Russia Month concludes… here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

I'm finishing off a month of Russian spotlights with my favorite Russian band, and one of my favorite punk bands of all-time, period: Tarakany. The Moscow punks have just released their new and eleventh CD, "Rockets From Russia", their first on their own new label FM Molchit Records. "Rockets From Russia" is also co-released by Zurich Chainsaw Massacre and thus distributed by Road To Ruin. Tarakany have toured Russia extensively, crossing Siberia several times, and they've toured Europe on a few occasions, sometimes performing with Marky Ramone.

For this week's spotlight, I'm highlighting tracks from their three most-recent albums, plus their stellar "Live in Moscow" disc released last year. These albums I consider among the most essential pieces in my music collection.

If you're interested in learning a bit more about the Russian punk scene, have a look at my Russian scene profile.

Tarakany - FM Molchit from Fear & Hatred (2002) (MP3)
Tarakany - Forever from Freedom Street (2003) (MP3)
Tarakany - Hymn Of The Democratic Youth from Live at DKG Moscow (2004) (MP3)
Tarakany - Gonna Hunt You Down from Rockets From Russia (2005) (MP3) Visitors in Russia are welcome to contact Tim about other good bands in their country. Drop him a line at tim@punkinternational.com. Recent Spotlights: Changes (Russia), Naive (Russia), 1.5 kg of Really Good Mashed Potatoes (Russia).