Sergey had been a member of Aria, Kipelov, Chorny Kofe, Metallachord and Nazad v Budusheye, and founded a band 'Mavrik' (not to be confused with Maverick), though it is considered Mavrin's solo project since its latest albums are released with "Sergey Mavrin", not "Mavrik" title on the covers.
Since 2000, Sergey has his own radio show Iron Curtain on 'Yunost' radio channel. It is dedicated to rock music.
Early life
Sergey was born in Kazan and has been a fan of rock music since his childhood. He mentions Led Zeppelin, Nazareth and Deep Purple as his early favorites. Mavrin studied to play piano and electric guitar, though he never received formal music education. After military service, in 1985 Sergey participated in 'Chornoye Cofe' (Black Coffee), one of the first Soviet metal bands, and then joined 'Metallachord'.
In Aria
After the breakup of Aria's original lineup in 1987, Mavrin was invited to replace Andrej Bolshakov. He participated in three of the band's albums: Geroy Asfalta, Igra s Ogn'om and Krov za Krov, which are considered Aria's 'classical era'. Though Sergey wrote a very few songs for Aria, his guitar solos were one of band's dignities.
After a tour of Germany the band nearly broke up when their vocalist Valery Kipelov tried to quit (Kipelov had to return because of his contract with Moroz Records, though). Protesting against it, Mavrin moved on to record an album with Alexey Bulgakov on vocals and left the band. He was replaced by Sergey Terentyev. Mavrin and Kipelov tried to start a band 'Nazad v Budusheye' (Back to the Future), but this project remained active only for two months. So as not to remain jobless, in 1996 Sergey played in concert troup of pop artist Dmitry Malikov.
Foundation of Mavrik
In 1997, Sergey offered to Kipelov (who was back in Aria) to record together the combined album, which might include their songs which were refused by Aria or did not fit into Aria's style. In 1997 they released the LP entitled Kipelov and Mavrin - Smutnoye Vremia (Time of Troubles), which included 10 tracks.
Songs from this album became the main concert material for Sergey's new project: a band he started in 1998, which was entitled "Mavrik" due to his familiar nickname. Arthur Berkut (ex-Autograph) joined "Mavrik" as vocalist on its first album Skitaletz (Wanderer), where Mavrin played guitars, bass and keyboards. The genre of the album was progressive/heavy metal. Vladimir Holstinin was a guest guitarist on 'Skitaletz'. Shortly after the album's release and subsequent touring, Berkut left the band, to be replaced by classically trained vocalist Stas Vytart.
In 2000, the band released Neformat-1, which took the hard rock sound of Skitaletz in a more experimental direction, while displaying some hints of heavier guitar sound on tracks such as "Staya" ("The Pack"), "Hey Chelovek" ("Hey Man"), and "V Dikom Pole" ("In the Wild Field"). However, Vytart's stage presence did not seem to fit with Mavrin's concept of the band's live show, and shortly after the album's release he was replaced by Berkut, who returned to the band and played assorted shows in support of the album.
During the recording of the third album, Himichesky Son (Chemical Sleep, 2001), Artur Berkut often failed to show up in studio, and finally, Sergey had to fire him. When Berkut once was asked why did he left Mavrik, he replied: "You'd better ask Lena Mavrina about it" (meaning Sergey's wife). Artem Styrov was hired as the new vocalist. The album displayed a much heavier, guitar-oriented sound that was firmly within the heavy metal genre. Some of the songs are still live staples of Mavrin's set as of this writing. Since Chemical Sleep, all following albums are released as by artist 'Sergey Mavrin', not 'Mavrik'. This was done after consulting the IronD record label, which recommended them to take a more serious title.
In Kipelov
After the 'Judgement Day' breakup of Aria in 2002, Valery Kipelov, Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin formed the band 'Kipelov' and Sergey decided to join it. Mavrik's bassist Alexey Harkov also merged into the new band. Mavrin participated in Kipelov's tour and in recording the 'Put Naverh' live album and then the 'Babylon' single. But seeing Kipelov not hurrying up to record a new album, he departed in the summer of 2004. A song 'Prorok' (Prophet) by Mavrin was included to Kipelov's "Rivers of Time" and Kipelov was given a permission to play some of Mavrin's songs.
Mavrin: "There were artistic differences. This is normally, a common situation for any band, here or in other countries. We were misunderstanding each other. I couldn't understand what he wants, he couldn't understnand why do I compose the songs, what I do. Artistic differences reached the boiling point and led personal relations to a dead end. We could have just been touring and still playing Aria's songs, taking care to nothing. But I longed for creativity. I wished it had been changed anyway. But it happened as it had to happen."
Back to Mavrik
In 2004 Sergey Mavrin reunited his own band. Artem Styrov decided to come back, though Harkov stood with Kipelov. Alexander Shwetz from Russian band Nephilim became the new bass player. The same year Zapreshennaya Realnost (Forbidden Reality) was released, which became the most commercially successful album for Mavrin. The band started touring all over Russia with the new material. In 2005 Styrov was dimissed due to his health problems - he struggled to sing the long 2-hour gigs. His successor was 18-year-old Andrey Lefler. Mavrin and his band participated in Aria's twentieth anniversary gig and the bands toured together in Ukraine in the winter of 2005. After it, Mavrin released a new album Otkrovenie (Revelation).
Запрещённая реальность
Сергей Маврин Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Так похожи рождение и смерть
В пылу маскарада.
Что посеешь ты, то и пожнёшь.
