Stinking Lizaveta

Stinking Lizaveta are an instrumental trio from Philadelphia, United States, active since 1994. The group comprises brothers Yanni Papadopoulos and Alexi Papadopoulos, with Cheshire Agusta on drums. Their music is generally associated with doom metal and stoner metal, and it also draws on post-rock, sludge, progressive rock, jazz stylings and eastern influences. The band also uses the description “doom-jazz” for its sound.

Background and style

The band takes its name from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Its live reputation is built on dynamic performances, and it spends long periods touring in the United States. Yanni Papadopoulos plays guitar and provides the group’s only vocals, using his instrument pickups to create singing and screaming effects. Alexi Papadopoulos plays electric upright bass and uses fingers, bow and effects pedals to create a wide range of textures, while Agusta’s drumming combines complex rhythmic patterns, cymbal work and fills.

Recordings and releases

The band’s debut album, ...Hopelessness and Shame, is recorded and mixed by Steve Albini in his basement in 1996. It is followed by Slaughterhouse in 1997 and III four years later, all released on the now-defunct Tolotta label, which is run by Fugazi bass player Joe Lally and also issues records by Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed, Dead Meadow and Othrelm. Their fourth album, Caught Between Worlds, appears in 2004 on At a Loss Recordings in the US and Monotreme Records in the UK and Europe. Scream Of The Iron Iconoclast is released in 2007, and the sixth album, Sacrifice And Bliss, follows in 2009 on At a Loss.

Live work and festivals

Steve Albini invites the band to play their European debut at the UK edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties in March 2004. They also tour with Clutch in 2005 as the only opening act on the bill, and later play Roadburn in Holland in 2007. In the same year they begin a US tour with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

Recognition

Stinking Lizaveta builds a strong following in the US underground music scene over more than a decade of touring. Their music is cited in History of Stoner, Goth, and Doom by RockDetector as “doom-jazz”, a label the band itself adopts when describing its sound.