, some even several,» Bred noted in that interview. «Of course, performances, rehearsals, recordings — that is, working with Annihilator Gun — require great physical, mental, and moral effort. Therefore, some people cannot stand it: some go to Moscow for treatment, some to Nizhny Novgorod to breathe fresh air. Sanatoriums, preventoriums, clinics of all kinds. I personally went to Mesyagutovo to raise the village. We raised it.»
In 1998, Annihilator Gun recorded the album «Party of Downers.» This name was also given to the local subculture that formed around the band. Judging by the band«s website preserved in the web archive, it had its own specific language and lore, parodying the Nazi Party of Germany.
Judging by the previously mentioned 2000 interview, at that time the artists were working on a new album, «Interview with the Coach.» By the beginning of the new century, the band performed much less often: according to the musicians, for some reason they stopped being invited to events.
«Probably because of the rowdiness,» Napalkov suggested. «After all, we never made it our goal to come to a concert and please the organizers and those around us; we just come to play for ourselves, and that»s always been the case. The very idea of a concert is to have a cool time. No, «have a cool time» is a stupid word, not «have a cool time,» but «play cool.»«
On March 20, 2003, the future meme hero Andrei Bred Matveev died. According to Rais Gabitov, «from the consequences of alcoholism.» A version about aggravated pneumonia also circulates on social media, but no confirmation is provided. In April 2003, after visiting Bred«s grave in the cemetery, other band members stated: »A cemetery like a cemetery. Graves like graves. On one — «Matveev Andrei Georgievich.» 33 years,« they wrote in the blog. »None of those present saw Bred dead — we decided to consider him alive.«
Bassist Dmitry Betr Zakharov died in the same year, as stated on the band«s website preserved in the web archive. The cause of his death in the note on Last.fm and in thematic publics is listed as a car accident.
Thus ended the story of the band«s »golden lineup,« but it continued to perform. Formally, Annihilator Gun still exists, but a UFA1.RU correspondent could not find mentions of its concerts after 2021.
From the old lineup, besides the viral video from the Salavat cinema, a compilation of songs «Victory Will Be Ours» and the album «Party of Downers» remain. The rest of the «golden lineup» recordings are considered lost.
«We wanted to achieve worldwide fame, like all starting bands,» Napalkov shared in a 2000 interview. «Now we just treat it philosophically. After all, worldwide fame is a big foolishness. What matters is that these 9 years passed so wonderfully for us.»
