Russia's Mumiy Troll to release ninth effort

Russia's biggest band, Mumiy Troll ( http://www.mumiytroll.com/en ) described as "a nuclear meltdown of The Bravery, Tom Petty and The Afghan Whigs" by the Los Angeles Times, have announced the release of their North American debut album Comrade Ambassador on March 24, 2009. This is Mumiy Troll's ninth studio release since they formed in Russia before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Comrade Ambassador will consist of 14 tracks taken from the band's two most recent releases, AMBA (2007) and VIII (2008), and a bonus Russian-language cover of The Mamas & the Papas' classic "California Dreamin'". In fact, all of the tracks on Comrade Ambassador will be in Russian. Although Mumiy Troll have recorded a few tracks in English during their career - band founder and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko is a linguist who speaks Russian, English and Mandarin Chinese fluently - those songs remain unreleased. Track listing for Comrade Ambassador is as follows:

1. Mami Docherey (Mothers and Daughters)
2. Hey Tovarishch (Hey Tovarish)
3. Prospali (We Overslept)
4. Muzikant (Musician)
5. Yadernie Stanzii (Nuclear Stations)
6. Yadovitaya Zvezda (Venomous Star)
7. V Etom Svete (In Our World)
8. Pianaa Struna (Drunken String)
9. Koroleva Roka (Queen Of Rock)
10. Metel (Snowstorm)
11. Svideteli (Witnesses)
12. Pospi Roknroll (Sleep Rock n Roll)
13. Gori Eto Vse (Burn It All)
14. California Snitsa (California Dreamin')

The artwork for Comrade Ambassador features the striking image of a superhero's body crowned with the head of a Siberian tiger surrounded by iconography meaningful to the band.

Lagutenko explains: "I always thought that the traditional symbol of Russia - the big bear - is a bit outdated. We grew up in the Russian far eastern port city of Vladivostok, which is home of brave sailors, tireless explorers, ambitious rock 'n' rollers and, yes, real Siberian tigers. They're the biggest tigers in the world; they're smart, fast and can survive harsh snow winters. That's why our comrade is Supertiger wearing the Mumiy Troll logo! Sputnik, a nuclear case and the oil pump are the symbols of drop-dead original energy Mumiy Troll kept at their secret location and now ready to share with other side of Pacific!"

It is not an overstatement to say that Mumiy Troll is the most significant band in modern Russia since the fall of the Soviet government. With charismatic founder Lagutenko at the helm, Mumiy Troll has changed not only Russian music, but also fashion, hairstyles and the behavior of young Russian music fans. Mumiy Troll literally founded the Russian rock scene as it now exists, and are by far the most successful independent artists in Russia today.

Mumiy Troll's sound is a unique hybrid of rock and pop, deeply influenced by punk and the New York new wave scene of the late 70s, which Lagutenko calls "rockapops" - a moniker he coined to put an end to constant debates in the Russian media about labeling their music with a specific genre.

From being decried as "one of the most socially dangerous bands in the world" by a local Communist party chief to hailed as "Best Band of the Millennium" by leading Russian music critics, Mumiy Troll's ascent has been the result of their unstoppable enthusiasm and determination. They began playing clubs dates in Siberia and have steadily built an audience that now packs arenas in Moscow, St. Petersburg as well as the Baltic States. North American tour dates will be announced shortly.

ABOUT MUMIY TROLL
Originally founded in Vladivostok, Russia in 1983 Mumiy Troll earned early success in Moscow with startling albums and live performances that burst with energy, warmth and debauchery. The band's "rockapops" sound has taken the band to dizzying heights in Russia where they graced the covers of Russian editions of GQ, Time Out, Rolling Stone and Hello! Today, they are set to conquer the United States with their debut release, Comrade Ambassador. Mumiy Troll is: Ilya Lagutenko – vocals, guitars, songwriting, Yuri Tsaler – guitar, keyboards and saxophone, Eugene "Sdwig" Zvidionny – bass, Oleg Pungin - drums.