Жизнь и смерть – красивая ложь
И горькая правда.
Там, за чертой,
В этом кино одна роль –
Делай, что должен, и помни:
Жить в безумных мирах, блуждая во снах,
Хранить в сердце правду и веру,
К свету, сквозь тернии к звёздам, нести себя солнцу –
Единственный правильный путь.
Плыть, не ведая страх, за те горизонты, что строят нам образ химеры,
Жить по древним заветам, вернуть своей жизни потерянный смысл и суть.
Нам бы вернуться к себе, вернуться домой –
В город, что мы потеряли, в город живой.
Нам бы прозреть и очнуться пора ото сна,
Нам бы вернуть себе веру, веру в себя.
Нам бы вернуть себе разум, совесть и память,
Нам бы вернуться в свою чудо-реальность –
В ту, что не ведала войн, горя и боли,
Что запретили мы сами, по своей воле.
Там, за чертой,
Край твоей сцены земной.
В этом кино одна роль –
Делай, что должен, и помни:
Жить в безумных мирах, блуждая во снах,
Хранить в сердце правду и веру,
К свету, сквозь тернии в небо, нести себя солнцу –
Единственный правильный путь...
Плыть, не ведая страх, за те горизонты, что строят нам образ химеры,
Жить по древним заветам, вернуть своей жизни потерянный смысл и суть.
The lyrics of Сергей Маврин's song "Запрещённая реальность," which translates to "Forbidden Reality," explore the themes of life, pain, illusion, and the search for meaning. The opening lines suggest that birth and death are similar in that they are both accompanied by pain and turmoil, like a swirling whirlpool. The lyrics then draw a parallel between life and death, calling them both beautiful lies and bitter truths.
The song alludes to a boundary, an invisible line separating our earthly existence from something beyond. This boundary represents the limits of our perception and understanding. In this cinematic metaphor, life is portrayed as a stage where we have only one role to play: to do what we must and remember who we are.
The chorus encourages living in fantastical worlds, wandering in dreams, embracing the truth and faith within our hearts, and striving towards the light. It urges us to transcend the obstacles and fears that hold us back and navigate towards the horizons that construct our illusions. The lyrics advocate living in accordance with ancient principles, reclaiming the lost meaning and essence of our lives.
The song expresses a yearning to return to oneself, to find a way back home, symbolizing a return to a vibrant and living city that has been lost. It emphasizes the need to awaken from a deep slumber, to restore faith in oneself, and regain reason, conscience, and memory. There is a longing to return to the wonderous reality that existed without war, suffering, or pain but was voluntarily prohibited by ourselves.
Overall, "Запрещённая реальность" conveys a message of seeking truth, embracing faith, and finding the hidden purpose and essence of life. It encourages breaking free from self-imposed restrictions and limitations, pursuing a path of enlightenment, and reconnecting with our innate selves and the wisdom of ancient traditions.
Line by Line Meaning
Жизнь, боль, круговерть –
Life, pain, whirlpool -
Так похожи рождение и смерть
Birth and death are so alike
В пылу маскарада.
In the midst of the masquerade.
Что посеешь ты, то и пожнёшь.
What you sow, you shall reap.
Жизнь и смерть – красивая ложь
Life and death - a beautiful lie
И горькая правда.
And a bitter truth.
Там, за чертой,
There, beyond the line,
Край твоей сцены земной.
The edge of your earthly stage.
В этом кино одна роль –
In this movie, there's only one role -
Делай, что должен, и помни:
Do what you must, and remember:
Жить в безумных мирах, блуждая во снах,
To live in insane worlds, wandering in dreams,
Хранить в сердце правду и веру,
To hold truth and faith in the heart,
К свету, сквозь тернии к звёздам, нести себя солнцу –
To carry oneself towards the light, through thorns, to the stars,
Единственный правильный путь.
The only right path.
Плыть, не ведая страх, за те горизонты, что строят нам образ химеры,
To sail, unaware of fear, towards those horizons that create the image of a chimera for us,
Жить по древним заветам, вернуть своей жизни потерянный смысл и суть.
To live by ancient commandments, to restore the lost meaning and essence of one's life.
Нам бы вернуться к себе, вернуться домой –
We should return to ourselves, return home -
В город, что мы потеряли, в город живой.
To the city we lost, to the vibrant city.
Нам бы прозреть и очнуться пора ото сна,
It is time for us to wake up and awaken from the dream,
Нам бы вернуть себе веру, веру в себя.
We should regain faith, faith in ourselves.
Нам бы вернуть себе разум, совесть и память,
We should regain reason, conscience, and memory,
Нам бы вернуться в свою чудо-реальность –
We should return to our miraculous reality -
В ту, что не ведала войн, горя и боли,
To the one that did not know wars, sorrow, and pain,
Что запретили мы сами, по своей воле.
Which we ourselves prohibited, by our own will.
Жить в безумных мирах, блуждая во снах,
To live in insane worlds, wandering in dreams,
Хранить в сердце правду и веру,
To hold truth and faith in the heart,
К свету, сквозь тернии в небо, нести себя солнцу –
To carry oneself towards the light, through thorns, to the sky,
Единственный правильный путь...
The only right path...
Плыть, не ведая страх, за те горизонты, что строят нам образ химеры,
To sail, unaware of fear, towards those horizons that create the image of a chimera for us,
Жить по древним заветам, вернуть своей жизни потерянный смысл и суть.
To live by ancient commandments, to restore the lost meaning and essence of one's life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Маврин Сергей
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind