Moscow Death Brigade

Moscow Death Brigade

Moscow Death Brigade is a group from Russia, based in Moscow, that combines hip hop, punk rock and electronic music. Its stated line-up and imagery place emphasis on opposition to racism, sexism and homophobia, and the group presents itself as anti-fascist while also saying that its views are simply human rather than political.

Background and style

The group forms in 2007 under the name Hoods Up 495. Its members come from the hardcore punk scene and share an interest in 1980s and 1990s hip hop, including artists such as Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill and the Transplants. The sound develops into aggressive rap with guitar-heavy hardcore beats, later expanding to include more electronic production. The group uses masks as part of its visual identity.

Releases and collaborations

After changing its name, the group releases a second self-titled demo tape with three songs. In 2014 it puts out its first EP, Hoods Up, on the German label Fire and Flames Music; the title refers back to the earlier band name. The EP brings the group attention in the European punk scene and helps establish it outside Russia.

Following tours through Eastern and Central Europe, including dates with Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Moscow Death Brigade releases the split EP Here to Stay with fellow Russian anti-fascist hardcore band What We Feel. Another split release appears on Audiolith Records with Feine Sahne Fischfilet, Los Fastidios and What We Feel. That release is a benefit EP, with proceeds going to the families of murdered Russian antifascists.

In May 2017 the group releases the single Brother & Sisterhood and announces a new album while continuing its European touring. In February 2018 it releases its first full-length album, Boltcutter, on Fire and Flames Music. The album broadens the group’s sound further, including a fully electronic record that draws on drum’n’bass, EDM, hardstyle and dub, while the two MCs and DJ continue to rap across the tracks about unity, touring, graffiti, street activism and resistance to discrimination.

The group later releases Bad Accent Anthems, continuing to experiment with electronic sounds while also returning to punk rock and heavy metal-inspired beats, and adding electric guitars in some rave-oriented tracks.

Tours and live activity

After Boltcutter, Moscow Death Brigade undertakes a two-part European tour with more than 40 headline shows across Europe and the UK. It also appears at DIY and commercial festivals including Boomtown Fair in the UK and With Full Force in Germany, and opens several shows for Feine Sahne Fischfilet. In 2019 the group signs with the German booking agency Destiny Tourbooking, tours Europe again, returns to Boomtown, plays Xtreme Fest in France and supports Madball in Spain.

The launch tour for Bad Accent Anthems is planned as the group’s largest to that point, with more than 70 shows and festivals across Europe, the UK and the United States, including Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas, Roskilde in Denmark and Exit in Serbia.